Living Colorado Springs » Homes for Sale

Teller County Is a Different Kind of Suburb

Rick Van Wieren — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:13:57 +0000

Most people familiar with Teller County wouldn’t really think of it as a suburb. It is really pretty rural, but the fact is that most of Teller County lives in the shadow of Colorado Springs economically, and as part of our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) area, deserves some coverage of its own from time to time.

Woodland Park is about 20 minutes up the Ute Pass, due west of Colorado Springs, and claims 7600 residents. It is the county seat, and the only real city in Teller County, possessing both a Super Walmart and a MacDonalds (among other shopping and dining opportunities!) . It is the jumping off point for driving trips further west into the mountains. At 8500 ft in elevation, it is cooler climate than Colorado Springs, and can be a nice quick getaway in its own right on a hot day.

Some of the other towns and areas of Teller County include Divide, Florissant, and Cripple Creek. Cripple Creek is an old mining town turned gambling center. Divide and Florissant have a lot of semi-vacation type homes that are pretty much year round residences these days. Divide is home to Mueller State Park, and Florissant has the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The average selling price for homes in Teller County for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was $199,324, the median was $174,900.

What brought Teller County to mind for me was a trip up there yesterday to add a new lock box to a home that I have listed (which is now under contract), in Divide. On the way back, I stopped at The Crags trailhead, a ‘back side’ route up Pikes Peak, and took a little hike. This was a delightful hike, and I look forward to taking it up even further on a day when I have more time and can start earlier. The west side of Pikes Peak, Mueller State Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and of course the rest of the Pike National Forest make Teller County a real playground for those of us who live in Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas.

The Crags Trail

Home Sales in Colorado Springs up 4.7% in June

Rick Van Wieren — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:54:51 +0000

June Colorado Springs home sales were up 4.7%, compared with June of 2009. This was undoubtedly affected by deadline of the Home Buyers Tax Credit, with June 30 being the last day to close to still be eligible (before the last minute extension of the closing deadline passed by both the house and the senate). The average price was up 7.5% at $242,315, and median was up 5.3% at $205,000.

Less positive was the increase in homes for sale. The inventory of homes for sale in Colorado Springs rose 14.5%, to the highest level since October 2008. Also, the Selling Price to List Price ratio dropped to 96.7%, which is low by local standards.

With interest rates in the 4’s, the remaining summer months should be moderately healthy, and more ‘normal’, with tax credits and other government stimulus actions less of a factor. The things that will turn our market around more quickly than anything will be more jobs in Colorado Springs, and the return of the thousands of troops who are currently deployed to the Middle East, to Ft Carson.

For more details on current housing market conditions, please visit the Market Conditions section of www.LivingColoradoSprings.com

Cool Gray Break in the Summer Heat

Rick Van Wieren — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:05:16 +0000

It was over 90 a couple of days ago. It did not hit 60 yesterday. This is part of the excitement of Colorado Springs weather, it’s always changing. It also makes our weather very bearable, because it is very seldom all bad. After a rainy gray day yesterday, the sun is out (at least for the moment), and while it isn’t exactly hot out, we should see a very comfortable mid 60’s today. The rain and sun will likely arm wrestle a bit, and by tomorrow, the sun will likely have won the match. It was cool enough where I might even get a photo of fresh snow on Pikes Peak, not a very common occurrence in June.

The grass and flowers really like these wet weekends. Things will be nice a green for bit, and maybe the cooler weather will bring back some daily thunderstorms. We really count on some rain in the afternoon here, and there are times when it just doesn’t show up. We planted some flowers just before my wife’s surgery (she was actually putting the last ones in the morning of her surgery), and other than some hail damage the other night when the front came through, they seem to be doing pretty well. Even the annuals I put in before the last frost survived and are blooming! While I have a bit of a black thumb, we are finding gardening to be somewhat fun while we are movement restricted from her surgery (a new hip will do that).

While she was in the hospital I took a walk around the Old North End, near Penrose Main Hospital, and discovered where the REAL gardeners hang out. There are a lot of beautiful mature gardens surrounding the Old Victorians, and it made for a very pleasant walk trying to figure out what kinds of flowers I was looking at. I may do a photo piece soon on this unique area north of downtown Colorado Springs, as the architecture and landscaping really come together nicely here. Prices in this distinct neighborhood range from the high 200’s to close to a million, depending on size, condition and the specific streets.

Low Interest Generating Low Interest?

