Report offers hope in housing

Denver and the surrounding areas have certainly suffered from the sub-prime mortgage fallout.  The impact differs in Denver from the national picture just as it differs from one neighborhood to another (just look at Boulder compared to any other Boulder county area). 

The data behind the bad news shows leading indicators of a recovery for Denver.  For example, in most areas the number of listings on the market are down by as much as 30% compared to a year ago, but prices on those homes are rising in most areas at least 5%.  The supply of homes on the market appears to have caught up with the demand.  That is just one indicator though.  This article from the Rocky Mountain News talk more about the others:

Denver area stronger than many others

The Denver-area housing market is looking strong compared with many other places in the country, according to a national report released Tuesday.

Only a dozen cities across the country were ranked better than the Denver-Aurora area, according to the PMI Mortgage Insurance Group’s Winter 2008 Risk Index.

LaVaughn Henry, director of U.S. economic analysis, said PMI uses a “high-faluting economic model” to judge each metropolitan area by five metrics: housing price movement, affordability, changes in local labor markets, housing supply and foreclosures.

“Denver looks pretty good in four of the five,” he said. “The positives in four of the five more than make up for your foreclosures, your one weak area.”