A lot Northern Colorado residents feel it's a great place to live and work and now a growing number of national players appear to agree, spending close to $150 million in real estate deals since the beginning of the year.

The list of projects and investments bankrolled by companies from out of the market, or even out of state, is a long one, and Northern Colorado is only getting more attractive to the outside investor, according to Steve Kawulok of Sperry Van Ness.

"Fort Collins in particular is in the national spotlight," Kawulok told a recent gathering of the Northern Colorado chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women.

Real estate investment as a whole has increased following the recession, according to Rhys Christensen, broker and partner at Realtec Commercial.

Real estate nowadays is seen as a more stable investment with better returns than more traditional forms of investment, like certificates of deposit or Treasury bonds. Given today's low interest rates, investing in real estate can provide a return of 7 to 10 percent, Christensen said, compared with lower returns from other forms of investment, which can be as low as 1 to 3 percent.

The Northern Colorado market has grown more