Rick Van Wieren — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:48:09 +0000

Mortgage interest rates came close to hitting a record low last week. All the junk going on in Europe with Greece and Hungary’s financial situations has made US mortgage backed securities more attractive apparently, and the result is some incredibly low mortgage interest rates.
But not as many buyers are taking advantage of them. There are a couple of factors.

The tax credit programs that expired at the end of April ‘borrowed’ some buyers from the summer market, as people made decisions based on the deadline. They aren’t in as much of a hurry now, although this should be a temporary factor, being less of an issue as the mid summer months arrive. Most people do not move based on tax credit type incentives, and that is especially true in relocation, where a lot of my work is.
The pool of eligible buyers has shrunk because of the soft job market. People are more income constrained, and cautious, when unemployment is high. Here in Colorado Springs unemployment is 8.2%, not horrible, but not great.
The pool of eligible buyers has shrunk because of tightening lending rules. Interest rates can be 2%, but if the rules preclude someone from getting a mortgage, what can they do? Example: John and Mary Smith want to move up to a bigger house, but they currently own a home. In past years, they could rent the existing home and still make the move (if they have enough for the down payment), with the lender counting 75% of the rental income as an offset against the current house payment. The new rules require the existing home to have at least a 1 year rental history in order to count the rental income at all, eliminating the ability to move without selling for many homeowners (who are often underwater on the mortgage). This is just one example, there are LOTS of rules that have tightened, thereby shrinking the buyer pool.
Home ownership and the prospect of appreciation has lost some of its shine. Buyers are no longer as confident in the house going up in value as they have for the last 60 years. There are MANY reasons to own your home besides appreciation, but appreciation has certainly become less of an automatic. Of course when the stock market recently dropped 1,000 points in 1/2 hour, it does raise the question, what IS automatic?
At least in Colorado Springs, the supply of homes for sale is increasing very rapidly. We are up to 5,700 unsold homes from 4700 in March, giving buyers the perception that there is no hurry, there will be more for sale tomorrow, and they might even like them better.
There is a little bit of ‘chicken and egg’ going on, in that lower demand for mortgages actually brings rates down. Fewer borrowers will have at least some impact on rates, pressuring them downward further.

Conventional wisdom had interest rates heading up by this time. But life happens, and it will be interesting to see how the whole picture unfolds!

Colorado Springs Home Sales Up 11.9% in April

Rick Van Wieren — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:04:05 +0000

April was a good month in the real estate business in Colorado Springs. Homes sales were up 11.9% over last year, and prices were up 4.7%, a very respectable amount. While the tax credit expiration of April 30 undoubtedly pulled some activity into the month, most of the impact of that will likely be felt in May and June closings (there were 1,866 homes in some level of ‘pending sale’ status), as the closing deadline under the program is June 30. Even distressed property sales indicated an improvement, with only 1 in 5 homes sold being shown as ‘distressed’ in some way, down from almost 1 in 3 as recently as January.
It isn’t ALL good news. The fact is, the inventory of unsold homes actually grew for the 1st time in 2 years (only up 2.6%). But considering it has been shrinking for 2 years straight, it had to increase sometime. Taken in context of the number of homes being sold, it put us at about a 6 1/2 month supply, very near what many economists think of as ‘balanced’ market.
For more details and a 5 year trend chart, visit the Market Conditions section of this web site.

Tax Credit Almost Done – Now What?

Rick Van Wieren — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:38:33 +0000

Many in the real estate industry are holding their collective breath to see what comes next after this Friday’s expiration of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. While some thought it would be extended, the reality is that the Federal government has got to back off from its assumed role as rescuer of the housing market, and let people get back to business.
So does this mean that sales will dry up? Probably not. While we may have borrowed a few transactions from the summer months into the spring, the housing market does not really ebb and flow that much around special incentives, and is driven more by jobs, and the need for housing. Young people are still graduating from college, getting married, having kids and buying their first homes (not necessarily in that order!), with or without tax credit help. People are still transfering to accept new jobs, or retiring, or divorcing, or whatever other ‘change of life’ event that happens that changes housing needs.
Interest rates are trickling up a little, but are basically still at incredibly low levels. Colorado Springs homes are a great value, and there are lots of nice homes for sale right now. The economy is not great, but getting better by the month, if not the week. And Colorado Springs is still a GREAT place to live. Will sales slow? Maybe a little. But my own perspective is that there will continue to be many reasons for people to buy a house in Colorado Springs. And I’ll be here to help them!

