Real Estate Information

Hello again, Mike here with yet another chart as we track and try to make some sense of our Colorado Springs real estate market. This chart is a snapshot of  September for the past 3 years.

Most dramatic is the down trend in sales vs the uptrend in total actives(listings) with 2005 being our last strong year for sales. We also felt our first real pullback in avg sales price at 5% compared with this time last year. This is still not bad at all compared with many other markets around the country. As rates stay low and lenders relax a bit from the sub-prime meltdown I think we will start cutting into the inventory. This would lead to a more balanced market by the end of 2008. For buyers this means while rates are low and inventory is high its time to buy!

Till next time,

Mike

Here we go with the September market update. Most noticeable is the slight pullback in new listings, but a larger drop in sales for the month. Sales were down 21% from this time last year.

Combined with low interest rates this is great news for buyers-not so great for sellers. One good bit out of this is the 13% drop in new listings from this time last year. That will help cut into the total inventory. Looking at 2008 I will be scanning the news for troop deployments, job numbers, and of course interest rates, all which will impact the market in the new year. Short term lets see what the numbers tell us last few months of the year and well go from there.

Hope this helps. Till next time.

Mike 

 I thought it might help if I posted a current graph of this years market. Biggest change in this over past years has been a slowdown in overall sales vs new listings comming on the market. This has caused our current glut of listings. It will probnably take us well into next year to chip away at these levels. The good news is, homes that are priced and staged right are still moving in market time. Market time is bit generic but refers to both a homes price point and location.

Hope this helps,

Till next time,

MIke

Hello there,

Hope you had a great holiday weekend. Can you believe its September. This year is closing out fast. August sales numbers were an extension of Julys. We tacked on a couple hundred more listings and sales are still down a bit. We will continue to compete for limited buyers until the mortgage industry sorts itself out. As i posted last time, A buyers(hi FICOS good credit) will have no problem getting funding in this market.

And now for something completely different! I am going on vacation Friday for a week. I will be out in the Flat Tops Wilderness area N/W Colorado. If you have never been-you have got to get out there one of these days. Be advised if you travel to the northern area between Yampa and Meeker after September the roads could be very snow-packed.

Thats all for now.

Take care,

Mike

Hello everyone,

I have been neglecting my Blog, but in my defense I have been really busy. Thanks to Brett and Barb Lewis for their excellent post on windows and energy.

My main topic this week is once again loans. All current buyers need to be aware of just how volatile the lending industry is. For you 30 yr fixed 700 and above FICO, VA or FHA bear with me. For every one doing stated, no doc, lower FICO ect be aware that your loan program could change or go away between the time you go under contract and the day of closing. We use to focus on getting our clients to lock on their interest rate-now you must lock in on both the rate and your loan program! Make sure you can lock in your type of loan so it will be there at closing.

As the lending industry evolves in this market stay on top of your credit. Any loan 700 or above conforming ect should be just fine.

Have a great week,

MIke

Well folks, my ski season ended a couple of months ago and I have made the transition over to my hiking season. I hit Barr trail most weeks, but tweaked my right knee a few weeks ago. For a change of pace I hit Waldo Canyon last week. The ups and downs are a bit more broken up than Barr trail. I thought this would be a bit easier on the knee. We did the drop down the backside and the full back loop. I think this is between 6.2 and 7 mi depending on the source you look up. Waldo is right off of 24 west just past Manitou. Make sure you bring plenty of water. I always recomend a change of socks also if you are going the distance. Changing into a fresh dry pair of socks is a great excuse for a break and your feet will love you for it.

I will have last months housing numbers posted before the end of the week.

Have a great 4th and stay safe.

MIke