Merry Christmas from the Sears Real Estate family!  Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a prosperous New Year!

#20.  Greeley, Colorado

The forces lifting the housing market along Colorado's Front Range are spilling into Greeley, located about an hour's drive northwest of Denver. Home prices here never got out of control during the housing boom and reset early in the housing recession. Also, the region dealt early and effectively with its foreclosure situation.

Now, positive economic forces are taking hold along Colorado's Front Range. In fact, all the main drivers of new home construction, home prices, jobs, population, and incomes, are expected to turn solidly positive in Greeley next year.

Home to Northern Colorado University and the North Colorado Medical Center, Greeley is projected to have some of the strongest population growth (1.8 percent) in the country. With a median home price of about $140,000 this summer, Greeley is an affordable alternative to Denver. A strengthening local economy will lift the median income here by 4.2 percent.

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We would like to welcome Rachelle Fisher to the Sears Real Estate family!  Rachelle has been in the real estate industry since 2001 and specializes in

 

Click here to read her profile.

Due to the severity of the early winter storm this week, significant damage has occurred to trees in the community.

The City’s Public Works crews have prepared a location at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley so that city residents can drop off their tree limbs and branches.  The free drop site is located at 14^th Avenue and A Street on the southwest corner across the street from the entrance to Centennial Village Museum. It will open beginning October 26 at noon and will remain open through November 15.

In addition to offering the free drop site, City crews will also be assisting residents until November 7 picking up downed limbs at the curb in all city neighborhoods.  Residents are asked to move their limbs to the curb for pick up.  Elderly and disabled residents will be eligible for additional assistance clearing the tree limbs from their property. For assistance, these residents can use the City’s Snow & Ice Hot Line:  351-SNOW (7669).

Residents are reminded to be cautious around any downed trees or limbs as dangerous conditions may exist, particularly where power lines are nearby.  If residents see downed lines or hazardous conditions involving overhead lines or poles, they are asked to call Xcel Energy at 1- 800-895-4999.

(Pictured from left to right: Shelley Ball- Paddock, Brooke Delisle, Fara Dyer, Ann Stewart, Dori Workman, Shelley Costigan and Elaine Bradley)

1 in 8 people in Weld County struggle with hunger.  That is just one of the many reasons Sears Real Estate volunteers monthly at the Weld Food Bank packing emergency food boxes.

To recognize Hunger Action Month, which was in September, Sears Real Estate agents and staff donated 102 jars of peanut butter to the Weld Food Bank.  Every little bit helps!

If you're interested in learning more about the Weld Food Bank visit www.weldfoodbank.org.

Greeley-based JBS Swift and Co. has been recognized as the International Packer Marketer of the Year by Certified Angus Beef LLC.

Source: www.ncbr.com

The Windsor Business Expo and Trade Show was a huge success again this year!  The winner of our gift basket was Kathy Zubrek of Windsor!  Thanks to Lisa Michie, Elaine Bradley, Chris Haug, Clare Hartmann, Fara Dyer and Shannon Blesener for their time at the Expo this year!

Congratulations to John D. Valencia for receiving his 25 years of service pin at the Greeley Area Realtor Association Installation Breakfast on September 21, 2011.

Sears Real Estate is proud to have John in our family.

Sears Real Estate toured the AIMS Automotive and Technology Center on Thursday, September 15th.  A huge thank you to Director, Fred Brown, for his exciting and thorough tour!  If you haven't had to a chance to visit the facility we would highly recommend it!

 

We loved having Karyn Ruth White (motivational comedian) join us on Monday for our morning session (Realtors only) of FinishSTRONG! She was absolutely amazing! Just a reminder--we still have spots available for our evening session of FinishSTRONG. It's open to anyone in the community! Don't miss out..Call Chalice Springfield at 970-330-7700 if you're interested.

Click here for more information on the class!

Greeley/Evans DOM...103

Windsor DOM...........134

Loveland DOM..........118

Ft. Collins DOM.........111

Northern Colorado foreclosure filings (both Larimer and Weld Counties) have declined 30% in 2011 compared to 2010 (January through June).  

Larimer County (Jan-June)

   2010.....858

   2011.....650

Weld County (Jan-June)

   2010.....1456

   2011.....961

Source: Colorado Dept. of Local Affairs: Division of Housing

 

 

Ann Stewart, Mary McPhee and Brad Hiett

We finished another successful summer of Neighborhood Nights!  We always enjoy sponsoring this wonderful event and hope you all enjoyed the movies and concert as well.  Thanks to the City of Greeley for putting this event together and thank you to the other sponsors for their support!

See you next summer!

 

Weld County provides 10,518 manufacturing jobs, with annual average wages of $46,594.   In contrast, average wages for all Weld industries is $40,369.

In the past five years, manufacturing has grown 1% in Weld County, while declining 3.4% in Colorado and 3.9% in the U.S.  

30 Year Fixed                       4.125%

15 Year Fixed                       3.250%                  

FHA/VA 30 Year Fixed      4.125%        

Conventional rates based on loan amounts of 80% and a 740 credit score;
primary residence; full documentation and are subject to change at any time. 

 

Fort Collins has again been recognized as one of the best places to ride a bicycle, this time by TheStreet.com.

The Choice City landed at No. 3 on the list of the 10 best bicycle cities with nearly 10 percent of the population riding bicycles.

Fort Collins came in behind Eugene, Ore., at No. 2, and Boulder, at No. 1, with 12.3 percent of its residents riding bikes.

Fort Collins has 7,776 bicycle commuters, which accounts for 9.9 percent of the population, according to the article.

To read more click here.