Six of Colorado's economic forecasters put the state's outlook under a microscope and predict that the recovery from the Great Recession will continue this year. Whew! Coloradobiz magazine reported in its Jan/Feb '14 issue that economists expect Colorado's growth rate will outpace the national rate, ranging anywhere from 2.3 to 3.1 percent.

Job growth is expected to continue in construction and inflation will range from 2.2 to 3 percent in Denver. And the Fed has 'pumped nearly $3 trillion into the U.S. economy in its  attempt to avoid a depression — and get the economy back on a reasonable growth trajectory,' according to Coloradobiz. Yet economists are nervous about the Fed abruptly ending its quantitative easing program, which could cause rates to soar and plunge the country back into recession.

Even so, Colorado's economists expect mortgage rates to range from 4.5 to 5.2 percent this year. While they're not the stellare 3 percent we saw last year, they're still much better than the 15 percent interest rates from the early '80s. As long as the mortgage rate doesn't go above 6 percent, local mortgage lenders believe the mortgage market will remain healthy.

The economists believe that statewide, homebuilders will build anywhere from 29,100 to 39,300 single family homes. When reviewing Summit Economics, LLC's Colorado Monthly Economic Indicators (which was revised December 22, 2013) and highlighting the Denver-Boulder MSA, those numbers are more likely to range from 13,095 to 17,685 single family home permits. Read more...