About Mesa County, CO

November was a pretty slow month, all the way around. Between the uncertainty with the election, stock market, and the economy, people were just a little nervous. December was much better and the general concensus is things are picking up in the real estate world, especially with the low rates.

You can view the graphs here.

Grand Junction was recently ranked in the "TOP 20 - Places to Live" according to a study done by Farmers Insurance Group. On top of that, Census data that was released on Monday has our property taxes as one of the least expensive in the state.

Grand Junction among Top 20 most secure places to live

Property taxes less costly in Mesa County than in 17 other Colorado counties

Well nobody knows for sure how these rules are going to effect us in Western Colorado. I think the national economy will play a part in our future, as well. The oil and gas companies are cutting back, but not pulling out at this time. Homes are still projected to appreciate, just not as fast as we have been used to. So basically things are looking to slow down for a little while, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Long-term numbers tell a different story

Second-largest gas producer to run half as many rigs locally

Rent expected to plateau as vacancy rate eases slightly

Well, the new rules are out and they were followed by announcements from the local companies that they were scaling back their operations over this coming year. On the flip side, the oil and gas companies are taking this to the State Legislature in the beginning of next year. Also, from what I've been hearing this means no more guaranteed overtime for some of their employees. I have included a link to the new rules and regulations if you want to read them, they are 85 pages long.

New Rules for the Oil and Gas Industry, effective 4/1/09

Local Newspaper article on new rules and regulations

Local Newspaper Article - Energy Fight goes to Legislature

We had our weekly meeting here at the office today and we had our in-house lender come and give us an update. The word on the street is that rates look like they will continue to go down and could even get below 5% by the beginning of next year. So if you are looking to refinance or buy a home this is good news!

You might find this article from Business Week interesting - Refinancing your Mortgage