Colorado Mortgage Company

The US census information for the housing market in the state of Colorado is indicative of a healthy market. The use of the US census information to track housing market trends is a tradition of long standing. While the census information may be older than most market estimates, the census information is unaffected by company bias. In 2002 the census showed that there were a total of 1,929,092 housing units in Colorado. The home ownership rate in Colorado is slightly higher than the national average, according to the 2000 census the home ownership rate in Colorado was 67.3% which is only slightly more than the national average of 66.2%. The median household income for Colorado is high, competing with other affluent states like California. The household median income in Colorado is $47,203, and the national average is significantly lower at $41,994. Housing prices are above the national average in Colorado, with the median value of an owner occupied home being $166,600. This is almost half again as much as the national average, which is $119,600.

In what looks to be trouble for the real estate industry, thousands of homes in foreclosure could place Colorado's housing market under severe stress this summer.

In March, Colorado reported 5,392 foreclosures, making for the highest rate per household of any state. This information is provided by RealtyTrac, a provider of foreclosure listings.

The situation is that one in every 339 homes in Colorado is in foreclosure. However, the percentage of homes owned by lenders is below the national average of 19.6 percent.

Worryingly, in the past 12 months, the inventory of unsold homes in the seven county metro area has gone from about 23,000 to more than 27,300. This was outlined in a report from Mike Rinner, a senior real-estate analyst with the Genesis Group in Englewood.

Should buyers not appear in sufficient numbers over the coming weeks to buy the homes in foreclosure, lenders could be forced to unload them at below market prices. That would make it more difficult for other home sellers to get their asking price, lengthen the time homes spend on the market and cause the already startling high count of unsold homes to grow. Adams and Arapahoe counties are suffering the highest foreclosure rates in the state, while higher-end markets such as Boulder and Douglas counties are holding up much better. This promises to be a boon for those who are currently shopping for homes in Colorado, or are looking to buy in the near future.

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