When our small company, Fort Collins Real Estate was acquired over a year ago by Keller Williams, we did so knowing that the National Brand was one of the best out there. This just proved what we knew and hoped.
This merger between the two companies (Fort Collins Real Estate and Keller Williams of Northern Colorado) create a great platform for our local agents to interact with a national audience of not only other agents, but customers looking to relocate to Fort Collins.
Where nationally, Fort Collins Homes prices seem to be very affordable compared to many places. “The Keller Williams Brand has really helped build my business over the last 12 months, which I don’t think many agents can say right now.” says JJ Hannah of the Keller Williams Downtown Fort Collins office.

Here is the press release:

Keller Williams Realty Ranked as Top Real Estate Franchise by Industry Leader and Entrepreneur Magazine
December 24th, 2009 AUSTIN, TEXAS (December 21, 2009) — Keller Williams Realty joined the ranks of the top franchises in the world last week, when the company was ranked as the No. 1 real estate franchise on the 31st Annual Franchise 500 list by Entrepreneur magazine. During the same week, the company was also voted the Most Recognizable Brand of Real Estate Franchises for 2009 in an industry-wide survey for the Swanepoel TRENDS Report.

“The Swanepoel TRENDS Report is a respected source for the real estate industry and beyond, as is Entrepreneur magazine, and we are excited to see our agents honored in this way for all of their hard work,” said Mark Willis, CEO, Keller Williams Realty. “We certainly wouldn’t have been included on either list without the dedication and resolve of our agents.”

According to the ranking in Entrepreneur magazine, the most important criteria to determine the top franchises included financial strength and stability, as well as growth rate and size of the franchise system. The magazine also looked at the number of years the company has been in business and the length of time it’s been franchising, in addition to start-up costs and financial data. Additionally, Keller Williams Realty made an impressive showing on the overall list, placing higher than any other real estate franchise.

The Swanepoel TRENDS Report is published by Stefan Swanepoel, a real estate industry speaker and insider. The survey was crafted to determine the Most Recognizable Brand for Real Estate Franchises for his report out in February 2010. The survey included votes cast by 11,000 plus real estate agents, who cast 390,000 votes to select the top 10.

Earlier in the year,Keller Williams Realty also received the highest overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms from J.D. Power and Associates for the second year in a row.

“We are extremely proud that our associates and company are being recognized for our strength and stability during this time in our industry,” said Mary Tennant, president and COO, Keller Williams Realty. “We attribute our success to being in business with phenomenal people and to our core business models, which have allowed our franchises to thrive during any market.”

So what does this mean from for the Fort Collins Real Estate market? Well that is to be determined with time. But to us it seems that there are some good opportunities here in Fort Collins and most likely a continued interest in individuals and businesses relocating to Fort Collins.

Here are the specifics:

December 2nd, 2009 The Miliken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners recently released their 2009 Best-Performing Cities Index and the Fort Collins-Loveland area came in at #22. The ranking is based on the institutes evaluation of 200 large metro areas around the country. Each area was evaluated in the following categories: job, wage, salary and technology growth.

One of the major forces driving Fort Collins-Loveland area’s success is the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), which took shape in 2001. The NCEDC is a 501(C)(6) non-for-profit corporation driven by their mission to create primary jobs and promote economic growth in Larimer County. The corporation has been involved in creating over 3,163 primary jobs in the area since 2004, injecting the economy with $215.17 million in wages. To learn more, you can visit the NCEDC website at: http://www.ncedc.com.

Fort Collins-Loveland was not the only Colorado area to make the list. Greeley came in ahead at #20 and Boulder at #44. You can see the complete list at: http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2009.taf.

We are proud to announce that Keller Williams and Bank of America are presenting First Time Home Buyers Training. The next session will be held at the Lory Student Center on the Campus of Colorado State University on October 1, 2009. The program will be held from 6-7 pm. Space is limited so call 970.690.8276 or david@davidtimmhomes.com to reserve your spot. The purpose is to introduce home buyers to the whole process of determining what financing you would qualify for, searching for a home, Home buying process, loan products along with programs and incentives for first time buyers.

Fort Collins recently was ranked as one of the ‘hottest’ (meaning cool) places to live in the recent adventurous places to live. It shares the “411 on the housing market, job market and local lifestyle of 18 adventure towns that could inspire new direction and a change in ZIP code,” the magazine wrote in a news release promoting the issue.
This article cites the city’s tidy streets lined by shops and gingerbread Victorian homes in Old Town (priced at $251,000 on average), the 44 manicured city parks, the 1.5 million acres of nearby national forest, and whitewater on the Poudre River. Not to mention the lack of violent crime.
Fort Collins continues to be aknowledged as a wonderful place to live by most. I am sure many ‘natives’ are going to feel the pinch of being overcrowded soon if not all ready. However, the lifestyle and living opportunities here are wonderful. Living the dream.

Fort Collins home sales should benefit from yet another acknowledgement as a great place to live. To us this is a no brainer, but what can you say. Some people are just catching on.

Well, I found it very cool that Next Generation Consulting has selected Fort Collins as the best place to live for professionals among cities with pop 100,000 to 200,000. This organization, that I know nothing about, but they must be very smart, said, ” it used 45 measures to develop lists of cities in three population categories for its “Next Cities” lists of best places for people between the ages of 20 and 40 to live and work. The criteria included employment, education and social opportunities.

“The Next Generation is very savvy about choosing where they’ll live,”

said Rebecca Ryan, NGC’s founder. “They look carefully at quality-of-life factors like how much time they’re going to spend in traffic commuting, if they can live near a park or hike-and-bike trail and whether a city’s downtown stays awake after 5:00.”

You can follow them at, www.nextgenerationconsulting.com you can follow me at www.fortcollinsre.com and check out or blog there and search for Fort Collins property or refer your relocation client that way.