Metro Denver is a mile high above the rest.

Metro Denver’s mild climate and wealth of recreational activities make this the perfect environment for energetic bodies. Its educational and cultural opportunities make it the ideal home for energetic minds. Below are a few highlights:

Business Climate

Colorado is the No. 5 “Best State For Business” in 2011, ranking as the No. 1 state for labor supply, No. 8 for growth prospects, and No. 10 for economic climate and quality of life.
- Forbes, 2011

Metro Denver ranks ninth and Fort Collins ranks fifth among the 50 “Best Places for Business” in 2011.
- Forbes, 2011

Colorado is No. 5 among “America’s Top States for Business,” ranking highly for workforce, access to capital, business friendliness, and quality of life.
- CNBC, 2011

Colorado ranks third in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants, third in venture capital investments per $1,000 for State GDP, and fourth in number of new companies per 1,000 employees.
- Toward a More Competitive Colorado, Seventh Edition, 2011

Denver is ranked as a top five city for telework.
- Microsoft ‘Work Without Wall’ Report: U.S. Telework Trends, 2011

Metro Denver has the nation’s third-strongest metro area economy. The 2010 Economic Strength Rankings study combined long-term measures of income, jobs in growth-sensitive sectors, and public assistance distributions to evaluate the breadth and depth of economic growth in each of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).
- Policom Corporation, 2010

In 2010, Colorado was the fourth-fastest growing state with a 1.5 percent population increase.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2010

Workforce

Colorado ranked third in high-tech employment per 1,000 workers for the fifth consecutive year.
- TechAmerica, 2011

Colorado is the second-most highly educated state.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010

Colorado has the third highest concentration of scientists and engineers in the nation.
- Milken Institute, 2010

Health & Wellness

Colorado has the nation’s lowest obesity rate.
- Trust for America’s Health, 2011

Denver is the top metro area for relocating adults ages 25- to 34-years-old.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Brookings Institution, 2010

Colorado ranks fifth on the Well-Being Index, measuring life situations, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors, work environment, and access to healthy living.
- Gallup-Healthways, 2010

Colorado has the third-fewest heart disease deaths and fourth-fewest diabetes and cancer deaths.
- Kaiser Family Foundation’s State Health Facts, 2010

Infrastructure

FasTracks is the largest simultaneous construction of a mass transit system in U.S. history.
- American Public Transportation Association

Approximately 50 transit-oriented developments are planned along eight different light rail and commuter rail lines extending in all directions from the downtown core, making every corner of the region accessible to workers, residents, and visitors.
- Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, 2011

Denver is the largest U.S. city with one-bounce satellite uplink capability for real-time connections to six out of seven continents in one business day.
- Development Research Partners

Colorado has the eighth-highest total solar energy installed capacity.
SNL Financial Operating Capacity Dataset, 2011

Denver International Airport is the fifth-busiest U.S. airport and is 10th-busiest in the world.
- Federal Aviation Administration, 2010

Colorado produces the eleventh-highest amount of total wind energy net generation.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2010

Sustainability

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden is the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
- U.S. Department of Energy

The Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver is LEED Gold certified – the first such museum in the country to earn the distinction.
- Museum of Contemporary Art

Colorado has more LEED-certified buildings than any other state.
- U.S. Green Building Council, 2011

Colorado is in the top five among clean-energy leadership states.
- Clean Edge, 2011

Colorado ranked as the nation’s fifth-most sustainable state.
- Site Selection magazine, “Green Guide,” 2011

Colorado ranks fourth in the U.S. for renewable energy and energy research employment concentration.
- Development Research Partners, 2011

Denver ranked fifth in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, a study recently conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of Siemens, ranking first overall in two categories—prevalence of green energy and environmental governance.
- Economist Intelligence Unit, 2011

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) new Research Support Facility is one of the “greenest” buildings ever constructed
- NREL, 2010

