Living Colorado Springs » Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Conditions

Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Improves in January – A Little

Rick Van Wieren — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:27:17 +0000

Home sales in Colorado Springs ticked up again in January, by 3% over January of 2011. The inventory of unsold homes also shrunk, to only 3,156 homes, a 10 year low. The bad news was that prices also shrunk, with the average down 2.9% from 2011 and the median down 4.3%. The lower prices are likely affected by the mix of distressed properties, 23.8% of total sales. January prices are usually the lowest of the year, because they reflect contracts from December that often include homes that are distressed and are being cleared off the books by motivated asset managers at the banks.
Interest rates remain in the upper 3′s, making this historically one of the lowest cost of housing periods on record.
For more details please visit www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions.

Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Poised for Recovery

Rick Van Wieren — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:52:24 +0000

With a new year comes new hope. Sometimes that hope is even based on fact, which is the case for the Colorado Springs real estate market. Those facts are:

Homes sales for December were up 3.5% from last year, the 6th consecutive monthly increase.
The inventory of unsold homes in December was down a whopping 25.5%, the lowest number of homes on the market in 10 years
Fewer than 1 in 5 homes sold in December were indicated to be distressed (ie short sales, foreclosure, bank owned, etc)
Sales for 2011 were up 3.3% for the entire year.
Interest rates are now in the upper 3′s, making this one of the most affordable times in history to buy
Prices are roughly equivalent to 2004 – again making this an insanely affordable time to buy
Ft Carson’s large population of roughly 30,000 troops is largely home now, adding to the local economy
New civilian jobs are being added fairly steadily, with unemployment falling
Gas prices have fallen back below $3.00 per gallon, making some of the more rural settings in our area more affordably accessible
The I25 widening project from Woodmen to Interquest Parkway is finally going to start, bringing a few construction jobs, but more importantly, easing the connection between Colorado Springs and it’s northern suburbs and neighborhoods, and ultimately the Denver job market.

It’s not all good news. Prices fell in December (the average was down 9.6%, the median 6.8%). There is still uncertainty in the world economy. International developments could put our troops back in harms way, or escalate the number required where they currently are deployed.

But for now, there is hope for the Colorado Springs real estate market. Probably even more than for the Denver Broncos to advance in the playoffs

Home Sales Increase Brings Christmas Cheer to Colorado Springs

Rick Van Wieren — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:07:06 +0000

November Colorado Springs home sales were up 19.2%, the 5th consecutive month of double digit increases over 2010. Is the housing recession over? Maybe. Interest rates under 4% are sure helping sales, and any major changes in that department could derail things, but so far, so good.
Recent Colorado Springs employment news has been strong, with new commercial construction as well as manufacturing and call center hiring. On top of that, the wind down in Iraq is bringing troops back home to Fort Carson, hopefully to stay, which further fuels the Colorado Springs economy in terms of car sales, furniture, etc.
For more details, housing trend information and more, please visit www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions.

October Home Sales Jump in Colorado Springs

Rick Van Wieren — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:31:11 +0000

October 2011 Colorado Springs home sales were up 20.1% over 2010, making it the 2nd best October since 2006. The good new was tempered by prices that remain soft, with the average and the median both down 7.8% and 7.5% respectively. Low interest rates and a recovering local economy are both factors in the highers numbers. The inventory of unsold homes dropped below 4,000 for the first time since December of 2009, and is actually at its lowest level since December of 2005, indicating we may soon be shifting back to more of a balanced market.
For more details, please visit www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions/.

“Based on information from the Pikes Peak REALTOR Services Corp. (“RSC”), for the period 1/1/05 through 10/31/11 . RSC does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by RSC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.” Copyright © 2011 REALTOR® Services Corp. Questions about this data analysis should be directed to Rick Van Wieren, RE/MAX Properties, Inc, 1740 Chapel Hills Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 ph 719-590-4768 or email rick@ricksellscolorado.com

Colorado Springs Home Sales Continue to Improve

Rick Van Wieren — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:41:08 +0000

Home sales in Colorado Springs have now improved 3 months in a row when compared with 2010. While prices remain soft (September was down 5.2% or 4%, depending on whether you compare the average or the median), year-to-date sales are now ahead of last year as well. The inventory of unsold homes has dropped every month since March, indicating sellers are continuing to stay on the sidelines.
For buyers being offered interest rates in the 3′s, it is no surprise that more homes are being purchased. As the local economic outlook continues to improve, the bargains are just too good to pass up. For more details, please visit www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions.

