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.
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I guess most towns have their own slogans, nicknames and logos. And once in a while, they change them. Colorado Springs just spent $111,000 to get re-branded, but not everyone here is sure we got our money’s worth. The new tag line – Live It Up has some cleverness to it, because at our elevation and with the mountains towering in the background all the time, up is a physical thing as well as a state of mind. Live obviously reflects that one our great assets here is a great lifestyle. And even “It” covers about anything and everyone. But for me at least, Live It Up sounds too much like ‘party hardy’ and connotes a bar scene, that quite frankly is NOT one of our assets. Here is a video of the Mayor Steve Back introducing the new brand. Finding the Best Secure Storage Facilities – A guest blog by Matt Schexnayder Going off to college? Moving to a new city? Need to store your ‘excess baggage’ while marketing your home? Maybe you’ve been relocated for your job. Whatever the reason, the question of what to do with your belongings will come up. One option is, you could pawn off your belongings with your friends or instead, you could use a reputable online company like SpareFoot to help you find secure storage. Instead of driving around or searching the yellow pages the “old fashioned” way, this website can guide you through the process of finding reasonably priced and convenient storage companies. It’s easy and it’s as simple as knowing your new zip code. This service works especially well for smaller, less populated cities. For example, the move-in rate for towns like Colorado Springs are seeing a sudden increase, due to the fact that more and more people want to get away from the hectic lifestyle that comes with living in a big city. Even though it is less of an urbanized area, there are still numerous Colorado Springs self-storage facilities to choose from and using SpareFoot makes picking the right unit so much easier. It will save you hours of what would be wasted time checking each facility individually. Using the SpareFoot website is like shopping online without any obligation to buy. You can easily click on one of the storage facilities on your screen to see a snapshot of what they have to offer. Easy-to-read bulleted lists will tell you the essentials including what amenities/services they offer. For example, some storage facilities offer 24-hour access, while others are only open for 40 total hours during the week. Certain facilities even offer specialty storage, which you can search for as well, allowing you to store those winter toys like skis or even snowmobiles in a safe and secure place. Go online and check out SpareFoot for yourself. Just a few clicks online can save you hours of work and frustration and free up tons of space around the house you never even knew you had. About Matt: Veterans Day is here again. A time to remember the fallen, honor the living, and give thanks to those who have served or continue to serve in the military. Our 3rd snow event of the 2011 Colorado Springs snow season finally closed some schools. Districts 20, 38 and 49 all closed, although Colorado Springs School District 11 was only on a 2 hour delay. Since my wife is a teacher, we kind of like these. Thankfully as a Realtor, I don’t have any urgent reason to leave home today. The 2 foot drift across my driveway really isn’t going to want me to leave anyway 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. “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 A Guest Blog by Matt Polsky. Matt Polsky is the Senior Editor of Smart Military Money, a personal finance blog specifically for veterans and service members. VA Home Loans for Veterans and Service Members Veteran’s Day rooted from Woodrow Wilson declaring Armistice Day on November 11th, 1919, following the infamous Treaty of Versailles. Wilson said, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service.” It wasn’t until 1921 that Armistice Day was changed to Veteran’s Day, honoring not only the fallen, but all who have served. This was further enforced in 1944, when the government first made available the VA home loan program. The program was designed to help returning troops who fought valiantly during World War II to find the home of their dreams and continues to this day. The program is a self-sustaining program and needs no excess money from the government to continue providing amazing benefits to our veterans and active service members. While this is a great program, potential homeowners still must ask themselves if this program is right for them. While government backed VA home loans are a great option for almost every veteran, active service members must consider what buying a home will mean to their financial situation. An active duty member can experience frequent moves and deployments that have the possibility of leaving their home on the market or in disrepair for quite some time. This financial burden is a difficult one to carry, which can cause late payments, delinquencies, and eventually foreclosure, which brings on a poor credit score. Deployed military members with a home or outstanding debt should remember to apply for protection under the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act, which offers an umbrella of financial protection while you are overseas. For service members and veterans in a more permanent situation, VA home loans offer many benefits. For instance qualified borrowers are not required to put any money down, which is a large hurdle for most conventional programs. While many think this could bring on more financial problems, the VA home loan program has some of the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation. Other benefits include:
To be eligible for the program, a person should have served on active duty during wartime for 90 days or peacetime for 181 days, served in the National Guard or Reserves for at least six years, or be the spouse of service member who died in the line of duty. When searching for your Colorado Springs home be sure to contact an expert on the area such as Rick Van Wieren. Rick knows the ins and outs of the area and has your best interest in mind. As a service member or veteran, you have access to one of the greatest lending programs on the market today; however, it is important to be financially responsible and make sure you can handle the joy and responsibility of homeownership. Matt Polsky is the Senior Editor of Smart Military Money, a personal finance blog specifically for veterans and service members. After dire forecasts of 8-12″ of snow for Monument and slightly less for the Springs, Winter Storm Warnings and the like, a lot of kids (and teachers!) were upset to be in school after all yesterday, when less than 1/2 the forecast amounts fell in most spots, and the warm roads refused to keep any of it. It was still fun to see it snowing, and we know there is plenty more where that came from. Next time we won’t be so lucky with the roads melting it off, the nights are getting colder with each passing day! We were very lucky not to experience what Denver did, where 40,000 + customers were still without power this morning when snow heavy trees that still had their leaves, snapped and fell on power lines. 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.
Fall in Colorado Springs is a great time of year for lots of reasons. The cool nights and warm days make for very pleasant out door activities. The skies seem extra blue this time of year, and as the trees begin to turn, the golden aspens give such a nice highlight to everything. There are lots of food festivals this time of year, and vendors are selling roasted chilis on some street corners. A new football season brings out great crowds (and flyovers!) to cheer on the Air Force Academy Falcons. Season pass and ski equipment sales are going on everywhere, a reminder that this beautiful time of year will soon give way to one of Colorado’s most popular, ski season. |
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