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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 93 IN THE NEWS Inspired by Broncos- Seahawks Face-Off, Analysts Compare Markets In February, the sports world buzzed with comparisons of the two teams that faced off in the Super Bowl. Analysts bandied about everything from the number of veteran players to yards gained during the season. At the same time, ZipRealty, a national online real estate brokerage based in Emeryville, California, looked at the stats to compare the two teams' home housing markets. "Both Denver and Seattle have elite pro football teams that fought hard on the field all season to win championships in their respective divisions, which earned them a Super Bowl berth," said Van Davis, president of brokerage operations for ZipRealty. "But we wanted to take a closer look at these two champions to see how they perform off the field, in the housing market," he said. ZipRealty aligned housing metrics with football metrics to determine which market "gains more yards," or has larger properties; has "the most veteran players," or has fewer new homes; "whose players move the fastest," or which market's homes are selling fastest; has the "most expensive players," or most expensive homes; and which "coaching staff is best," or which market's real estate agents perform best. Denver's market pulled ahead of Seattle at least marginally in four out of the five categories. Denver's homes are larger—averaging 74,636 square feet compared to Seattle's 60,754 square feet. 32 percent, according to data from Lender Processing Services. e percentage of underwater homeowners in both San Francisco and Oakland has declined rapidly. In San Francisco, 2.5 percent of homeowners were underwater as of the third quarter of 2013, down from 9 percent in the third quarter of 2012. In Oakland, the rate dropped from 29.7 percent to 13.9 percent over the same time period. San Francisco has been inundated with state and national aid to help it recover from the housing crisis. "e administration's broad approach to stabilizing the housing market has been a real help to homeowners in the San Francisco metropolitan area," the Obama administration said in its January report. In addition to the 73,000 homeowners in the MSA who received assistance through the Making Home Affordable Program, the metro received $36 million from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. e metro also benefited from the $1.98 billion California received from the Hardest Hit Fund. California also received $20 billion for refinancing, short sales, and loan modifications from the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement. Denver has a slightly higher percentage of new construction than Seattle—5.4 percent compared to Seattle's 5.3 percent. When it comes to speed, Denver took a notable lead, with homes selling in almost half the time as in Seattle. Homes in Denver spend a median 18 days on the market, and homes in Seattle spend a median 32 days on the market. ZipRealty also compared agent ratings in the two cities, finding a very close race. Denver slipped ahead just a bit with a 4.91 out of five, while Seattle earned a 4.84 out of five. e one category where Seattle won was "most expensive players." e median sales price in Seattle is $285,849, while the median price in Denver is $259,000, according to ZipRealty. New App Looks to Hasten Short Sale Process ShortSave, Inc., announced a new application aimed at shortening the time for a one-lien short sale or loan modification transaction. e Colorado-based company expects the ShortSave application to be available later this year. e average short sale takes 165 days, a time period ShortSave anticipates cutting to a paltry 36 days. e application is projected to save a non-performing note investor $1,200– 1,800 in lost interest on an average loan. "is industry needs innovation, not iteration," said Karl Falk, ShortSave's co- founder, chairman, and CEO. "To make a pivotal change in this industry, a fundamental shift has to happen: e default process has to be digitized." e company has already received national attention. Inman Real Estate Connect NY 2014 featured ShortSave, Inc., as a "New Kid On the Block," recognizing the firm as one of "Eight Startups at Are Changing the Real Estate Game." e application will use data and decisions criteria—rather than people and paperwork—to approve or disapprove a loss mitigation or loan reallocation decision. Colorado RANK: 51 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate DECEMBER 2013 1.45% 0.64% 6.2 YEAR AGO 1.71% 1.07% 7.5 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -15.4% -40.1% -1.3 Top County LAS ANIMAS COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate DECEMBER 2013 1.86% 2.69% YEAR AGO 3.33% 2.98% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -44.2% -9.7% Top Core-Based Statistical Area MONTROSE, CO 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate DECEMBER 2013 1.42% 1.67% YEAR AGO 1.86% 1.97% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -23.7% -15.4% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the December 2013 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary December 2013 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Colorado Marina Dubrova, CRS, CDPE, CIPS Broker/ Owner 333 S Allison Pkwy, #201 Lakewood, CO 80226 720-583-6010 offi ce | 720-583-2672 fax 720-936-0540 direct | 866-870-0933 e-fax www.coloradohomeswesell.com In the month of January, the Denver, Colorado, market had the lowest month supply of housing inventory at 1.1, according to RE/MAX. KNOW THIS

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