Denver ranks fourth in the United States for Energy Star buildings.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010

Regionalism

Metro Denver’s successful regional economic development has been studied by U.S. cities like Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, San Diego, San Jose, St. Paul, and Milwaukee.
- Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

More than $40 million is distributed annually to 300 arts and culture organizations in Metro Denver.
- Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, 2010

Culture in Metro Denver generated nearly $1.5 billion in economic activity in 2009.
- Colorado Business Committee for the Arts

 

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Residential real estate sales picking up

The metro Denver residential real estate market may rebound this year, judging by statistics that show more sales activity in most Denver neighborhoods and increasing sales prices in almost half of them, according to Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty of Denver.

In the first full year of collecting and analyzing homes sales data for 41 metro Denver neighborhoods, the Fuller Sotheby’s 2011 Micromarket report reveals increased sales activity in 29 of them and an increased median price in 20.

“This was incredibly positive considering we’ve been dealing with negative data and news for so long,” said Scott Webber, president. “This is nice and refreshing data that suggests things are going in the right direction.”

Though Fuller Sotheby’s deals are largely in luxury markets — homes $500,000 and up — the Micromarket report covers neighborhoods in various price ranges, including Belmar, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree and Sloan’s Lake.

Using sales data from Metrolist Inc. and from its 170 brokers in seven offices, the company’s Micromarket report includes typical indices, such as days on the market. But it also includes unique statistics, such as “percent sold price to original list price,” and lowest or highest price paid for a house in a given area. The firm sold 143 properties for $1 million and up in 2011.

“When people want real estate information, they typically go to a broker to pull statistics. We’re trying to provide a format where people can watch the market on their own,” said Shannel Ryan, general sales manager.

The 2011 data provides a more accurate snapshot of metro Denver’s real estate market because the numbers aren’t skewed by the federal homebuyer’s tax credit that artificially inflated sales numbers through April 2010.

The Micromarket report also provides data on a hyper-local level, which is often the most accurate way to show trends, Webber said.

“Our typical client is very interested in market data,” Webber said. “They very much look at property as a substantial investment and want to stay in touch with factors that affect value.”

Some key statictics culled from the report:

• The highest price per square foot, $367, was in the Washington Park East neighborhood, up 1.9 percent from the area’s 2010 level of $360.

• The most expensive sale of the year, $8.2 million, came from the Cherry Hills Village neighborhood.

• Stapleton homes seemed to hold the most value, selling for 96.7 percent of the original asking price. For neighborhoods with fewer than 100 transactions per year, homes in City Park South sold for 95.8 percent of their original asking price.

• Homes sold the fastest in the Platt Park neighborhood, from Broadway to Downing Street and from Louisiana Avenue to Evans Avenue, with an average of 63 days on the market. For markets with fewer than 100 transactions, homes in Southern Hills, from University Boulevard to Colorado Boulevard and from Yale Avenue to Hampden Avenue, stood on the market for an average of 78 days.

“This really shows a pretty impressive performance,” Webber said. “It’s reflective of the fact that the overall economy in Denver is better than the national average, especially with unemployment, and we definitely have a net in-migration.”

Webber, like many real estate professionals, is concerned about the dwindling inventory of homes. Metrolist statistics showed there were 10,443 homes listed for sale in January, down 42 percent from the same month in 2011.

Metrolist Inc. of Greenwood Village is metro Denver’s Multiple Listing Service, a database of home sales activity for real estate professionals.

“I’ve seen more multiple-offer situations than I’ve seen in the last five years,” Webber said. “I’m not calling it a sellers’ market yet, but it’s not an extreme buyers’ market like it has been. We’re approaching a market that’s got a little better balance between supply and demand.”

The information is available free on the company’s website, coloradomicroreports.com.

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Denver’s CRE market expected to maintain modest growth in 2012

Denver’s commercial real estate market in 2012 will play out much like it did in 2011: continued incremental improvements in each submarket, and the possible start of some long-awaited speculative development, according to experts from some of Denver’s top commercial brokerages.

