Denver real estate investments are strong, unlike most of the rest of the country during this economic and credit downturn. That doesn’t mean to say that Denver and Colorado have been unscathed by the recent monetary and credit events.

Last year, approximately one in every 32 homes in the Denver metro area was in foreclosure. Officials indicate they expect to see Denver foreclosures increase by about a third this year, about 11,000, up from 7,700 last year. Most of these resulted from mortgages that were sold to people who should not have been qualified to begin with, as is the case with many mortgage defaults nationwide. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage recently upgraded the metro area market status from “distressed” to “stable”. This is a sign that vacant home inventories are decreasing, and prices then become stabilized. It also means Denver home buyers have an easier time borrowing money, and they can borrow about five percent more money.

The median home value in the Denver market is approximately $291.900. The PMI risk index says that Denver home prices have only a 1 percent chance of falling, way better than the 35 percent from 2003 statistics. There have been several consecutive months of price growth, and the Denver price index dropped only about a third of the national rate, another good sign for investors.

However, Denver homes on the market are decreasing in number, a downward change as much as 20 percent from August 2007 to August 2008. There were approximately 24,648 homes for sale in the Denver home market this summer. The biggest problem, and possibly an outlet for more Denver real estate investments, is that displaced home owners are finding rentals difficult to locate, and that rental prices are increasing. Some Denver foreclosures and job cuts are resulting in home owners who need to move to another state, or for some immigrants, even a return to their home country.

Colorado in general has not been affected as much by the economic downturn as other states in the USA. Some home owners have begun to rent their homes rather than lose them, and move to cheaper apartments. Apartment and condominium investments are another good place to be in this Denver market. The Denver home market is still good for investment purposes, and as the government struggles to improve the economic and credit situation, Denver should be among the first to benefit.