Employment growth in the Denver metro area is anticipated to be slow for the 4th quarter of this 2010, according to the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The survey found 10.0% of the employers surveyed anticipated staff increases by their company in the period, while 11.0% anticipated layoffs, 75.0% anticipated no change and 4.0% were unsure. Nationwide, the survey found the first two measures to post respective marks of 15.0% and 11.0%.

The Federal Housing Administration has announced a new program for homeowners.  To begin this week, it is to aid homeowners whose mortgage now exceeds the value of their homes by allowing them to refinance 90.0% of the original mortgage amount.  To be backed by the government, it also allows investors of these instruments the choice of which mortgage owners in their portfolios will be allowed to participate, an option that is hoped to increase the likelihood of the investor to offer the mortgage borrower a reduced mortgage amount instead of foreclosure.  However, this has been met with skepticism, since investors are not known to offer reduced mortgages unless the current mortgage meets or exceeds the current home value by 40.0%.  Additionally, those interested can only qualify if their mortgage exceeds their current home value by at 15.0%.

A 57-unit luxury apartment complex is currently under construction in northwest Denver by Central Street Development.  Located at 17th and Central streets, the 6-story complex will offer units as small as 570 SF to as large as 1,400 SF, while also providing a fitness center on the 2nd floor and retail and office space.

The U.S. Labor Department reports that the private sector added more jobs than expected in August.  According to the agency, the sector increased above the expected measure of 40,000 by 27,000.  As well, job losses for the month fell below the anticipated measure of 105,000 by 51,000.  However, the addition of 550,000 new workers to the labor pool increased the rate of unemployed by 0.1% to 9.6%.

The measure of the U.S. service sector continued to stay in positive territory in August.  Performed by the Institute of Supply Management, the measure of 51.5 last months is a decrease of 2.8-points from June, but is still above the benchmark score of 50 to indicate expansion.

The staffing firm of Adecco SA reports that it is experiencing a rebound in demand for temporary workers.  According to their figures, the demand for temporary workers, which is considered a leading economic indicator, posted its highest year-over-year growth rate since 1991 with a gain of 22.0%.  Additionally, the measure of demand for light-industrial workers increased at a year-over-year growth rate of 50.0%.  The increase adds greater confidence to the idea of a rebound for the national economy.

The measure of pending sales for existing homes notched a 5.2% increase from June to post 79.4 in July, reports the National Association of Realtors.  The measure is above the measure of 74.9 anticipated for the period by economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.  The West posted the strongest gain in the period at 12.0%, and was followed in order by the Northeast at 6.0%, 4.0% in the Midwest, and the South at 1.0%.

The redevelopment of communities affected by foreclosures is to receive increased aid from the First Look program.  Announced last week by the U.S. government, the program will now give advance notice to state and local governments of foreclosed homes available for sale and allow the local governments to purchase these properties at a discount of 1.0%.

The U.S. Commerce Department reports that factory orders increased in July. Boosted by the transportation sector, the measure increased 0.1%.

The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that the month of August posted positive growth in retail sales.  According to the agency, the month experienced a gain of 3.2% from July.

The 97,957 SF self-storage facility at 3893 Steele Street in Denver has been purchased for $3.55 million, or $36/SF.  Listed by Ben Vestal and Joan Lucas of Argus Self Storage Sales Network, the property was part of a 1031 exchange between buyer Ventana Capital and seller Denver Storage Solutions LLC.

Joe Hornstein and Bobby Hutchinson of Pinnacle Real Estate aided Mann fo the Fifth Power Enterprises Inc. in the purchase of an industrial building in Denver.  Sold by Industrial Properties Inc. Inc. via Justin Krieger and Rob Edwards of Pinnacle Real Estate, the property is located at 4970 Cook Street and totals 20,000 SF.

CresaPartners agent Brendan Fisher aided Workflow One in the renewal of their lease with Cobalt Industrial REIT II For 51,200 SF.  Set for the Denver Business Center 5 of 11175 East 55th Avenue, the owner was represented by CB Richard Ellis agents Mike Camp and Jim Bolt.

