Although we saw the bellwether 10 year briefly drop below its 1.9% support level on Tuesday and then shoot back up to 2%, the net change since last Friday is…(drum roll please)….. zero. And the net change for mortgage rates is the same.  The biggest yield drops came after mortgage companies priced each day and the increases came right before closing negating the majority of changes for consumers.  Mortgage rates are still running in the 4% range for a 30 year fixed.  We’re seeing more and more  in the press suggesting that there is collusion in the industry for more mortgage company (bad word time) profit since T-Bill rates this low have generated mortgage rates a quarter of a percent lower in the past.  But as we’ve written about previously, the rate

The Boulder Valley is well known for many things, whether it’s our environmental-friendly people and companies, our highly intelligent and educated work force, the University of Colorado, our scenic countryside or our fairly wealthy population. But none of these individual characteristics alone can define our community to the world. What is the Boulder Brand? Or, better yet, what should it be? Even the city of Boulder is seeking ideas from the public on the Boulder brand in hopes of passing a bond measure in 2012 for a capital project that’s in line with whatever brand idea is chosen. In an effort to make our community more aware of the Boulder Brand ideas being discussed for the city and the Boulder Valley as a whole, RE/MAX of Boulder will feature

Whether you’re considering putting your home on the market or foregoing selling your home until the market improves, the time to make some repairs may have come.

But if you’ve a long list, what repairs should you do first?

According to MONEY magazine, after emergencies, the project that could cause the most damage and expense if left unfixed is the priority.

Compare your own list with this list of the projects in order of the most important to the least important to do:

1. Electrical system

Correcting wiring problems claims the No. 1 spot, as they can lead to fires and electrocution, and are worth spending $300-$500 for a licensed electrician to spot trouble in your main panel, tighten any loose connections, and spot-check switches, outlets and

Investment properties can be a terrific way to make some extra income and this market is ripe with investment opportunities; the sellers are motivated, the loans are available and interest rates are flexible. But before you start looking for a property, there are some things you should consider.

Pick your property. First, determine what kind of investment property you’re interested in. Do you want to be a landlord? Do you want to buy and flip a house? Are you interested in commercial or residential property? Houses or apartments?  Right now is a great time to find foreclosed properties. Spend time thinking about what type of property is right for you.

Know the market. Before you begin searching, learn the ins and outs of your local market.  Study what

While the future of the nation’s economy is still in question, Americans are at least feeling better about it.

According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Feb. 8-12 of this year, optimism about the national economy, which sagged last last year, has rebounded, with 44 percent of the approximately 1,500 surveyed say they expect economic conditions to have improved by this time next year. That’s up from only 34 percent who said the same last month and 28 percent who felt that way in December. 

More than half of the respondents say that the economy is in recovery (25 percent) or that it will recover soon (29 percent). In April 2011, only 44 percent believed a recovery was underway or would occur soon, Pew reports.

Despite the optimism expressed by

“Affordability is at an all-time high” and “historically low interest rates” are not just pitches to get you to naively jump into the housing market.

But while they may be true in general, don’t start house shopping until you know if they are true for you and the area in which you live or are looking to buy a house in.

Affordability is calculated by a ratio of median household income to median home prices for any given area, the Realty Times reports.

According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), this record level is around 73 percent of all new and existing homes. In comparison, until recent years, it was unusual to see the HOI go above 60 percent, Realty Times reports.

“With interest rates at

According to Dave Liniger, chairman and co-founder of the Denver-based real estate giant RE/MAX, our mother ship, 2012 is the "the year of the investor". Liniger believes 25% of all real estate transactions in 2012 will be by investors, 58% of those being first-time transactions.

In response to such a prediction, RE/MAX and OwnAmerica are co-sponsoring a new certification titled the "OwnAmerica Investment Certification Program" or OICP. The program will be hosted by Greg Rand, CEO of OwnAmerica, which is a company that specializes in the residential investor market. Rand will be providing valuable insight on the benefits of investing in real estate; knowledge agents can pass onto their clients. The goal of the program is to push RE/MAX agents to the

The week ended relatively strong for mortgage rates with the 10 year dropping back down below 2% and mortgage rates stabilizing in the 3.875-4% range.  Most interesting is that the bond yield drifted down while the S&P closed at its highest level since 2008 and the Dow continues to flirt with 13,000.  The reason?  The Fed is buying 30 year securities for two reasons:  First to continue to support the fledgling housing recovery and second to continue to convert more of the country's short term debt into low rate long term debt in the hopes of avoiding the mistakes of some of our European counter parts.  As our economy starts to rebound, there is no question that inflation will become a definite factor.  Had the Fed left much of our debt in short term

A solid end to 2011 for the Boulder-area real estate market appears to have spilled over into 2012, with single-family home sales increasing compared with a year ago.

Boulder area markets posted 167 single-family home sales in January, an increase of 20 percent compared with the 139 homes that sold in the same month last year.

“We’re continuing the momentum we built up in the last two quarters of 2011,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor® Association.

“Clearly sales activity is down from historic levels but it has improved steadily beginning in June 2011.”

Hotard says the area is seeing a good deal of buyer activity in the market, and properties in good condition and priced well are selling fairly

Two days after the President's Day holiday, the 10 year treasury spent most of Wednesday sliding lower, regaining some of last week's losses.  The long bond peaked this morning at 2.06% then turned and ended the day at 2.0%. If the rate holds in the morning we should see 30 year mortgage rates back down to 4% from their recent high of 4.125% and possibly heading for the high 3's again.  The drop in bond yield was attributed mostly to economic reports showing softness in Europe and China.
 
Home sales in January were at a one and a half year high and inventory dropped to the lowest level since March 2005, a good sign for the depressed housing prices.  This great news was dampened somewhat by a sharp downward revision to the December sales numbers.   Over 30%