Colorado Recovery Ahead Of Schedule

Colorado’s economic turnaround has a long way to go but appears to be well ahead of schedule, state budget analysts say. In a quarterly presentation at the Capitol, economists for the legislature and the governor’s office shared an encouraging update Friday: Sales tax and income tax collections were stronger in recent months than they previously projected, and state budget writers may have significantly more money to spend this year than they feared at the onset of the pandemic. The analysts also stressed, however, that much remains unknown. Analysts said they prepared this latest forecast with knowledge of only about 14% of the total revenue the state will collect between now and next June. In late spring, the legislature finalized a 2020-21 budget by closing an approximately $3 billion shortfall — a devastating, across-the-board reduction that left lawmakers in tears and key programs unfunded or underfunded. This latest forecast, while promising, does not mean any of the various programs and positions that were partially or fully cut will be restored in the immediate future. That conversation won’t even really kick off in earnest until late this year, when the governor submits his budget request for lawmakers to consider. It will be March before

(Continued on Page 2)

September2020

The Latest News FromJeffrey and Wade

Home Gnome RealtyWade Renquist & Jeffrey JacobsonTeam Jeff& Wade’s Number:

303-775-7466Wade’s Cell 702-205-3603wade.renquist@HomeGnomeHomes.com

Jeffrey’s Cell 702-300-1440jeff.jacobson@HomeGnomeHomes.com“Still Your House Hubby Too”

Mortgage and refinance rates today, 9/23/20

Average mortgage rates inched lower

yesterday, underscoring the disconnection between those

and other markets. And conventional loans today start at

2.875% (2.875% APR) for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Should you lock a mortgage rate today?

If you feel as if mortgage rates are stuck in Groundhog

Day, you’d have a point. Nearly all movements have been

tiny recently. And the only sharp ones have affected just a

small minority of borrowers. The only variation is

whether they go up or down by a tiny amount. In these

circumstances, complacency is understandable — but

possibly unwise. Markets rarely face the level of

uncertainty that confronts them now. And a single piece of

news could create real volatility. Right now, that’s most

likely to be pandemic-related. If the news is good (the

emergence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine, say),

mortgage rates could soar over just a day or two. But if it’s

bad (a clear second wave hitting the US, perhaps, as is

now happening in much of Europe), those rates could

plummet. All this is a warning against assuming that the

mortgage rate movements we’ve seen over the recent

weeks constitute some kind of new normal. On balance, I

still think — thanks to the Federal Reserve — that we’re

more likely to see rates gradually fall than rise. But that

prediction comes with risks from the unknowable. And it’s

almost certain that we’ll see periods (brief ones, I hope) of

higher rates in coming weeks and months.

By Peter Warden, The Mortgage Reports 9/23/20

ProgramMortgage

RateAPR* Change

Conventional 30 year fixed 2.88% 2.88% Unchanged

Conventional 15 year fixed 2.63% 2.63% Unchanged

Conventional 5 year ARM 3% 2.75% -0.04% 

30 year fixed FHA 2.25% 3.23% Unchanged

15 year fixed FHA 2.25% 3.19% Unchanged

5 year ARM FHA 2.50% 3.25% Unchanged

30 year fixed VA 2.25% 2.42% Unchanged

15 year fixed VA 2.25% 2.57% Unchanged

5 year ARM VA 2.50% 2.43% Unchanged

Your rate might be different. For a personal quote see your Mortgage Broker. If you don’t have one and would like a recommendation of a good Mortgage Broker please contact us. Wade and Jeffrey