“We’ve seen positive absorption across every single submarket,” said Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalleLatest from The Business JournalsJones Lang LaSalle wins Fairview Center listingTop 7: Largest Pittsburgh-area commercial property managersPeople on the MoveFollow this company’s Peter Schippits, senior vice president and office market specialist. “Certain markets have been driven by different industries — oil and gas downtown, tech companies in the northwest — but every submarket has been tracking positive absorption all year and I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t continue.”

The forecast is similar for the retail and industrial submarkets.

As vacancy rates continue to drop, even if slowly, the rents for most markets continue to climb for the right product — namely Class A products, the experts say.

Brokers also say many institutional and private investors have confidence in the Denver market — and the money to back it.

“There have been some real signature deals this year,” said Brad Calbert, president of the Denver office of Colliers International Colliers InternationalLatest from The Business JournalsCates touts Memphis’ industrial strength to Rotary Club Retail industry regains momentum in 2012Portland apartment vacancy rate second-lowest in nationFollow this company                    , noting the confidence Brookfield Office Properties Inc. showed recently in buying one of Denver’s tallest towers, at 1801 California St., for $215 million.

Here’s what the experts predict for the office, retail and industrial submarkets for 2012.

Office

All eyes are on the former Qwest QwestLatest from The Business JournalsCenturyLink expects revenue to decline this year, but sees better times aheadIntegra, Level 3 gearing up to take on Cox, CenturyLinkFinding an adviser who can say no helps portfolioFollow this company                     tower to see how it will affect the downtown office market. When CenturyLink Inc. CenturyLink Inc.Latest from The Business JournalsTop of the List: Internet service providersCenturyLink expects revenue to decline this year, but sees better times aheadSavvis parent CenturyLink sees Q4 profit fall 52%Follow this company’s master lease on the building expires in June, hundreds of thousands of square feet are expected to hit the market.

There are big vacancies that could happen that could push negative absorption, Calbert said.

“There’s about 26 to 28 million square feet of office space downtown, and if all these vacancies happen, that could be up to 1.2 million — or 4 percent of all the space available,” Calbert said. “No one knows for certain what that will do to rents, and the market is incredibly segmented by size. Larger blocks are harder to come by, which bodes well for 1801 [California].”

“1801 is going to be the main negative driver and, by and large, will eat up all the positive absorption we might see downtown,” Schippits said.

He said these factors show Denver’s office market is healthy and will remain so in 2012: Positive absorption continues, rental rates have been increasing with decreasing or stable vacancy, capital markets are active and controlled development — especially build-to-suit projects — continues.

“Will there be increased rental rates? Historically, we see a spike downtown once we get to the 11 percent in overall Class A vacancy,” Schippits said. “The market as a whole is starting to drive rents. We are there but for the pending vacancy at 1801.”

Retail

The overall vacancy rate of 8 percent for the retail submarket should continue to improve. Also, the average rent of $16.50 per square foot should continue to climb slowly, said Matthew DeBartolomeis, vice president, CBRE Group Inc.

“We’re getting back to 2007 numbers,” he said.

But there’s a big disparity in the geographic submarkets, with Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Creek North leading the way as “super-strong markets,” and the Aurora, northwest and southwest markets slowing the metro area’s overall recovery, DeBartolomeis said.

“In each of those [underperforming] submarkets we’ve seen a repositioning and retooling of the major, regional shopping centers,” he said.

For 2012, DeBartolomeis said, “There will be a lot of activity come through to re-use and re-work older properties” like the Glendale Riverwalk and Kent Place at University Boulevard and Hampden Avenue.

Grocers will remain active in the retail market, eating up vacant space, along with new franchise businesses.

Scott Crosbie, a partner with Crosbie Real Estate Group LLC of Denver, said next year will have more activity from a few retailers.