Vacancy for rental housing units in the Denver metro area increased to 3.8% for the 2nd quarter of 2010, according to a report conducted by the Colorado Division of Housing. Of the counties used for the measure, Boulder/Broomfield boasted the highest average rent ($1,518.43) and the highest vacancy rate (8.6%), while Denver posted the lowest rental rate ($962.91) and Douglas and Arapahoe both posted the lowest measures for vacancy at 2.9%. The average monthly rental rate of $1,027.78 for the period is a decline of $7.78 from the 1st quarter measure and an increase of $11.43 in the 2nd quarter of 2009.

The state of Colorado posted negative growth in the regional Business Conditions Index in August, 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 3.2-point decrease in the measure from July to post 53.0.  However, it is the 11th consecutive month in which the measure stayed above the benchmark score of 50 to indicate positive growth.

The Arvada Marketplace East retail center in Arvada was exchanged between buyer NewMark Merrill Mountain States and seller CapMark Bank for $3,350,000, or $20/SF.  Totaling 164,611 SF at the NEC of I-70 and Wadsworth Boulevard, the purchase was performed by managing director and principal Sandy Sigal and director of leasing and acquisitions Jim Patton, with representation performed by Cushman & Wakefield agent Timothy Richey.

The U.S. Labor Department reports that a lower number of metro areas experienced unemployment increases in July.  According to the agency, the total number of cities posting jobless rate increases decreased from June to 176 in the month.  Additionally, the survey found 152 of the 372 metro areas surveyed posted jobless rate decreases in the period.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the number of applications for new mortgages continued to rise last week.  Led by phenomenally low interest rates, the 2.85 increase in refinance applications and the 1.8% increase in new home mortgage applications affected the overall measure by 2.7%.

The index of national factory activity increased 0.8-points from July to post 56.3 in August, reports the Institute of Supply Management.  It is the 13th consecutive month the measure has stayed above the benchmark score of 50 to indicate positive growth.

The Broomfield Corporate Center office building has been exchanged for $12.85 million, or $138/SF.  Totaling 92,800 SF at 11525 Main Street, California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau sold the property to Columbia Industrial Properties Midwest via Grubb & Ellis Co. agents Riki Hashimoto, Dan Grooters, Ed Suharsju and Seth McKinnon.

The most recent measure of home-price appreciation by S&P/Case-Shiller found the Denver market to continue to improve.  According to the June 20-city reading, the 1.8% gain in the year-over-year measure was its 8th consecutive increase and placed it at 11th among the markets in the period, while its 0.7% gain from May was only its 4th consecutive monthly gain.  As well, the average rate of increase for home appreciation in the 20-city measure surpassed both measures for the Denver market with respective readings of 4.2% and 1.0%.

The measure of home price appreciation posted its 3rd consecutive month of increases with a 1.0% gain in June from May and an increase of 3.6% in the past year, report the firms of Standard & Poors and Case-Shiller.  The 20-city measure found price appreciation occurred in 19 of the markets from May, with Las Vegas being the only market to decline in the period with a measure of 0.6%.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reports that its measure of net income made by banks increased to a near 3-year high in the 2nd quarter.  Led by big banks, the measure overcame $4.4 billion decline recorded in 2nd quarter of 2009 by $26 billion in the period.  Additionally, while the list of problem banks increased from the 1st quarter measure of 775 to 829, the 1.4% decline in lending in the period is far less than the 7.5% decline recorded in the year-ago measure, indicating that the lending standards for some forms of credit are loosening.

The index of consumer confidence increased 2.5-points from July to post 53.5 in August, reports the Conference Board, who conducts the survey. The measure is used to gauge consumer spending.

The 20,653 SF office building at 9563 South Kingston Court in Englewood has been purchased for $2.5 million, or $121/SF.  Located in the Meridian International Business Center and known as Offices on the Fairway - Building B, buyer Apollo Energy purchased the property via Tony Oliver of Oliver Real Estate from Fairway Office Properties LLC, who was represented by Ron Allum and Richard Schepis of Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate.