A program set to expire in early June has been extended for another year, reports the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  Known as the Home Affordable Refinance Program, it is designed to provide refinancing options for those whose home loan is up to 25.0% greater than the actual value of the home.

The Regional Transportation District has selected the dates of March 11, March 17, and March 18 for public meetings regarding the Northwest Rail line that would run from Union Station in downtown Denver to Boulder and Longmont.  To begin at 6 p.m., the meetings are to include formal presentations of the proposal.

The state of Colorado posted positive growth in the regional Business Conditions Index survey in February, reports Ernie Goss of the Goss Institute for Economic Research (Creighton University) in his survey of economic health for the states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.  According to the survey, the Colorado economy clocked a 2.6-point increase in the measure from January to post 58.8.  Additionally, the regional measure posted a 3.0-point increase in the period to 58.6.

The index of national factory activity fell 1.9-points from January to post 56.5 in February, indicating slower improvement in the sector.  The index experienced a 6.4-point decline to 59.5 in its index of new orders for manufactured goods, while its index of employment improved 2.8-points.  Conducted by the Institute of Supply Management, the index considers all scores above 50 to indicate growth in the sector.

The measure of personal income growth continues to improve, reports the U.S. Commerce Department.  The agency reports the 0.1% gain in the measure in January is its fourth consecutive monthly gain and raises the volume by $11.4 billion.  While the measure is below expectations of a 0.4% gain by economists, the accompanying 0.5% increase in spending by individuals is above expectations for the period.

The allocation of $5.5 million in funds remaining from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will allow for the early completion of a new interchange for Santa Fe Drive.  To begin the first phase in earnest this June for completion in February 2012, the project is to aid in mitigating traffic by providing a flyover ramp connecting southbound Santa Fe with the eastbound lanes of E-470 and later is to be followed by a left-turn lane from northbound Santa Fe to westbound E-470.

The National Association of Realtors reports that the western region of the U.S. (which includes Colorado) experienced a decline in the number of existing homes sold in January.  According to the agency, the measure declined 5.2% from the previous month, but relative to January 2008, the measure is an increase of 7.6%.  Additionally, the median sale price of $203,400 in the period is a decline from the year-ago measure of 5.8%.  The national measure for the period declined by 7.2% but increased from the year-ago measure by 11.5%.

The Denver market is better positioned than many other markets across the nation to weather the affects of the high delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities, according to Trepp LLC, a commercial real estate data and analytics firm in New York.  The company reports that the 3.09% delinquency rate recorded for the Denver market in January 2010 was the lowest when compared to the markets of Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, which posted respective measures of 4.9%, 7.6%, 14.2%, 5.3%, and 14.2% for the period.  Since CMBS loans comprise one-fourth of all commercial real estate debt, the low measure is considered a positive attribute to the recovery of the local economy.

The National Association of Realtors reports that its measure of existing home sales posted a decline of 7.2% in January.  The decline, which brings the seasonally adjusted rate of sales for the period to 5.05 million, was accompanied by a median sales price of $164,700 and a supply of 7.8 months.

The U.S. Commerce Department has revised its measure of Gross Domestic Product growth for the 4th quarter of 2009. The agency now reports that the measure increased by 5.9% in the period, which is stronger than the previous estimate of 5.7%.

Vacancy for rental housing units in the Denver metro area stood at 5.5% in the 4th quarter of 2009, according to a report conducted by the Colorado Division of Housing. Of the counties in the measure, Boulder/Broomfield boasted the highest average rent ($1,631.30) and Douglas the lowest vacancy rate (3.0%), while Denver posted the lowest rental rate ($952.27) and the highest vacancy (6.8%). The average monthly rental rate for the period increased from the year-ago measure of $995.24 to post $1,016.77.

A index of construction activity experienced an increase in January for the western states from the year-ago measure.  Conducted by the American Institute of Architects, the Architectural Billings Index increased 2.2-points from January 2009 to post 40.5, noting that the Midwest (48.0), Northeast (45.7), and South (41.3) surpassed the West for the period.

The nation experienced its lowest annual sales rate for new homes since 1963 in January, reports the U.S. Commerce Department.  According to the agency, the rate of 309,000 new home sales in the period is an 11.2% decline from December and brings the year-over-year measure down 6.1%.  However, while the western states (which includes Colorado) posted an 11.9% decline from the previous month with an annualized sales level of 74,000 new homes, the 13.8% increase clocked for the year-over-year measure was the highest of all the regions in the U.S.

An equity deal valued at $2.6 billion is anticipated to save General Growth Properties from bankruptcy and takeover.  Made with Brookfield Asset Management, the agreement will transfer a 30.0% stake of the company to Brookfield, create a new company from the noncore assets of General Growth, and offer $15 shares of Brookfield stock to shareholders of General Growth.  Completion of the agreement is awaiting approval of the bankruptcy court.

The Denver-Aurora market stayed at 15th in the annual ranking of traffic congestion among 100 U.S. cities this year, reports Inrix, a traffic-data firm.  The measure placed New York at the top of the ranking with the cities falling consecutively behind being Chicago, Washington, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle-Tacoma, and Philadelphia.

First American CoreLogic reports that the number of homes in Colorado whose value has fallen below that of their mortgage has climbed to 20.2%, or 227,184 million mortgages.  Performed at the end of 2009, the measure of 70.0% for the state of Nevada placed it at 1st, while the next highest-ranking states were Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and California.

An Intergovernmental agreement was approved between the city of Thornton and Adams 12 Five Star Schools at a recent meeting.  Located along the I-25 corridor at 144th Avenue, the city will purchase the Adams 12 bus facility site for $7.26 million with the intent of benefiting from the sales taxes of businesses that establish in that area.  In return, Adams 12 Five Star Schools is to purchase a site along 126th Avenue and Washington Street totaling slightly more than 19 acres for $1.96 million that is to serve as the location of new transportation facility.

The outlook for the home market continues to darken, according to recent data by the U.S. Commerce Department.  The agency reports that the seasonally adjusted sales pace of 309,000 units for new homes in January was its third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest ever recorded for the measure, bringing the rate of decline for the period to 11.2%.  The measure trounced expectations by economists of a 5.0% increase from December, and concluded new home sales for 2009 as the worst on record at 374,000.

A recent study indicates that credit-card payments are now given a higher priority by consumers in Colorado than mortgage payments.  Performed by TransUnion, the study found that the rate of delinquency for mortgages has increased from 3.07% from the 4th quarter of 2007 to almost 5.0% for the same period of 2009 but stood at only 1.07% for credit cards.  The study concludes that consumers are favoring paying their credit cards over their mortgages due to their higher practical value, as the payment structure for credit cards maintains the ability of the borrower to spend when he is short on income by accepting partial payment of the full amount due.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that January marked a decrease in Colorado for the number of businesses that laid off at least 50 persons.  The agency reports the number of businesses that met the benchmark decreased by 11 from December to 13, affecting a total of 1,301 persons.  The total number of jobs lost by mass layoffs in the period is less than the 1,941 reached in December but greater than the measure of 1,064 reached in November.