Colorado Springs Home Sales Jump

Rick Van Wieren — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:44:15 +0000

Single family home sales in Colorado Springs took a big jump in August over 2010, with sales up 20.9% over August of 2010. The inventory of unsold home also dropped 23.5%, as buyers took advantage of low interest rates, while sellers wait on the sidelines for better prices. The average price was down 10% from last year. For more details, please visit Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Conditions

Home Sales Up in July in Colorado Springs

Rick Van Wieren — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:33:05 +0000

Colorado Springs home sales were up 11.9% in July 2011 over July 2010. While prices remained soft (down 5.2%), this was the first year to year increase in some time. The 90th percentile was $390,000, and 17.4% of sales were disclosed as ‘distressed’ in some fashion (bank owned, short sale, etc). The inventory of unsold homes stood at 4,710, a decrease of 20.9%, and a 5.9 month supply. 6 months is considered a ‘normal’ market.
Sales are up in part because of continued low interest rates, still in the mid 4′s. Also, July of 2010 was abnormally low because the tax credit program had just expired. Look for sales and prices to bump along at fairly stable levels, with small improvements expected as the economy finds its legs.
For more details please visit http://www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions .

May Home Sales Drop in Colorado Springs

Rick Van Wieren — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:31:16 +0000

May home sales in Colorado Springs saw a 9.8% decline over 2010. The Colorado Springs real estate market has taken somewhat of a beating, with both sales and prices dropping. The average single family home price was off 8.4%, at $213,211. Some of this decline has been expected, as May of 2010 included many buyers who were trying to take advantage of the tax credit being offered at the time. Since homes had to be under contract by April 30 and closed by June 30, it is likely that we’ll see the year to year comparisons start to improve in July.
Interest rates remain low, with 30 year fixed rate loans hovering in the mid 4′s, and 15 year loans and ARM’s getting all the way into the 3′s. The inventory of homes for sale has also decreased, down 15.6%, so perhaps, barring unforeseen events, we could be looking at a stable, though smaller and more affordable, real estate market here in Colorado Springs for a while.
For more details, please visit www.LivingColoradoSprings.com/market-conditions.

Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Drops Slightly in April

Rick Van Wieren — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:55:57 +0000

April 2011 home sales in Colorado Springs were down 5.6% from last year (748 homes sold), and prices were off slightly as well, down 2.1% for the average ($215,466) and 1.4% for the median (50% above, 50% below, $184,900). High end home sales were surprisingly soft, with the 90th percentile at only $365,000.

The ‘silver lining’, if there is one, is that the inventory of unsold homes remains fairly stable, at 4,582 homes for sale in Colorado Springs, roughly a 6 month supply, and down 11% from 2010. Last years figures were affected by the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, which had contract and closing deadlines that forced a bit of a surge in contracts in April. Builders and resale home sellers alike were banking on the program to speed up the sale of their homes at the time, this years supply looks like we’ve found the ‘new normal’.

For more details, please visit http://livingcoloradosprings.com/market-conditions/

Oh yeah, “Based on information from the Pikes Peak REALTOR Services Corp. (“RSC”), for the period 1/1/05 through 4/30/11 . RSC does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by RSC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.” Copyright © 2011 REALTOR® Services Corp. Questions about this data analysis should be directed to Rick Van Wieren, RE/MAX Properties, Inc,1740 Chapel Hills Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 ph 719-590-4768 or email rick@ricksellscolorado.com

Colorado Springs New Construction Will Stay Slow

Rick Van Wieren — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:30:43 +0000

There has been a lot of press these days about how new home construction needs to increase in Colorado Springs. While I personally agree, the reality is that people will start buying new homes more frequently when they no longer can find enough selection of existing homes. For that to happen, more people are going to have to jump back in to the real estate market.
We have not been building many new homes for several years now, and pent up demand for newer homes is increasing. With high unemployment, a general retraction in peoples belief they can afford the real estate they have, etc, it just hasn’t made that much sense. But over time, people graduate from college, get married (or divorced), they have kids (or their kids move out), families grow (or shrink), and the need for newer larger homes (or smaller ones!) will come back. It’s called household creation. Until it does, we probably have just the right amount of new building going on.
In these conditions, when does new construction make sense? When an existing home won’t do the job. With over 4600 homes for sale, it is logical to first see what’s already there, because it is not that likely that a builder can build a new home for less than what an existing home would cost, unless they have gotten an AMAZING deal on the land it sits on (which does happen occasionally). Sometimes there are features that someone wants or needs that just don’t seem to exist in any existing homes. Sometimes the condition of a resale home just can’t match up to what someone feels they need. Some new developments have amenities that were not available when many of our existing homes were built. There are lots of reasons, but they all get back to the economic trade off: are they worth the price.
When the number of buyers increases to the level where the existing inventory no longer is adequate, new construction will pick up again. It won’t be instant, and it won’t happen all over the area, but it will happen. Some of us in the real estate industry can’t wait!