Since November, The Group Inc. has hired 13 new brokers, 10 of whom are brand-new to the profession, quite an increase from the more typical one or two hires per quarter at the firm.

The Group serves communities all across Northern Colorado, and like other real estate brokerages in the area, is benefiting from slight upticks encountered as the overall economy continues on its crawl back.

It might be a good time to get back into real estate sales. All three of the areas tracked by Loveland-based Information and Real Estate Services have experienced an increase in the number of homes sold so far in 2012. Two of those regions, Loveland-Berthoud and Greeley-Evans, saw an increase in the dollar volume sold in both January and February, increasing by 17.2 percent and 40.9 percent respectively in February.

Fort Collins saw a 6.6 percent drop in dollar volume in February following an 8.1 percent increase in January.

Factors driving deals include continued low prices on homes and low interest rates. Consequently, inventories are falling across Northern Colorado, which would logically lead to an increase in prices, though bank-owned and distressed properties are still selling at prices that will suppress price