“There are a lot of retailers starting to stick their toes in the water, who in the past have been waiting,” Crosbie said. “There’s not a lot of depth, with just a few that are active.”

Industrial

Bitzer Real Estate Partners/Corfac International’s Ron Webert, an industrial specialist, predicts “slow growth” for the industrial submarket.

“It’s an improving marketplace, with vacancies down and rental rates up, but it’s a slow tic,” Webert said.

CoStar Group Inc., provider of U.S. commercial real estate data, shows a 7.7 percent vacancy rate for the Denver industrial submarket, down slightly from 7.9 percent four quarters ago, Webert said.

“The good news is it’s trending downward,” he said. “We’ll end the year with positive absorption, which is a good sign.”

CBRE’s Jim Bolt, executive vice president, said the industrial sales market will remain flat.

“There are just very few sellers. Most owners would like to buy more. It’s as simple as that,” Bolt said

Bolt said there are very few large blocks of Class A space available, which could lead to the first speculative construction of industrial product in years.

“We’re going to see a handful of build-to-suit buildings built in 2012,” Bolt said, including a 220,000-square-foot building set to break ground in the first quarter and a 400,000-square-foot building for a large food distribution company that could begin midyear.

“We’re starting to see some pent-up demand,” he said.

The growth of the state’s oil and gas industry, as well as the energy companies, will continue to fuel improvement in the industrial sector, both agreed.

 

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Colorado is expected to create more jobs than the rest of the nation, economic analysts assert

Service providers will continue to do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating jobs next year in Colorado, according to the 2012 Business Economic Outlook from the University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business.

“Colorado will outperform the nation in employment growth,” said CU economist Richard Wobbekind, who presented the 2012 outlook to more than 800 people at the Grand Hyatt Denver on Monday.

Colorado is expected to add 23,000 jobs in 2012 on top of an estimated 27,500 jobs the state gained this year, the outlook forecasts.

Service providers will add 20,900 of those net new jobs, despite a strong showing in agriculture, energy and a rebound in construction, said economist Patricia Silverstein,

Extras

• Read the full 2012 Colorado Business Economic Outlook. (PDF, 129 pages)

one of more than 100 people who prepared the state’s most comprehensive economic forecast. 

So where does the outlook predict the hiring will take place?

Ambulatory or outpatient health services will add 3,000 jobs, and hospitals are expected to add 2,000 more positions.

Registered nurses in particular will continue to be in high demand, Wobbekind said.

Computer system design service firms are expected to hire big, adding 2,500 jobs next year. Architectural and engineering firms are expected to add 1,200 positions.

A need to retrain in a weak economy will continue to drive employment at private schools, which are expected to add 1,500 positions.

A forecasted 4 percent increase in consumer spending in the state is expected to create 2,700 food service jobs, 2,400 retail jobs, and 1,000 wholesale trade jobs.

State government is expected to add 1,100 jobs, while local governments are looking at minimal job gains and the federal government at cuts.

In one of the 2012 outlooks’ boldest predictions, the construction sector, which has shed 56,700 jobs over the past four years, will add 2,600 jobs next year in response to higher construction spending.

Manufacturers, lenders, real estate firms, print publishers and telecommunications providers are expected to shed jobs next year.

Wobbekind cautioned that the uncertainty coming out of Washington, D.C., and Europe clouds the economic picture and complicated the forecast.

Some of the other highlights from the outlook:

• Inflation will run 2.2 percent locally, down from the 3.1 percent pace estimated for the Denver-Boulder- Greeley Consumer Price Index this year.

• Colorado’s population is expected to grow 1.5 percent next year, or by 75,900 people. Of that gain, 40,500 comes from natural increases and 35,400 from net migration.