Getting the Lead Out

Rick Van Wieren — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:48:33 +0000

1978 was a very good year, at least from an environmental standpoint. That was the year they quit using lead based paint in homes, fondly referred to as LBP by some of us in the business of selling houses. 2010 will be another important year, and April 22 may be one of those dates that ‘lives in infamy’, because new rules are going into effect on April 22 that will forever change the economics of doing major home renovations on homes built prior to 1978.
EPA (US Envronmental Protection Agency, occasionally joked about as the Economically Prohibitive Agency) has a web site that explains more about what is going on, but the basics are as follows.

Contractors doing work on homes built prior to 1978 will have to become certified
Procedures required for doing work on homes built prior to 1978 will slow down the construction process, and make it more expensive on older homes
Homeowners doing work on their own homes they live in are exempt, but not landlords, ‘fix and flip’ renovators, or pretty much anyone else doing work on a home they do not live in
Fines are HUGE for non-compliance

Before anyone goes and jumps off a bridge (or decides to inhale lead based paint dust ) over this, it isn’t really ALL bad. Over time, some contractors will probably get more efficient with the processes, and some initial ’scary’ quotes for work will likely diminish. While projects like window replacement will likely continue as they are needed (the older windows really aren’t very energy efficient), there will be at least some projects that people may elect not to do, such as removing walls. Projects that don’t disturb more than 6 square feet of wall space don’t require the new certification and procedures, so little stuff won’t be affected.
The other unintended side effect of these rules, is that homes built prior to 1978 that have NOT been updated much, are going to become a bit harder to sell. Fix and flip and landlord type investors are not going to be as likely to buy them, so the demand will be more from owner occupants. This group has had an insatiable appetite for newer homes all along, so demand for the older homes will likely fall, at least until people can get their heads around these regulations.

Annual Colorado Springs Home Values Report Released

Rick Van Wieren — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:38:00 +0000

There are lots of ways that home values get reported in Colorado Springs. Many of us as agents track this tightly, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors definitely makes a major effort, and the El Paso County Assessors office takes its own swing at the issue. But this is one area where I really have to tip my hat to our only daily Colorado Springs newspaper, The Gazette.

Today they released their annual Home Values section. I like this particular section, because it is probably the most in-depth look at housing values at a neighborhood level that we ever see without doing it ourselves. They include the assessors office data, and they identify foreclosure information, too often overlooked in other analysis. I don’t always agree with the way they break down the neighborhoods, there can be a huge swing in the number of homes they include in each, but none of this kind of work is perfect.

Their numbers correlate with, but don’t match, prior analysis released by PPAR. They show prices fell 8% during 2009 (compared to 6.2% reported by PPAR). The online version of the report is very interactive, enjoy playing with it! The Gazette’s Online Annual Home Values Report

Selection of Homes for Sale in Colorado Springs is Growing

Rick Van Wieren — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:43:00 +0000

As of this morning, April 14, there were 5,069 single family and patio homes for sale. That number has been climbing, and it looks like April will see the first year to year increase in the inventory if homes for sale in Colorado Springs since this recession began.
Part of the increase is because we have a little rush of sellers trying to take advantage of a demand spike related to the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, scheduled to expire on April 30. Part of the increase is the normal ’spring rush’ of signs we get when the grass starts to turn green. Homes show better in the spring, many job transfers occur in the spring, and people get a little spring fever to move as well. Locally we have some great deals on homes in the upper price ranges, and for the first time in a while, we are seeing more move up traffic. In Colorado Springs, military orders also play a role in our housing market, with many active duty personnel receiving their orders for their next assignment right about now.
In a way it is a sign of returning normalcy. With over 1700 homes pending sale, we need some to take their place. Thankfully, only 10.2% of the homes for sale appear to be bank owned or short sales, also indication of health.

Colorado Springs Homes Sales Up 27.7% in March!

Rick Van Wieren — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:58:13 +0000

It is no April Fools joke, Colorado Springs home sales really jumped 27.7% in March, according to preliminary data. Prices were stronger as well, with the average up 1.5% at $215,625 and the median (1/2 above, 1/2 below) up 2.6%, at $189,850.
These are good numbers, and while somewhat expected in light of the $8,000 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, at least they did not disappoint. The ‘distressed’ sales percentage of the total also dropped, to a 23.1%, the lowest in the last 4 months. The number of homes for sale dropped 6% from last year, but has been rising lately, and it was the smallest year to year drop we’ve had in almost 2 years, indicating the inventory will likely increase again soon. What a great time to buy a home in Colorado Springs!
For more details, please see the Market Conditions section of this web site.