(Continued from Page 1) State budgeting will remain a difficult exercise in Colorado — perhaps for years to come — but the latest forecast shows it may be a bit less painful moving forward. New forecasting data show the state’s reserves collected $1.3 billion more than analysts previously expected for fiscal year 2019-20, which ended in June, and for the current fiscal year budget writers are now expected to have close to $1.7 billion more to spend. “We’re not out of the hole yet,” said state Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, who leads the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. “This looks like it’s great news, and I don’t want to downplay it. It’s good that we’re doing better than we thought we’d be, but were still digging out of a hole. And we’re going to continue to be digging out of a hole. The hole might not be as big as we thought it was.” While the forecasts are improving, they’re still ugly relative to pre-pandemic expectations. General fund revenue — money that covers core services — will bottom out in this fiscal year, economists expect, and are likely to lag behind pre-pandemic forecast levels for years to come. The governor’s budget director, Lauren Larson, told lawmakers she predicts a $1.6 billion shortfall in the 2021-22 fiscal year. That shortfall grows to $2.2 billion in 2022-23, she said. And so, amid the relatively good news shared Friday, Larson reminded lawmakers, “We’re nowhere near what we were forecasting back in December.” Overall, state analysts said, Colorado has regained 39% of jobs lost since the pandemic began in March. Colorado’s poorest suffered the most profound job losses and continue to do so, the analysts reported. Employment among low-wage earners dropped about 25% below pre-pandemic levels in April. That sector is on the rise, with job rates now about 12% underwater — halfway to recovery. The struggles of low-wage workers then and now contrast with much milder pains for mid- and high-level earners. According to the governor’s analysts, the employment rate of Colorado’s high-wage sectors never dropped more than 5% below pre-pandemic levels and currently sits about 2.5% underwater. Employment in medium-wage sectors dipped about 10% below pre-pandemic levels in April, but employment in that sector is now only down about 5%. “The economy fell further and faster than we ever thought possible. It also has recovered further and faster than we expected,” state economist Elizabeth Ramey told members of the Colorado Joint Budget Committee. “This recession is unlike any that we have seen before,” she cautioned, “and there is still a lot of uncertainty about the lasting damage, and we are still a long way from the recovery.” Colorado’s economy is performing slightly better than the national economy. In a statement, the governor’s office said this is “because coronavirus cases are comparatively low, and Colorado has a high percentage of the workforce that can work remotely.”

By Alex Burness, The Denver Post 9/19/20Page 2

New Mexico Green Chili 1 bushel = about 9 lbs = 16 cups chopped peppers

2 lbs = 4 cups chopped peppers

Ingredients (2 lbs/ )9 lbs

! 4 cups / Chicken Broth16 cups! 4 cups / Peppers Roasted & Peeled and Chopped16 cups! 1 10 oz Can / Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes Diced w/ 4 10 oz

juice! 2 / cloves of garlic minced8! 1/8 cup / Butter for onions1/2 cup! 1/8 cup / Butter for Flour1/2 cup! 1/8 cup / Flour 1/2 cup! 2 lbs / chicken breast or pork roast shredded8 lbs! 2 / onions chopped8

Directions

1. Sauté the onion in the butter until tender and lightly brown.2. In a large pot, heat butter until hot. Add flour and stir. Brown until caramel brown; if you don't brown well enough, chili will look chalky.3. Add chicken broth, whisking until all the lumps are gone. Add tomatoes with juice, chilies, garlic, and salt. At this point, chili may be too thick; add more chicken broth or water.4. Add chicken/pork and let simmer for 10 minutes.

We like to freeze small batches in Freezer Bags and use throughout the year.

Fall Foliage And Day TripsNear Denver

Denver has one of the longest periods of fall colors of any city in the country. That's because there are five different climate zones within a two-hour drive of downtown Denver. Pick your elevation and you can find yourself at the height of fall colors from mid-September to mid-November. Starting in mid-September, expect to see aspens turning gold at elevations from 8,000 to 10,000 above sea level. Later in the season in October to mid-November, you can see spectacular color down in the foothills and along the plains in Denver. Here's a guide of where and when to go:

MID-SEPTEMBER TO EARLY OCTOBER ABOVE 9,500 FEETGuanella Pass and Rocky Mountain National Park,

LATE SEPTEMBER TO MID-OCTOBER, FROM 7,000 TO 9,000 FEETGeorgetown, Silver Plume and the area around Lake Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne.

MOST OF OCTOBER, FROM 6,000 TO 8,000 FEETSeveral old cemeteries near Central City, the dirt road that runs between Central City and Idaho Springs, Golden Gate Canyon State Park, and around Evergreen.

EARLY OCTOBER TO MID-NOVEMBER, 5,280 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVELThe Cherry Creek Bike Trail, the South Platte River Bike Trail, The High Line Canal Trail and the more than 200 parks in Denver city limits along with other parks throughout the Metro Area.For more go to: www.denver.org/things-to-do/day-trips-around-colorado/fall-foliage/

Sampling of Data From The Multiple Listing Service For Single Family Homes Which Closed On 08/11/2020.If you would like more information on one of the homes listed about, please email us or call us with the home information and we would be happy to send you the full MLS data sheet for that home.

Page 3

Quick Glance At Home Prices In The Denver Metro Area

5

City Baths Beds SF Above SF Total Garage Style Yr Built Lot SF DOM Sold Price .

