This article in today's Denver Post discusses how, despite some regional variation in vacancy rates and rents, the statewide trends suggest optimism among property managers and landlords concerning future demand.
The recent uptick in multi-family housing construction in some parts of Colorado indicates that developers may be feeling the same way.
It will be interesting to watch whether this results in sustained multi-family growth.
As discussed here by The Wall Street Journal, the vast majority of Generation Y, a larger demographic than baby boomers, wants an urban lifestyle. Of those born between 1980 and the early 2000’s, 88% want to live in an urban setting rather than in traditional, suburban communities. They want a pedestrian-friendly environment. They also prefer smaller dwelling units with shared amenities to the suburban home with a large yard.
Of course, as this DenverUrbanism.com blog post suggests, as time goes on and Millennials start having their own children, their desires may change.
It will be interesting to see how this generation’s preferences impact urban and suburban residential markets.
Last month the Town of Berthoud, Colorado approved a mixed use development known as PrairieStar. The development is anticipated to contain residential housing, a school, a research and development facility, an equestrian center, retail and business components, and, most notably, a 25 acre solar farm. Developers of the project, Scott Sarbaugh and partner Richard McCabe, anticipate that PrairieStar will ultimately reach “net-zero energy consumption” status as a result of the large solar component. 
In addition to the solar farm, the PrairieStar development includes many additional green touches including a community garden, an irrigation system using nonpotable water and an energy center for recharging electric cars.
In negotiations between developers and local municipalities, this type of sustainable (and sustainably marketed) project is likely to shed a different light on the developer. Not only does it appear that sustainable developments like PrairieStar are particularly marketable to the end user, but in the current green climate they should be appealing to the local jurisdiction for entitlement approval.
Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Flickr)
Builder confidence in the mature-housing market remained weak, according to 2010 first-quarter data from the National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ Housing Market Index (55+ HMI) – a quarterly survey of the association’s builder members engaged in the production of mature-market housing.
“The 55+ segment of the market is still stalled in most regions,” said NAHB’s Chief Economist, David Crowe. “Since the builders’ potential buyers are having difficulty selling their existing property, they are unable to move to a more appropriate home.” Noting that a large share of prospective buyers for active adult housing are still in the workforce, and expect to remain so, Crowe added that “many buyers and renters are concerned about their current job security, and may be holding off on any decision to move until the economy becomes more predictable.”
Read the entire report here.
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