Read more: Colorado is expected to create more jobs than the rest of the nation, economic analysts assert – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19477605#ixzz1k295lFjz
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Owning a Home is Less Expensive Than Renting

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities. Where Housing Is Headed View Interactive The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas found that home values declined in all but five markets compared with the second quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc. Meanwhile, rent levels have risen briskly across the country and mortgage rates, hovering around 4%, are the lowest in six decades. As a result, monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home—including taxes and insurance—are lower than the average rent levels in 12 metro areas, according to data compiled for The Wall Street Journal by Marcus & Millichap, a real-estate brokerage that tracked 27 metro areas. It remains less expensive to rent than to buy in 15 cities. But affordability hasn’t done much to lift the sagging housing sector because many would-be buyers are unwilling to purchase a home or unable to qualify for a mortgage. Related Video Tough Lending Rules Curbing Housing Growth (11/17/2011) Mortgage Delinquencies Fall to Three Year Low (11/17/2011) Could the Fed’s Housing Agency Default? (11/11/2011) “It’s one of the most striking developments of the housing downturn,” said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics. “The initial building blocks for a recovery are in place, but the legacy of the recession is really preventing households from taking advantage.” In Atlanta, which had the most favorable values for owning versus renting, the monthly payment on the average home was $539 assuming a 20% down payment during the third quarter. By contrast, the average asking rent stood at $840, according to the Marcus & Millichap data. But real estate agents and economists say the trend hasn’t boosted demand. That is because affordability alone hasn’t been enough to overcome the obstacles in the way of a housing recovery. Some homeowners who would like to move up to larger properties are stuck because they can’t sell their homes. Owner’s Advantage Enlarge Image WSJHOME WSJHOME Also, while the monthly carrying costs on a mortgage are lower than average rents in some cities, home ownership carries other costs—including taxes, insurance, homeowner association dues and maintenance—which may dissuade some potential owners. Other would-be buyers can’t qualify for mortgages because lending conditions are tight or because they don’t have enough equity in their current homes to use as a down payments. “The reality of coming up with the down payment and the loan-qualification standards makes things much different than the raw numbers suggest,” says Hessam Nadji, managing director of Marcus & Millichap. And even those who may qualify remain skittish about buying property in a market where prices could fall amid foreclosures and weak job growth. Ryan Young illustrates the point. He is under contract to buy a three-bedroom home in Washington Grove, Md., that will have monthly mortgage, tax, and insurance costs for around $150 less than the $1,900 he is paying to rent a slightly smaller house in Bethesda, Md. He qualified for a 30-year mortgage with a 3.95% fixed rate. Still, Mr. Young says he is cautious about owning his first home with the prospect of future price declines. “Buying a house is not a good financial decision, per se, but we needed a bigger place,” said the 35-year-old scientist, “and we don’t want to move every couple of years into a new rental.” Other cities where owning is now cheaper than renting include Detroit, Minneapolis, Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago and Phoenix. Monthly Costs: Rent vs. Own View Interactive Home ownership is also looking more affordable because after several years of declines, apartment rents will rise by around 4% this year, says Mr. Nadji. He says rents are poised “to pick up even more momentum across the country next year.” Even cities where it is still cheaper to rent than own have seen big boosts in affordability. In San Diego, the monthly cost of owning a home has averaged around 83% more than renting over the past two decades. During the third quarter, owning was 22% more expensive than renting, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Enlarge Image HOUSING HOUSING Associated Press A new development in Canonsburg, Pa. The inventory of homes on the market has fallen from levels seen a year ago, as prices and mortgage rates continued to decline. Mortgage rates are a big reason why affordability continues to improve. In 1991, a $1,700 mortgage payment allowed a borrower to take out a $200,000 mortgage. Today, it gets that homeowner a $350,000 loan, a 77% increase in borrowing power, says Dan Green, a loan officer with Waterstone Mortgage, in Cincinnati. At the same time, low mortgage rates aren’t spurring sales because few analysts expect rates to rise anytime soon. The Federal Reserve in August said it would keep rates at ultralow levels for two years. In a normal interest rate cycle, “when they go low, they don’t stay for very long, and people jump in,” said Mr. Dales. “This time, there is no urgency.” Affordability could continue to improve as prices slide even lower in coming months. Price declines are likely because the share of “distressed” sales, including bank-owned foreclosures, tend to rise in the winter, when traditional sales activity cools. Banks are often much quicker to cut prices to unload properties quickly, which means that the greater the share of “distressed” sales, the more prices tend to fall. One hopeful sign is that inventories have fallen from their bloated levels of one year ago. All 28 cities in The Wall Street Journal’s latest survey saw homes listed for sale fall from one year ago, when markets were reeling with a substantial overhang of properties amid a big drop in demand. Visible inventory was down sharply in several markets, including by almost half in Miami and 40% in Phoenix. Low inventories have spurred more bidding wars at the low end of the market as investors compete for homes that they can convert into rentals. In Sacramento, it would take just 2.5 months to sell the listed inventory at the current sales pace. Las Vegas has a 4.3 month supply of inventory, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. But the potential supply of homes is much bigger because banks have yet to process hundreds of thousands of potential foreclosures.