Castle Rock 5 5 4141 6138 4 Two 1997 30056 11 1,425,000$

Evergreen 3 4 2763 3873 3 Two 1992 18861 19 1,125,000$

Parker 4 3 2405 3473 3 One 2020 23958 56 897,301$

Superior 5 4 3496 4612 3 Three Or More 1997 8310 1 865,000$

Denver 2 4 2268 2268 2 Tri-Level 1958 9000 1 807,000$

Longmont 3 3 2146 2146 4 One 1968 38327 3 787,500$

Wheat Ridge 2 3 1891 1891 2 One 1965 17547 2 725,000$

Erie 5 6 4188 4188 3 Two 2019 7998 37 704,000$

Littleton 3 4 2599 3800 3 Two 1995 8395 1 682,500$

Morrison 3 4 2491 2491 2 Two 2009 279825 2 661,000$

Lakewood 3 4 2044 2540 1 Tri-Level 1955 8768 2 630,000$

Arvada 4 5 2851 4193 3 Two 2016 5362 20 630,000$

Wheat Ridge 2 4 1687 2221 2 Multi/Split 1959 10631 2 625,000$

Highlands Ranch 3 4 2464 2464 3 Two 1999 8276 17 615,000$

Broomfield 3 3 1705 3000 2 One 2015 5683 3 606,000$

Highlands Ranch 4 5 3387 3387 3 Three Or More 1998 6839 4 590,000$

Castle Pines 2 3 1974 1974 2 One 2020 9235 0 579,300$

Bennett 4 4 3157 3157 3 Two 2018 49658 229 560,000$

Denver 5 5 3783 5128 3 Three Or More 2003 6808 10 535,000$

Arvada 3 4 1300 2000 2 Multi/Split 1976 8500 5 525,000$

Aurora 3 5 2738 2738 2 Two 2020 5776 10 519,185$

Littleton 4 5 2284 3153 2 Two 1979 8587 3 511,000$

Englewood 2 3 865 1730 2 One 1926 6490 5 510,000$

Lakewood 2 4 1689 2206 2 One 1962 8973 3 505,000$

Thornton 2 3 1671 1671 2 One 2013 6585 11 495,000$

Aurora 3 3 2174 2174 2 Two 2016 7366 4 489,900$

Parker 3 3 2310 2310 2 Two 2016 7884 2 485,000$

Arvada 3 4 1653 2976 2 One 1972 10022 4 468,500$

Denver 3 5 1060 2014 1 One 1953 6530 9 440,000$

Thornton 3 3 1402 1402 2 Two 1995 6049 4 435,000$

Aurora 3 3 1564 1564 3 Two 2010 7503 27 435,000$

Bennett 3 5 2698 2698 2 Two 2020 11834 0 425,900$

Longmont 3 3 1872 1872 2 Tri-Level 1985 7948 2 424,000$

Parker 3 3 1378 1378 2 Multi/Split 1998 5401 6 421,000$

Aurora 4 5 1624 2317 2 Two 2000 6360 3 420,000$

Strasburg 3 4 2166 2166 3 Two 2019 7277 29 406,006$

Aurora 3 3 1320 1632 2 Two 1979 8886 1 394,900$

Lakewood 1 2 952 952 2 One 1946 23501 2 380,000$

Evergreen 1 1 1004 1004 0 One 1946 15681 8 370,000$

Arvada 3 5 2115 3055 2 One 1953 19432 2 366,000$

Wheat Ridge 2 4 1085 1700 2 One 1953 11106 3 345,000$

Denver 3 4 1701 1701 1 Three Or More 2019 2449 9 333,595$

Denver 1 4 1027 1687 2 One 1927 6240 8 285,000$

Brighton 2 3 1180 1180 2 Two 1986 5060 0 241,000$

Home Gnome Realty3190 S. Vaughn Way #550Aurora, CO 80014

The Latest News From Your Real Estate Experts

September2020

Team Jeff & Wade’s Number 303-775-7466

We Referrals!!!

If you know someone who needs to sell their home or if you know of someone looking to buy a home, please let us know and give them our

number!

303-775-7466

What Our Former Clients Are Saying:

I can't say enough in praise of Jeff and Wade. Being a woman and alone I had the help I needed at every turn and they were never too busy to answer any questions I had. Two nicer, more professional men you'll never find. Dale

SOLD

Let’s Make YourHome The Next

Photo Here

1995 Season Dawn Ct.Windsor

Asking Price $364,000

Home Gnome Realtywww.HomeGnomeHomes.com

Wade’s Cell 702-205-3603wade.renquist@HomeGnomeHomes.comFacebook: Wade Renquist RealtorTwitter: @WadeRenquist

Jeffrey’s Cell 702-300-1440jeff.jacobson@HomeGnomeHomes.com“Still Your House Hubby Too”

Home Gnome Realty3190 S. Vaughn Way Suite #550Aurora, CO 80014Office: 720-213-3763

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