POSITIVE NEWS

With all the "sky is falling" talk we here every day, I thought I'd share a few of the postives we are experiencing her in Colorado.

Windmill-blade firm to bring 650 jobs to Brighton:

Brighton's City Council scored a big victory on 7/22 in its quest to bring primary jobs to the city: Vestas Blades America is bringing 650 of those jobs - and potentially up to 1,500 - with a manufacturing plant. (The Daily Post)

Fort Collins named the Second - Best Place to live in the USA:

Money magazine named Fort Collins the second-best place to live in America. Highlands Ranch also came in 12 ^{th out of the top 100 small cities nationwide as rated by Money. This is great news for Colorado - and it follows on the heels of last week's ranking by CNBC of Colorado as one of the Top Five Best States to do Business in America.}

Colorado sixth for VC investments during Q2:

Colorado ranked sixth in the nation for an infusion of venture capital investments during the second quarter, according to a new report. (Denver Business Journal)

Denver spared worst of record home-price plunge:

Home prices in metro Denver fell 4.8 percent for the 12 months ending in May. The decline was the third-smallest among the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index, after Charlotte, N.C., and Dallas. Between March and May, prices actually rose 1 percent in metro Denver, which could point to more stable home prices here in the months ahead. (Denver Post)

Help for Troubled Homeowners:

The Senate on Saturday overwhelmingly passed a landmark housing bill that will offer up to $300 billion in loans for troubled homeowners and establish a government rescue plan for mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (CNN Money)

Denver's Home Prices Inch Up:

Metro Denver home prices moved higher for the second month in a row in May, raising hopes that the region's long suffering housing market could be stabilizing. (Denver Post)

Home Sales Up 2.6% in Metro for Week of July 7^th

^{Compared with the same time last year.}

By the Sold Numbers
Average metro - area home sales prices				Week of July 7, 2008
County	Sales Closed		Average Sale Price		Same Week a Year Ago
Adams	174		$202,375		171
Arapahoe	191		$281,709		210
Boulder	165		$349,394		140
Broomfield	20		$328,630		45
Denver	367		$270,680		234
Douglas	197		$369,036		180
Jefferson	115		$284,528		218
TOTAL		1229		1198