 

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Denver 20th in U.S. for new home projects

Metro Denver ranked 20th in the nation for new housing construction projects authorized in 2010 out of 366 metro areas, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

The analysis is by G. Scott Thomas, who writes the “On Numbers” blog on statistical trends for The Business Journals, the national online news affiliate of the Denver Business Journal.

Thomas compared the value of new private housing projects authorized by building permit last year among 366 cities.

In the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area, not including Boulder County, $1,011 billion in new housing construction was authorized in 2010, Thomas reported.

Second in Colorado — and 42nd in the nation — was the Colorado Springs area, with $542.1 million in new housing construction permitted last year. Third in the state, and 108th nationally, was Fort Collins-Loveland, with $182.9 million in projects.

Overall, permitted housing construction in all 366 U.S. metro areas totaled $88.46 billion last year, Thomas said. Denver was one of 20 cities with more than $1 billion in housing projects authorized.

Houston ranked first in the nation, with $4.17 billion in projects, followed by Dallas, with $3.87 billion, and New York City, with $3.05 billion.

The figures may include projects for which permits were issued in 2010 but construction did not begin last year. Also, the numbers are not adjusted for population, so the largest cities tend to have the highest totals.

A clickable database comparing the metro areas is below. It can be re-sorted by clicking the header for the appropriate column.

> Click here for Thomas’ report on national housing construction trends.

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Denver residential real estate sales top $1B in July

For the second month, the amount of residential real estate sold in metro Denver topped $1 billion in sales volume.

That’s according to July Metrolist Inc. statistics compiled by Gary Bauer, an independent, Littleton-based real estate broker and Metrolist analyst.

“That’s what you’d expect for the prime-time season,” Bauer said. “But don’t expect a billion-a-month in sales for the rest of the year, especially with what’s going on now with the economy.”

In July, 3,835 units — both residential homes and condos — sold for an average price of $270,066, resulting in total sales of $1.04 billion. The report states that sales volume was down 6 percent from June, but up 18 percent from July 2010.

The number of units placed under contract stood at 4,250 in July, down 11 percent from June but up 12 percent from July 2010.

There were 19,103 homes unsold in July, down 2 percent from June and 20 percent from July 2010.

Though Bauer said he was encouraged by the year-over-year improvements, he wasn’t optimistic about the remainder of 2011.

“I have a feeling the rest of the year is going to be very slow,” he said.

Some year-to-date information about residential homes (excluding condos), through the end of July:

• The number of homes sold dropped 5 percent, from 19,169 in 2010 to 18,169 this year.

• Average selling price climbed from $279,800 in 2010 to $281,597 this year.

• Overall sales volume dropped 5 percent, from $5.4 billion in 2010 to $5.1 billion this year.

