We’ll be hosting our Denver Housing Seminar at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center on October 20th.  Make sure to come by and learn about the local housing market with data courtesy of Housing IntelligencePro that you won’t see anywhere else.  For a sneak peak, our data feature this week examines the price per square foot of new homes in the Denver area, which after bottoming out in early 2009 at $141 per square foot have since rebounded steadily.  While closing volumes are still weak, the stabilization and gain in pricing power is an important step toward getting back to a healthy housing market.  By the third quarter of 2010, the price per square foot of a new home in Denver had surpassed the $150 mark, and this year it looks to be surpassing $155 per square foot, the highest level since the third quarter of 2008.  So while true recovery may still be a ways off, there are promising signs that a new foundation for the Denver housing market is being solidified.  Join us for more on October 20th at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center, we can’t wait to meet you!

In broader economic news, employment data for September came in slightly better than most economists expected in September.  After revisions, total non-farm employment on a seasonally-adjusted basis has now increased for 12 straight months in the U.S.  The U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs last month in September while the national unemployment rate remained steady at 9.1%.  45,000 of those jobs were attributed to striking Verizon employees returning back to work.  However, job growth for the previous two months was revised upward by 141,000 payrolls which were stronger than expected.

The Economy
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, non-farm employment increased by 103,000 payrolls which was better than most economists expected and also better than August's pace.  Seasonally-adjusted non-farm employment for August was also revised higher to a gain of 57,000 jobs compared to 0 job growth which was originally reported.  Job growth for the previous two months, July and August, was revised higher by 141,000 payrolls.

Private-sector services industries added 85,000 jobs in September.  The construction industry was also able to increase payrolls by 26,000 last month but the Labor Department reported that almost all those gains were in non-residential building.  Government sector continued to shed payrolls, losing 34,000 jobs last month.  Manufacturing and transportation payrolls also declined, dropping 13,000 and 1,900 payrolls respectively.  A large part of September's job gains were fueled by an increase of 45,000 telecommunications jobs as a result of striking Verizon employees returning back to work.

The nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 9.1% in September.  This is the third consecutive month that the national unemployment rate has come in at 9.1%.  This figure equates to approximately 13,992,000 unemployed people.  The unemployment rate for the U.S. improved compared to this time last year when it stood at 9.6%.

The underemployment rate, which includes those that are looking for work but have given up and those who are working part-time but would prefer to be working full-time, increased to 16.5% in September from 16.2% in August.  However, the underemployment rate is lower than it was this same month last year when it was at 17.1%.

After falling below the 400,000 level for the first time since early August, initial jobless claims reversed course and increased this past week.  First-time unemployment claims increased by 6,000 to a seasonally-adjusted figure of 401,000 in the week ended October 1st from an upwardly revised figure of 395,000 in the previous week.  Claims would need to remain at or below these levels for a sustained period of time before we experience any noticeable improvement in the overall labor market.

Housing Market
National average mortgage declined from the previous week to 3.94% with an average 0.8 points in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released weekly by Freddie Mac on October 6th.  The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is at a new all-time record low.  This is the first time that 30-year rates have ever fallen under 4.0%.  These rates have not recorded a weekly gain in the past six weeks.  Rates have now averaged under 5.0% for 33 straight weeks.

In the week ending September 30th, the MBA’s seasonally-adjusted purchase index declined 0.8% from the previous week.  New all-time record low mortgage rates were not enough to spark purchase activity last week.  Overall mortgage application this past week declined 4.3% due to drops in both refinance and purchase activity.

For additional market-level data and analysis please visit our website at http://www.housingintelligence.com.  For more detailed information on  these and other indicators, please visit the following links: