
Innovative Real Estate Group Denver's housing market tops Case-Shiller - Denver performed the best of the 20 major metro housing markets tracked in the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report released this week. Denver’s housing market showed only a only a 0.1% dip in housing prices. “Once again, this shows the strength of the... Denver market,” said independent residential broker Gary Bauer. “We continue to lead the nation as far as recovering from the recession – the recession is not over yet – but we will be one of the first to emerge.” Bauer said that “two-thirds” of the Denver-area housing market is “still moving,” if not showing spectacular performance. Only the high-end market continues to be soft. “The market has moved from the only activity being in the first-time buyer to what I call the “move” buyer,” Bauer said. Tom Cryer, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp, thinks that move-up buyers may decide that it is an excellent time to snap up homes priced up to $500,000, with near-record low mortgage rates, and the $6,500 tax credit for qualified existing home owners.
insiderealestatenews.com
Denver housing showed the lowest decline of only 0.1 percent in the year ending in October, shows the S&P/Case-Shiller report.

Innovative Real Estate Group Interest Rates Predicted to Reach 6% - Interest rates are likely to rise to 6% by the end of 2010, predicted Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. The end of the Federal Reserve program that buys mortgage-backed securities will drive rates higher because private buyers will demand more return than the Fed.
www.realtor.org
Freddie Mac predicts that interest rates will rise to 6 percent in the next year.

Innovative Real Estate Group Tax Credit Gets Buyers Off the Fence - The new $6,500 move-up Homebuyer Tax Credit is apparently motivating buyers, according to a survey of 1,500 real estate practitioners. Existing home owners accounted for 41% of home purchases in November, up from 38% in October.
www.realtor.org
A survey by Campbell Communications reports that practitioners believe that the Homebuyer Tax Credit is motivating buyers.

Innovative Real Estate Group Home resales surge to nearly three-year high - Nationally, home resales surged last month to the highest level in nearly three years. Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. First-time buyers made up abo...ut half of all transactions last month, driving sales up 44% above last year's levels, a record jump. Sales are now up 46% from the bottom in January, but down 10% from the peak more than four years ago. The median sales price was $172,600, down 4.3% from a year earlier, and up 0.2% from October. November sales rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October.
www.msnbc.msn.com
Home resales rose to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has helped the housing sector recover from the downturn.

Innovative Real Estate Group We just finished our Chrismas office potluck and white elephant exchange. Thank you to everyone who particpated and I look forward to using my new starbucks coffee cup!!!

Innovative Real Estate Group i am sitting here with Chris Murrey learning about the new lending rules for 2010. Stand by for upcoming info.

Innovative Real Estate Group we are delivering gifts to the Denver Children's Home today. We adopted 70 kids that live there for the holidays. Feels so good to give back. Thank you to all who helped donate!

Innovative Real Estate Group Short sales rise as banks start approving them in lieu of foreclosures - Banks are beginning to go along with short sales in increasing numbers. Short sales tripled in the first six months of 2009 from the same period a year earlier. Yet for each short sale, there were 25 foreclosures started or completed in the firs...t half of this year. "It's really finally dawning on banks that they're better off with a short sale," said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "I think banks were in denial." Banks are increasing such sales under pressure from the Obama administration and lawmakers who criticized them for favoring foreclosures and delaying short sales. Lenders and loan servicers also stand to receive up to $2,000 in incentives to close short sales under a Treasury Department plan unveiled Nov. 30.
www.denverpost.com
Drew Schlosser tried for two years to sell his three-bedroom Punta Gorda, Fla., waterfront condominium for less than he owed on its two mortgages. The deal only went through last month when Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to take a $165,000 loss on the loans.

Innovative Real Estate Group Photos from Santa Day - what a GREAT time! Thank you to all who came
8 new photos

Innovative Real Estate Group The Santa at our office was a huge success. Thank you Clara for the time and energy to put on another perfect event. How you talked Santa into coming to our office this time of the year is beyong words.

Innovative Real Estate Group It is official. Santa has arrived at our office and any and all friends, fans, clients who show up at our office in the next 4 hours will get a free 8x10 with Santa. See you soon.

Innovative Real Estate Group Congratulations Simon James who just put a buyer under contract!!!

Innovative Real Estate Group Enjoyed Larry Kendall's Class "how to survive in a Changing Market" with several of my agents yesterday - Great Class Larry! We learned a lot!!! 2010 Here We Come!

Innovative Real Estate Group
Hi Everyone
I am pleased to welcome Lindsey Neal to Innovative. She just passed her test and is now a full time agent.
Welcome Lindsey
www.therealrecruiter.com

Innovative Real Estate Group
Denver home resales up 23% in November from 2008 - Sales of existing homes in metro Denver and selling prices increased in November compared to the same month of 2008. Here are some highlights from data released yesterday by Metrolist:
• Home resales, including single-family homes and condo/townhomes, rose 23.3% last ...month to 3,599 from 2,920 in November 2008
• Sales were down roughly 9% from October of this year, likely due to the traditionally slowing of homebuying during the winter holiday season
• Average selling price for resales rose 5.3% year over year, to $238,852
• 2,751 single-family homes sold - up 16.8% from November ’08
• 848 condo/townhomes sold - up 50.09% from November of last year
• $265,498 was the average selling price for single-family homes, up 9.5% from November ’08 and up 1.4% from October of this year.
• $218,000 was the median sales price for a single-family home, up 11.8% from November ’08
• $135,900 was the median selling price for condos, up 4.5% year over year
• Average days on market for houses and condos dropped nearly 14% to 81 in November, year over year, and was down 12.9% from October
denver.bizjournals.com
Denver home resales up 23% in November from 2008

