• Average days on the market climbed 31 percent, from 83 in 2010 to 109 this year.

Bauer said the days-on-the-market statistic has a lot to do with mortgage loans.

“Yes, mortgage rates are down below 5 percent, but they’ve been affordable for two years now,” he said. “It’s the due diligence behind the scenes that’s making it very difficult. We still have a fair percentage of loans that don’t go to closing.”

Metrolist Inc. of Greenwood Village is metro Denver’s Multiple Listing Service, a database of home sales activity for real estate professionals.

 

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Colorado adds 4,200 jobs, unemployment rate edges down

The unemployment rate in Colorado dipped one-tenth of a percent in May, to 8.7 percent from 8.8. percent in April, and the state’s employers added 4,200 payroll jobs last month, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday.

The jobless rate last month was down from March’s 9.2 percent and February’s 9.3 percent. The February rate was the highest recorded since state began gathering statistics.

The increase in nonfarm payroll jobs, to a total of 2,234,300, included a net 3,300 rise in private-sector positions and a net 900 gain in government jobs, the report said.

Over the last year ending in May, nonfarm jobs are up 7,700, with a net increase of 16,300 in the private sector and a drop of 8,600 in the private sector.

Those figures are based on a government survey of work establishments and may not include some non-payroll jobs, such as self-employment. A separate survey of Colorado households showed May employment increased by 4,700.

Based on that employment gain and a slight decline in the size of the state’ labor force — down 100 to 2,692,200 — the number of jobless people unable to find work in Colorado declined by 4,800.

All rates are seasonally adjusted.

According to the state report, the largest private sector job gains in May from the previous month were in construction and trade, transportation and utilities. The largest decline was in the broad “other services” category.

Over the last year, the biggest job gains were in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation and utilities. The largest declines were in construction, information and financial activities.

Statewide, the average workweek for private nonfarm workers rose to 35.1 hours in May from 34.8 hours a year earlier. Average hourly earnings decreased to $23.88 from $23.97.

Seasonally-adjusted May job and unemployment figures for metro Denver and other state urban areas, which in the past have been released with state data, will instead be released in about two weeks because of methodology changes involved in compiling the metro numbers, state officials said.

Not seasonally adjusted, the jobless rate in the Denver-Aurora metro area was 8.5 percent in May, up from 8.3 percent the previous month.

Seasonally adjusted, unemployment in metro Denver stood at 8.4 percent in April, down from 8.9 percent in March. The metro area’s unemployment rate rose as high as 9.4 percent in February.

Colorado was one of 24 states that saw jobless rates drop in May, and one of 22 states that saw a rise in jobs.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent in April and 8.8 percent in March.

> Click here to download the state’s full report on jobs and unemployment, including a spread sheet with unadjusted county-by-county

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Luxury home sales on the rise

The number of luxury homes sold in June in metro Denver jumped significantly over the prior month’s sales, according to a report from Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Latest from The Business Journals Around the Region: Sept. 16, 2011Around the Region: Sept. 13, 2011Coldwell Banker buys Mason McDuffie Castro Valley office Follow this company .

Seventy-one homes, with a sales price of $1 million or higher, sold in June, as compared to 47 in May. That number also was slightly higher than in the previous year, when 67 homes sold in June 2010.

The report is based on data from Denver’s Multiple Listing Service, a database of home sales activity for real estate professionals.

Those June sales also were faster, with an average of 164 days on the market, than the month before when the average stood at 215 days on the market. Both numbers were up from June 2010’s average days on the market, 116.

Sellers got an average of 92.6 percent of their asking price in June, up from May’s 91.3 percent and June 2010’s 90.4 percent.

The report shows the biggest number of luxury homes sold in June were in Boulder County, with 17 sales, followed by Denver County’s 15.

The biggest deal of the month came in Littleton, where a 16,793-square-foot home sold for $6.18 million.

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