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Northern Colorado News Briefs

Greeley, Fort Collins-Loveland shine on 2009 Best-Performing Cities Index
Every year the Miliken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners ranks U.S. metropolitan cities in the areas of job creation and sustainability as well as economic growth. More specifically, the cities are evaluated in the following categories: job, wage, salary and technology growth. This year Greeley took the top seat for northern Colorado, coming in at #20 for Large Metro Cities. Fort Collins-Loveland followed closely at #22 followed by Boulder at #44. You can see the complete report at: http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2009.taf.

Source: Miliken Institute, “2009 Best Performing Cities,” data pulled 11/25/2009
http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2009.taf

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Improvements to I-25/U.S. 34 interchange underway
On November 3 ground was broken for long-awaited improvements to the I-25/U.S. 34 interchange—the “Gateway to Loveland.” The horizon surrounding the area has changed significantly in the past five years. Between the Promenade Shops at Centerra and the new state-of-the-art Medical Center of the Rockies, traffic has surged at the interchange. The current cloverleaf design has drivers entering and exiting the interstate in the same breathe, and has been an ever-growing concern for local citizens. The slated improvements, which include removing existing loops and adding two new off ramps, will lead to better traffic flow and safety. Construction should be complete by the end of 2010.

Source: Source: Coloradoan, “Ground broken for I-25/U.S. 34 interchange in Loveland” by Katie Lobby, 11/6/2009
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20091106/NEWS01/911060309/1002/CUSTOMERSERVICE02

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Fort Collins #5 “small college city”
The American Institute of Economic Research (AIER) recently released their “College Destinations Index 2009-2010.” To create the index, AIER ranks small and mid-sized college cities in the following categories: academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities. This year, Fort Collins came in as the #5 small college city. Fort Collins is proud to be home to Colorado State University (CSU). Originally called the Agricultural College of Colorado, the school first opened its doors in 1879 with two faculty members. The school now boasts over 22,000 students and is a Carnegie Class I research school. Fort Collins was not the only Colorado city to take a top 10 spot on AIER’s index. Boulder came in as the #1 small college city and Denver came in as the #5 mid-sized metro area college city.

Source: “Study: Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins rank among best places to attend college,”Denver Business Journal, 9/8/2009
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/09/07/daily13.html

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Low Vacancy Rates in Loveland-Fort Collins
According to a recent report by the Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing, Loveland and Fort Collins had the lowest apartment vacancy rates in the state for the 3rd Quarter 2009. Loveland’s vacancy rate came in at 4.3%, with Fort Collins following at 5.9%. A market is considered healthy or in equilibrium at 5%. The rates for Loveland and Fort Collins are a good sign as we head into 2010.

Source: Coloradoan, “Area has lowestvacancy rates” by David Young, 11/13/2009.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20091113/BUSINESS/911130316/Area-has-lowest-vacancy-rates

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Northern Colorado real estate by the numbers
Two critical measures of a real estate market are the Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) and Days On Market (DOM). The MSI is an estimate of how long it will take for all the homes in a market area to be sold, or absorbed, based on the number of homes currently on the market and the rate that homes have sold in the past. The lower the better for sellers. DOM is the average number of days it has taken homes to sell in a market. Again, the lower the better for sellers. While DOM has not dropped for all three cities, the MSI has lowered across the board and points to a more balanced market.

Source: Brokers Metrics, “Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) 9/1/2007-9/30/2009” for Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley.

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Volunteer Spirit is strong in northern Colorado
It is no secret that a city with a strong spirit of volunteerism is a city that thrives. Northern Colorado is an example of just that. The Corporation for National & Community Services tracks volunteer activity across the United States. After compiling their 2008 data, the Fort Collins-Loveland area ranked #7 in overall volunteer rate for mid-sized cities, while Greeley came in at #25. Based on an average using 2005 and 2008 data, the Fort Collins-Loveland area had 86,900 volunteers, 38.3% of residents volunteer, and $200.7 million of service was contributed. For the same time-span, Greeley had 67,700 volunteers, 32.8% of residents volunteer, and $192.9 million of service was contributed.

