Robert Allen of the Summit Daily News reported Feb. 21 that although demand for affordable housing in Summit County has dropped for households making more than 100 percent of the area median income (AMI), a pair of affordable housing projects valued at a combined $31 million could break ground there as soon as this spring.

Excerpts from Allen’s article follow:

Overall demand for local attainable housing appears to have lessened since the economic downturn, but it’s as steady as ever for folks below the county’s median income levels.

“It’s not the frantic demand it was for anything within the attainable price range,” said Jennifer Kermode, executive director for the Summit Combined Housing Authority.

She said demand remains high for people at 100 percent ($85,100 for a family of four) and below the Area Median Income.

The housing authority’s most recent demand analysis was published in 2007. Kermode said that by the end of April, it’s anticipated that a snapshot will be available including information such as housing inventory and wages “for a baseline trend analysis” to help with planning.

The countywide target is to build 2,500 more attainable housing units; existing units number about 770.

New projects

Both the $12 million Valley Brook development in Breckenridge and Frisco’s roughly $19 million Peak One development are expected to begin construction as early as this spring.

At Valley Brook, 26 of the 42 units have been reserved. Most of them are through the federal Housing and Urban Development low-income program available to people at a bit less than 80 percent of AMI.

Units range to accommodate people up to 120 percent of AMI.

Kermode said most of the reservations have been made by young “start-up families.”

Construction anticipated last year was delayed after a falling-out between the developer and previous contractor.

Kermode said the development is expected to be back before Breckenridge Town Council by March 9.

Peak One development homes are to be available to people making 80 percent to 160 percent of AMI.

For more information about affordable housing including the AMI scale, visit www.summithousing.us.

Janet Urquhart of the Aspen Times newspaper reported March 1 that although lodging occupancy rates in Aspen were off less than 2 percent in Aspen during the month of January, the average daily rate paid by vacationers was off more than 6 percent.
Discount promotions contributed substantially to a trend that has seen the money taken in by lodging operators dip more than actual occupancy.

Excerpts from Urquhart’s article dig into the impact of lower ADR’s on the Aspen economy:
Average occupancy for the month of January was about 68 percent — just 1.6 percent down from the same month a year ago. The average daily rate, or ADR, however, was down 6.4 percent, according to Bill Tomcich, president of local reservations agency Stay Aspen Snowmass. The ADR is a reflection of what lodging properties are charging, and a 6.4 percent drop is significant, he said.

The resort should expect more of the same in February and March, Tomcich told the Aspen Chamber Resort Association board of directors.

If the resort’s occupancy rates hold steady, or even climb a bit, the lodging sector will still bring in noticeably less revenue than those occupancy levels would have meant a couple of years ago. If occupancy rates are down, the impact is even greater.

“That has a huge ripple effect,” Tomcich said. “It’s something that everyone has had to adapt to.”

“The trickle-down effect on something like this is enormous,” agreed Charlie Case, innkeeper at the Annabelle Inn. It translates into smaller hotel staffs and fewer dollars in the pockets of bellhops and front-desk clerks, not to mention a drop in the sales tax revenues that fund everything from Aspen’s free buses to its street plowing.

HomeSense Realty has announced the addition of two real estate agents, Bill Pyle and Carolyn Bird, in Steamboat Springs.

Pyle, a 20-year Steamboat Springs real estate veteran, said he chose HomeSense Realty because of its innovations and commitment to its agents.
“We are excited to be part of a growing and supportive national brand and one that allows us freedom to run our business in a way that best serves the customer,” Pyle said.
He is also active as a PSIA Fully Certified ski instructor for the Steamboat Ski Area with 20 years of teaching experience. The son of a Naval aviator, Pyle grew up all over the world and spent 8 years as a commercial diver in the North Sea and throughout Europe before settling in Steamboat in 1989.
Bird earned her real estate license in 2006 and brings more than 19 years of sales and marketing experience to HomeSense. Bird’s professional background includes positions in the pharmaceutical, ski and advertising industries before she moved to Steamboat in 2007 and working with local real estate developers to help launch, market and sell new-construction luxury real estate. She has lived in ski towns and cities throughout the country and worldwide, including Big Sky, Mont., Crested Butte, Chicago, Boulder, and Chamonix and Bordeaux, France.
Bird is a member of the Steamboat Rotary Club and is active with its International Youth Exchange Program. She speaks French and is also a licensed Realtor in California.
HomeSense Realty operates from 60 offices in 10 states. The company provides real estate services in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. To learn more about HomeSense® Realty, visit the website at www.homesenserealty.com.

Cris White has been named by the Board of Directors as the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority’s (CHFA) to head the organization.

Officially, he is the finalist for its open executive director/chief executive officer position. His official appointment will be made pending the state mandated 14-day notification period and barring any information that would affect his candidacy for the position.

The position became open after Roy Alexander, CHFA executive director of almost nine years retired in December of last year.

“CHFA is uniquely positioned to serve Coloradans who are seeking affordable housing during these challenging economic times. And we have an even greater opportunity to help the state in its economic development endeavors,” said CHFA Board of Directors Chair, Joel Rosenstein. “We believe that Cris has the right skills, vision and experience to lead CHFA and to help Colorado families achieve their dreams.”

White was appointed the interim executive director and COO in January. He has been CHFA’s chief operating officer since January 2001. He joined CHFA in 1988, serving in various capacities until January 1996. He worked as a business development executive with an international equipment and real estate mortgage lender, and then rejoined CHFA in September 1996 as the director of asset management. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Regis University. He lives in Denver.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in January increased 15 percent from the same month last year, and a surge in cash-strapped homeowners who’ve fallen behind on mortgages could be on the way.
More than 315,000 households received a foreclosure-related notice in January, RealtyTrac Inc. reported. That number is down nearly 10 percent from 349,000 in December, which saw the third highest total since the company began tracking foreclosure data in 2005.
In January, one in 409 homes were sent a filing, which includes default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions. Banks repossessed more than 87,000 homes last month, down 5 percent from December but still up 31 percent from January 2009.
January marked the 11th straight month with more than 300,000 properties receiving a foreclosure filing. The numbers could stay above that level as unemployed homeowners who have tried to keep up with their mortgages finally start missing monthly payments.
Mortgage financier Fannie Mae reported in late January that the rate of borrowers who have a conventional loan on a house and are seriously delinquent was 5.29 percent in November, more than doubling the rate of 2.13 percent in November 2008. Borrowers are considered seriously delinquent if they are past due by three months or more, or are in foreclosure.
“There’s a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline, and the number is going to continue to get bigger,” said Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight.
Last month’s foreclosure activity followed a pattern similar to that of a year ago, when a double-digit percentage increase in December was followed by a 10 percent drop in January.
The dip in January’s numbers may be due to processing delays by lenders during the end-of-year holidays, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, which is based in Irvine, Calif.

The Denver office of real estate auctioneer Sheldon Good & Co., will include resort homes in Keystone, Breckenridge and Arrowhead in the March 19 auction of seven properties.

The Vail Daily reported Thursday that the auction is part of a liquidation required by the chapter seven bankruptcy of a members-only destination club called High County Club.

According to Sheldon Good’s Web page the properties will be sold regardless of the amount of the highest bid. Suggested opening bids are as low as $150,000.

The properties include a two-bedroom condo in the Aspenwood Lodge in Arrowhead Village. There is a four-bedroom single-family home in Breckenridge on the auction block as well as a three-bedroom townhome with traditional architecture in the Settlers’ Creek neighborhood of Keystone.

All of the details can be found at Sheldon Good’s web page.