As a new year peers over the horizon, the hope is that 2012 will bring with it a more prosperous year for the Northern Colorado (Ft. Collins, Greeley, Loveland & Windsor) real estate market. Since the peak year of 2005, overall sales activity has dwindled each year, with the years 2009 through 2011 having reached some level of stability.
Home mortgage interest rates have trended down over the course of 2011. The traditional thirty-year-fixed-rate loan peaked at a tad over 5% in February and currently resides at around 4%. Using the average sales price of a single family home in Northern Colorado ($238,257) with a 5% down payment ($11,915), the difference in the monthly principle and interest payment of the resulting loan amount ($226,342), between 5% ($1,215.05) and 4% ($1,080.59) is $134.46. At 4% interest, a buyer could borrow $254,505, with a monthly principle and interest payment of $1,215.05; $28,163 more than they could have borrowed at 5%.