Source: http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/rankings/Mid-Size-Cities/Volunteer-Rates/2008.

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BusinessWeek: Fort Collins #19 strongest housing market in nation
BusinessWeek recently examined small metro areas where the housing market didn’t bubble, hasn’t burst and is showing strong signs. Using data from Zillow.com, the magazine ranked metro areas based on the share of singlefamily homes in which values rose in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2008. Once the data was compiled, Fort Collins took the #19 spot on the magazine’s study of the nation’s strongest housing markets. The share of homes with increasing value came in at 28.82% and median home value at $232,500. The annual change in value of homes was -0.32%, however, the quarterly change was 1.71%. Colorado was well represented on the list, as Boulder took the #1 spot as the strongest housing market.

Source: Source: BusinessWeek, “The Strongest U.S. Housing Markets” by Prashant Gopal, 8/11/2009
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2009/bw20090810_741278.htm

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Forbes: Colorado #4 “Best State for Business”
Forbes.com recently released their “Best States for Business” rankings and Colorado came out strong at #4. States were ranked in six categories: business costs, labor, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. Of the 50 states, Colorado ranked #1 for labor and number #2 for growth prospects. These key categories are important to businesses as they seek locations with a growing, educated workforce. Colorado also came in at #5 for economic climate.

Source: Forbes.com, "The Best States For Business" by Kurt Badenhausen,9/23/09
http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html

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Forbes taps Greeley and Fort Collins for inexpensive living
In a July article, Forbes magazine let readers know "Where to Live Cheaply.” Northern Colorado had two cities make the list with Fort Collins taking the #9 spot and Greeley #13. Forbes identified the 100 cheapest locations by studying 380 metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions. Cost of living data from Moody’s Economy.com and home affordability figures from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo was used in the study. In addition, Forbes rated cities against each of the following four quality-of-life measures: violent crime rate, unemployment rate, average salary for college graduates, and cultural opportunity.

Source: Forbes.com, “Where to Live Cheaply” by Zack O'Malley Greenberg, 7/14/09.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/13/cheap-cities-property-lifestyle-real-estate-cheap-places.html

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Northern Colorado harnesses wind energy
In late August, the federal government announced half a billion dollars in grants to help develop wind-energy projects. This is good news for northern Colorado ranch and farm owners that have land ripe for wind farm development. Some wind farms, such as the Cedar Creek Wind Farm located east of Grover, have already taken shape. The Cedar Creek farm has 274 turbines making it one of the largest wind-powered facilities in the country. Colorado State University is working on their own project just north of Fort Collins on I-25, which has the potential to produce four gigawatts of wind energy. So, if you are in the market for land, be sure to check the next property appraisal for a new line item: “Annual turbine lease revenues on top of crop revenue yield per acre.”

Source: Coloradoan, “Wind farms gaining speed in Northern Colorado” by Bobby Magill, 9/14/09.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090914/LOVELAND01/90914003?GID=m1C3TdIF0zBOI6pDbtcAj5KvzHtkaNIONSHgbp7CpKw%3D

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Fort Collins named ‘Best place to start a family’ by Adventure magazine
If you are an adventurer looking for a place to start a family, then according to National Geographic Adventure magazine, Fort Collins is the place to be. In their annual review of the hottest cities to live and play in, the magazine identified Fort Collins as one of three best places for an adventurer to start a family. The magazine pointed to Old Town’s “gingerbread” Victorian houses, city parks, mountains and the Poudre River as just a few of reasons to call Fort Collins home. Published by the National Geographic Society, Adventure magazine is for active, imaginative people who like to try new outdoor pursuits and travel to wild corners of the planet.

Source: Denver Channel News, “Adventure Mag. Gives Ft. Collins Honor As 'Best Place To Start A Family” by Deb Stanley, 9/16/09.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20946447/detail.html

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