With stifled housing prices and a steady supply of foreclosed homes on the market, buying instead of renting has become a more attractive option for parents whose children are entering or in college.  When their children have graduated and moved on, parents can rent out the house to other students or sell.  Either way, they are likely to come out with more than they ut into it.  Call The Group, Inc. for a brochure, Wake-Up Money, if you are interested in learning more about buying a home for your college student.

The Group, Inc. was recently ranked No. 95 on REAL Trends’ Top 500 Largest Brokers ranked by closed sales volume in the

U.S. for 2007.With $1.24 billion in closed sales last year, The Group moved up from the 107th position in 2006.Of the Largest Independents (not affiliated with a national franchise) list of 32 real estate firms, The Group ranked No. 9, closing 4,258 transaction sides last year.The complete Real Trends report can be viewed at www.realtrends.com.REAL Trends, Inc. is a publishing and communications company considered to be a leading source of analysis and information on the residential brokerage industry. REAL Trends is based in Denver, Colorado. 

The Group, Inc. Real Estate is locally owned by its 225 broker associates/partners and employees.It has 6 offices in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.

For Further Information, Please Contact Helen Gray or Sharianne Daily atThe Group, Inc. Real Estate 970-229-0700 or Stephen H. Murray, Editor, RealTrends 303-741-1000.

While the rest of the country is experiencing soaring inventories of unsold homes, Northern Colorado actually has 15.57% fewer homes for sale now than 2 years ago – 4,734 in March ’08 versus 5,607 in March ’06.  A decline in the inventory of unsold homes is an early indicator of a housing recovery – and rising prices.  Other early signs of a housing recovery in Northern Colorado we are seeing incude:

• Residential vacancy rates are dropping;
• Residential rental rates are rising as rental housing gets tighter;
• Rising employment – more than 5,000 more people are employed in Northern Colorado today than 1 year ago;
• New major employment announcements
• And multiple contracts on ‘cream puff’ properties – if it’s sharp and priced right in certain price ranges, it’s gone. 

The oldest law of economics is supply and demand, and right now our region is experiencing a drop in supply and a rise in demand.  Rising residential prices cannot be far behind.