The Boulder real estate market posted slight gains in terms of home sales in the first quarter of 2010, but was also forced to confront its low but steadily increasing rate of foreclosure. According to an April 21, 2010 article from the Daily Camera, “Home sales in Boulder and Broomfield counties increased slightly during the first quarter, modest gains that could be mirroring small improvements in the economy, local real estate experts say. A total of 565 single-family homes sold in January through March, up nearly 12 percent from the 505 sold during the first quarter in 2009, according to Boulder Area Realtor Association data.” The piece by Alicia Wallace went on to say that “Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Realtor association, said the latest transactions appeared to be buoyed by a pickup in momentum during the fourth quarter and a better-than-expected March…The majority of the sales remain in the lower end of the market, and sales prices remain a bit depressed, Hotard added.”

The rate of foreclosures should not be a huge problem for Boulder homes for sale, as its foreclosure rate remains low. According to a May 13, 2010 article from the Daily Camera, “Boulder County had the lowest foreclosure rate among metropolitan Colorado counties during the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released Thursday by the state’s division of housing. Boulder County recorded one foreclosure sale per 605 households, the lowest rate in the Denver metro area.” The article by Alicia Wallace also noted that “During the first quarter, Boulder County had 345 foreclosure filings made and 194 foreclosure sales occur. Although those figures represent increases of 18.6 percent and 94 percent, respectively, from the first quarter of 2009, state official caution basing any conclusions on the increases.”

The foreclosure bump was also reported in a May 5, 2010 article in the Boulder County Business Report. Although it should not devastate the market, the piece by David Clucas noted that “Foreclosures rose in April, but for the first time this year the filings didn’t set a record high for the month. Boulder and Broomfield counties reported 160 foreclosure filings in April, up from 152 in March, but down from April 2009, which notched a record high from the month with 172 filings.”

The Denver real estate market is facing mixed signals, meaning that the quasi-recovery after the nationwide economic recession has not been particularly strong. According to a November 19, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal, “Colorado saw 12,468 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, setting a new all-time quarterly record, but completed foreclosures so far in 2009 are down from last year, the state Division of Housing reported Thursday. It’s the fourth consecutive quarter in which statewide foreclosure filings have increased, according to the state’s latest ‘official’ release of statewide foreclosure statistics as mandated earlier this year by the states Legislature. Colorado’s third-quarter filings total is up 3 percent from the second quarter, which in turn was up 15 percent from the first quarter. The new filings brought Colorado’s total for 2009 foreclosure filings to 35,112 for the nine months ending Sept. 30, up 18 percent from the same period of 2008.”

Denver homes for sale were more popular among prospective home buyers, according to a November 10, 2009 article in the Dallas Morning News. The piece, written by Steve Brown, noted that “Pre-owned home sales in North Texas were up 11 percent in October from a year ago – the first year-over-year gain since September 200 and the best sign yet that the local housing market has turned the corner. Real estate agents sold more than 6,300 single-family homes through the Multiple Listing Service last month, according to numbers released Monday by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. October’s increase was only the second year-over-year rise in home sales in three years.”

Real estate in Denver also faced decreasing home prices, according to a November 24, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal. The piece, composed by Renee McGaw, stated that “Home prices in the Denver area declined 0.5 percent in September from August, a slight pullback following six straight months of improvement, according to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price data released Tuesday. Some easing is to be expected following the seasonally strong summer selling months, officials said. Denver home prices were down 1.2 percent in September compared with the same month a year ago.”