Every two years, the City of Fort Collins conducts a survey providing residents with an opportunity to rate the quality of life in the city and their satisfaction with community amenities and local government. The survey also allows residents to provide feedback to the City government on what is working well and what is not, and their priorities for community planning and resource allocations.

The 2010 survey is the fifth report since 2001 so not only is there a trend line for the results but the National Research Center, which conducts the survey for the City, is able to compare the results to over 500 communities nationwide and to 28 other communities along the Front Range of Colorado.

Here are a few highlights:

- When asked to rate Fort Collins, “overall, as a place to live,” 93% of residents rated it as ‘’very good’ or ‘very good’ which is much above the national and front range benchmarks. 90% said it was a good place to attend college, 89% rated it as a good or very good place to raise children, 88% rated the quality of life as good or very good and 80% said it was a good place to retire.

- In general, the rankings of eighteen categories of “Quality of Life and Community Ratings” were similar to the report of 2008 and mostly higher than the results from surveys prior to that. In nearly all the questions, Fort Collins ranked much above other National and Front Range communities.

- One significant improvement over the previous surveys was the “availability of affordable quality housing” which received a 42% response as good or very good. This compares to 31% in 2008 and 14% in 2006.

- Almost all residents (97%) reported feeling ‘always safe’ or ‘usually safe’ in their neighborhood during the day and 83% had a similar feeling at night.

- The eleven community safety service ratings were similar to the previous survey and were given higher marks than in other National and Front Range communities.

- Transportation ratings show “ease of traveling by bicycle rated good or very good by 80% and 59% said we have a “walkable city”. These are above other community rankings.

- Traffic congestion is improving with 25% rating it good or very good compared to 18% in 2008 and ‘ease of driving’ was at 51% good or very good compared to 43% in 2008. Street maintenance took a hit at 32% compared to 47% two years ago.

- The ratings of “parks, recreational and cultural programs and facilities” were generally rated very high and ranked much above the national comparison. Recreational trails, natural areas, open space and parks were rated good or very good by more than 90% or respondents.

- The ‘overall direction the City is taking’ was substantially improved; rated good or very good by 61%, compared to 54% in 2008. The rating for ‘managing and planning for growth’ also improved from 36% to 48%.

- Residents were asked how much effort the City should put towards these areas: economy, environment, neighborhoods, safety, transportation, general government and culture, parks and recreation. Over half of the residents thought the economy and transportation should receive more focus.

- A new question related to fiscal management and planning was added to the 2010 survey. A majority of respondents (66%) supported increasing taxes or fees to maintain or make limited improvements to current services. 80% said that they would be willing to pay additional taxes or fees to maintain current services.

The overall report card is that the City of Fort Collins is doing well and the community and services are highly regarded by the citizens. In spite of the sluggish economy the results are generally favorable compared to previous reports and rank above or much above similar reports for other communities along the Front Range and across the nation.

The 2010 survey is a 140 page report that is available on line at www.FCGov.com/citizensurvey

The local residential real estate market continues to struggle with August closed sales down 24.6% from a year ago. A couple of months ago, the year to date sales were up 23.6% for the year to date but with big drops in July and August the increase is down to 6.4%. Showing activity has been way down for the last four months and this has been a pretty accurate indication of a corresponding drop in closed sales. For the two months of May and June showings were down 33.7% compared to a year ago. Allowing for a one to two month lag time from showings to closings, the closed sales in July and August were down 27.6%. Showings in July and August are down 22.5% and this does not bode well for closings in the next couple of months.

Total sales for the year to date are at 2,109 homes compared to a level of more than 3,000 homes sold to the end of August at the peak of the market in 2004. In fact, for the nine years from 2000 to 2008 eight month sales averaged 2,867 homes compared to just 2,047 over the last two years, a market drop of 28.6%. New construction home sales have been hit even harder, from a peak of 27.1% of the market in 2002 and an average of 18.6% of the market from 2000 to 2008 to the current level of 9.1%. In actual numbers, there were 812 new home sales in the first eight months of 2002 and there have been just 192 so far this year, a drop of over 75%. The 812 homes sold to the end of August in 2002 had a value of $165.8 million and as recently as 2008 it was still a $100 million market. Sales of new homes so far this year have totaled just over $50 million.

It is no wonder the city coffers are running dry as the contribution from 1,000 new home permits would be in the range of $25 million paid directly to the city in addition to the maybe $150 million in construction spending, thousands of local construction jobs and all of the ancillary spending new home owners make on furnishings, fixtures, landscaping and a host of other products and services. We believe there is a market for new homes and the lack of construction over the last few years is going to cause some problems in the future but capital and credit for builders and developers has been severely restricted and there does not seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.

In spite of the drop in demand, prices have been holding up well and the average of $242,174 is 0.6% ahead of last year. The median price is up 1.4% to $213,000. The mix of homes sold is about the same as it has been over the past few years with homes priced under $250,000 totaling two thirds of the market. The only difference is homes priced over $500,000 which are just 4% of the market this year compared to 5.8% in 2008 so in two years the market for these more expensive homes has dropped over 30%. The homes sold in August averaged 124 days on the market which is indicative of a very slow market and the 1,789 active home listings is the lowest level since February.

If buyers are waiting for positive economic / employment news it looks like we could be in for a bit more of a dry spell but if they are waiting for lower home prices or better mortgage interest rates, it would seem that we are at a level which is as good as it is going to get. The average selling price is up just 16% since 2001, an appreciation rate of less than 2% per annum which is much less than inflation and there are many homes on the market today that are priced substantially below replacement cost. Combined with interest rates around 4.5% compared to almost 7% ‘back then’, this has to make today’s home price and monthly payment one of the best values around.