Real Estate and Housing

Loveland continues to offer high quality housing in a competitive market. In a community where growth is continuing at a steady pace, new housing developments are being constructed in all corners of city. Home values, whether brand new or a turn of the century classic, prices are steadily increasing.

Loveland-Fort Collins Area Rated #2 in U.S. for 20-Year Income Growth. According to a new study by American City Business Journals, annual incomes in the Fort Collins/Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) grew by more than 180% between 1982 and 2002, the latest year for which official figures are available. The study considered not only the overall 20-year growth rate of incomes, but also the consistency of the growth rate within the 20-year period. Listed below are the five fastest growing income areas and the 5 slowest growing income areas of the 170 MSAs analyzed in the study.

Per Capita Income Growth 1982-2002

Fastest Growing Incomes	Slowest Growing Incomes
1. Boulder, Colorado	1. Flint, Michigan
2. Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado	2. Atlantic City, New Jersey
3. Bridgeport, Connecticut	3. Rockford, Illinois
4. Santa Cruz, California	4. Stockton, California
5. Boston, Massachusetts	5. Modesto, California
Note: Of the five fastest growing income areas in the U.S., the median price of a single-family home in Fort Collins/Loveland is less than 60% of the price of homes in the other four areas.

Northern Colorado a "Best Buy" for Real Estate
If you want to live on the Front Range of Colorado (especially from Denver north), home prices are the most affordable in Larimer and Weld Counties. Here's a list of average home prices through September of 2004 for selected Front Range Cities:

Average Homes Prices

January 1 - September 30, 2004
City	Single Family	Condo/Townhome
Boulder	$528,060	$247,808
Superior	$374,955	$212,594
Lafayette	$347,955	$190,833
Louisville	$332,173	$181,691
Denver Metro	$299,100	$181,200
Fort Collins	$257,941	$158,142
Windsor	$247,758	$169,094
Loveland	$245,207	$179,693
Greeley/Weld	$209,277	$148,762
Source: Information Real Estate Services (IRES) and Metro-List

Average Residential Rent/Vacancy Rates

City	Average Rent	Vacancy Rate
Fort Collins	$723	11.0%
Loveland	$746	12.5%
Source: Colorado Department of Local Affairs (Third quarter 2004 Apartment Markets)

Commercial Vacancy Rates

City	Office	Retail	Industrial
Fort Collins	11.9%	4.3%	4.6%
Loveland	5.7%	1.9%	3.4%
The Group Inc., Real Estate Insider, Vol. 28, No. 10, December 2004 (Third quarter 2004 Apartment Markets)