"60 MINUTES" ON THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS - HOW WE GOT HERE

If you have spent any time on this blog, you know a couple of things:

1) Colorado has been hammered with foreclosures over the past three years
2) Because our market was essentially flat or declining in value, those with escalating payments were dead on the arrival of their first payment reset
3) It's getting better now (here in Colorado), finally...

I have shifted a lot of my efforts over the past six months to working with investors and first-time buyers who are taking advantage of these foreclosure bargains. Some of the discounts we have been able to take advantage of have been just jaw dropping.

Fact is, there are two markets in Colorado right now.

The traditional resale market... which is quite challenging, unless you have an amazing home or are willing to seriously discount...

And the foreclosure market... which is where the action is at today.

Because the country's major markets are now at the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, "60 Minutes" finally got around to covering the subject this past weekend.

And if you don't live and die with daily updates from Inman News and RIS Media, this report will go a long way toward explaining what happened and why there is so much pain going around today.

By the way, Beazer Homes announced today that they are shutting down their mortgage division in the face of a class action lawsuit. A little late, but a nice first step...

CLICK HERE to view the "60 Minutes" report.

WANT A DAILY REAL ESTATE EDUCATION?

A good stock broker watches the market every day - so does a good real estate broker. I probably have 25 different real estate sites marked as favorites, as well as receiving daily news feeds online from 6 to 10 different industry news sources.

If you're looking for daily news to raise your real estate IQ, bookmark a few of the following sites:

NEWS AND TRENDS

http://www.inman.com/

http://www.rismedia.com/
http://www.1000wattconsulting.com/

http://www.freddiemac.com/

http://www.mrlandlord.com/

FORECLOSURES

http://www.foreclosuregazette.com/

http://www.foreclosures.com/

BLOGS

http://www.housingpanic.blogspot.com/

http://www.coloradorealestateinvestingblog.com/

http://www.blogs.RockyMountainNews.com/denver/rebchook

http://www.RealEstateClubLA.com/blog.asp

Of course, there are many more great sources for information. It's important to constantly upgrade your knowledge base, to try on new hats when it comes to theories and thinking, especially in a market as full of opportunity as the one we are in.

Clearly understanding the market we are in today will determine what kind of wealth you are able to accure three, five or ten years down the road. Do you know where we are in the real estate cycle right now? Are you ready to take action?

HELLO RE/MAX MASTERS!

I think it's safe to say the biggest decisions are accompanied with the biggest feelings of relief. This week, I made a move I had dared myself to make for a long time - I have changed offices, moving over to RE/MAX Masters, which is the top RE/MAX office in the Denver region.

Why would I do it? Well, frankly, I have these strange flashbacks to people who have been influential on me through the years... and one of those voices was bouncing around in my head at the end of last year.

"If you're not growing, you're dying..."

Those were some of the first words I heard when I entered into the real estate business back in 1994. And man, are they ever true.

RE/MAX associates are involved in 32% of all transactions in the state of Colorado. Total market domination. On average, RE/MAX agents outperform agents in my old franchise by a 2 to 1 margin. And yes, it costs a heck of a lot more to be a RE/MAX agent... but in reality, the difference between a "cost" and an "investment" is simply what you do with it... and for me, this is going to be a great investment.

Special thanks to Kim W and Peggy T at Masters for their help in making this move possible. Now it's up to me to hit some pretty lofty goals for 2008!

2008 MARKET UPDATE - PMI RISK INDEX FAVORABLE

The PMI Group, which provides residential mortgage insurance for mortgage lenders, released a report this month detailing the probability of falling prices in the nation’s top 50 housing markets, based on its delinquencies and exposure in each of these markets. And while markets like Riverside, CA (94% chance of declining prices) and Las Vegas, NV (89% chance of declining prices) made the headlines, Denver was tucked away at the bottom of the report with just a 1% chance of further price erosion over the next two years.

2008 MARKET UPDATE - POPULATION GROWTH CONTINUES

According to the University of Colorado, our state grew by nearly 100,000 people in 2007, with nearly 60,000 of those residents moving here from other places. That marked the first time since 2001 that migration outpaced new births in terms of population growth, an important fact since families that move here have immediate housing needs.

2008 MARKET UPDATE - BELIEVE IT OR NOT, INVENTORY IS FALLING

With over 24,000 homes for sale in the Denver MLS to start the year, there is still plenty of inventory to choose from. But, according to the Wall Street Journal, Denver remains one of only two major markets in the country (Boston being the other) with fewer homes on the market today than one year ago. And in the condominium market, inventory is down over 8% compared to a year ago, indicating a significant firming at the bottom of the market, which had been hardest hit by foreclosures.