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). [...]
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 [...]
We were expecting May to be a strong closing month, and while it wasn’t outrageously great, it was respectable. Sales were up 6.7%, the median price (1/2 above, 1/2 below) was up 2.1%, and the average was 5.3% over 2009. Other notables:
The inventory of unsold homes jumped 10.0%
The sale price to list price ratio dropped [...]
The most frequently asked question I hear these days is, ‘How’s the market now the tax credit program is over?’ This is a really good question. While I’ve been very busy, the fact is, showing traffic is down, and I’ve had fewer calls from first time home buyers. This will be a busy closing week, [...]
With all the tightening of mortgage rules and elimination of ‘creative’ financing options, it was refreshing for me to attend a seminar last week by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA or CHAFA) on low down payment options for 1st time homeowners.
I am not going to be able to cover all of [...]
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 [...]
Most buyers, and a good many sellers, are somewhat annoyed by the ‘jargon’ used by we real estate practitioners in the course of communicating. Frankly, it can even be annoying to us, as the deeper the government is involved in the industry, the more acronyms appear. I thought I would share this glossary in hopes [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]