Date:  Mar 28, 2011

HARRY'S WEEKLY UPDATE

A CURRENT LOOK AT THE COLORADO SPRINGS RESIDENTIAL real estate MARKET

 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME !!!

On a personal note, this week marks my 39th anniversary of selling homes in Colorado Springs. I mention this to clarify the rumor that I sold General Palmer his first home here 39 years ago, in 1972, I sold a house in Security for $13,450. Since then our local real estate market has seen many ups and downs, such as:

  • The 1973 decision by the City Council to discontinue all gas taps. That unfortunate decision killed the city's progress dead in its tracks and it took a long time for the city to recover. It was a dramatic demonstration of the kinds of problems that can be caused by electing officials with no appreciation for jobs, capitalism and what "free-market' means.
  • The creation of the Economic Development Council in the late 70's and the real growth that it generated.
  • The good news in the late 70s-early 80s was the appreciation of home values of over 12%. The bad news was the growth of the interest rate to 18%. (Thank you, Jimmy Carter).
  • The Savings and Loan financing mess which drove the government to shut down the S&L industry and caused a flood of foreclosures, similar to what is happening today in real estate. The result was a dismal, local Real Estate market in 1988-90.
  • The local high-tech boom which brought in good, high-paying jobs and a wonderful real estate market, beginning around 1992-2005, when we reached our highest sales peak, with 13,124 local sales in a single year.
  • Along the way, PPAR introduced the Multiple-Listing Service which provides us with invaluable statistics for assisting our clients in their decision-making process. Based upon those statistics, we see that the value of local homes between 1985 and February, 2011 went from $84,414 to $235,684, for an average appreciation of 5.8% per year.  No matter how you slice it, that's a great investment.

We have enjoyed working with our friends and clients during these 39 years and we have also enjoyed helping the companies, both local and national, that have used our relocation services.

As we begin our next 39 years. we look forward to assisting you as you sell, buy or invest in real estate. We look forward to negotiating on your behalf as you build your financial future and invest in our great community.

And yes, General Palmer was a great guy to do business with.

Call us at 598-3200, or, toll free at 800 677-MOVE 

SPRINGS NAMED "ONE OF THE BEST RETIREMENT PLACES" BY FORBES THE GAZETTE March 25, 2011 2:59 PM

Forbes magazine names Colorado Springs one of its best places to retire in its April 11 issue. The magazine cited our affordable housing, safe streets and low cost of living as plusses to retiring here, but said the winter might be a drawback and said the area was "a bit light on doctors." The Springs shared the honor with 15 other cities, including Albuquerque, N.M., and Salt Lake City, Utah. Forbes said taxes and cost of living heavily influenced the list, although factors such as health care, climate and crime also played a role.

 

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS YEAR IN COLORADO SPRINGS

To those in our community in search of the often hard-to-find "good news," a coalition of community organizations have committed to pull together some positive, relevant and, in some cases, inspiring news about things that are happening in our community on a quarterly basis.  This "News Worth Sharing" publication is provided to those in our community who want more information about all the great things going on and getting done right here in the Pikes Peak Region from a business or civic perspective.  

Some of the things we can look forward to and take pride in during 2011 are:

  1. Police and Fire recruiting academies
  2. Saturday bus services and additional paratransit services restored
  3. Residential streetlights turned back on
  4. Trash cans and park maintenance services returned to neighborhood parks and medians maintained
  5. Maintaining Park, Recreation and Cultural Services including the Therapeutic Recreation program, Center, Deerfield, Meadows Community Center, North Cheyenne Cañon Visitor Centers, Rock Ledge Ranch, and operating the Julie Penrose and Uncle Wilbur fountains next summer
  6. The Space Foundation's move to new headquarters & three new primary employers for the region. This also means that the annual National Space Symposium remains here, taking place this year from April 11 - 14 at The Broadmoor.
  7. The International University Sports Federation (FISU) chooses Colorado Springs as the host city for its 2012 World University Championships in Softball (August 2-11) and Boxing (August 2-10), with both sports held at UCCS. The events are part of a schedule of 33 winter and summer World University Championships to be conducted in 2012, the largest number in FISU history.
  8. UCCS will be the first university to deliver for-credit college courses via Telepresence. UCCS and computer giant Cisco held a worldwide press conference on January 19, 2011 to share this new way of delivering education.
  9. Colorado Springs' cost of living, utility bills lower than national average. Living in Colorado Springs costs 7.2 percent less than the national average, according to the 2010 ACCRA Cost of Living Index. Utility bills are 13 percent lower in Colorado Springs compared to the national average. 

Finally, coming in at #10, is an announcement from the city's budget office that 2010 revenues exceeded the budget by $9.5 million and the excess money will be spent fixing potholes.

That's one less bump in the road you will have to worry about !!!

So, smile !!! You live in a great community !!!

 

STUDY: COLORADO ADDED FEW JOBS IN LAST DECADE EVEN AS LABOR FORCE GREW

A study by CSU economists Martin Shields and Michael Marturana was released Tuesday by Colorado State University. The report highlighted jobs that posted the biggest gains and biggest losses in employment during the decade and since 2007.

The study painted a grim picture of the state economy from 2000 to 2010, as two recessions wiped away growth across much of the state. Colorado added few jobs during the decade, even as the labor force added more than 300,000 people and the working- age population soared by 575,000.

"The decade has been a really difficult one in Colorado. There was substantial growth in the labor force but not in jobs," the report said. "In many ways, Colorado has lost a decade."

  • The Western Slope and mountains saw the biggest gain in earnings per worker, but the region still trailed the Front Range by more than $10,000 per worker in 2010 and the Eastern Plains by almost $4,000.
  • The Front Range lost 5,000 jobs during the decade.
  • Educational services, including teachers and employees of private colleges, topped both lists of gainers, followed by ambulatory health care services.
  • Specialty trade contractors - the plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors who helped fuel Colorado's building boom - lost the most jobs.

"The construction trades have taken the biggest hit," Shields said. "We're not Arizona, Nevada, California or Florida, where the real-estate markets really melted down, but you can see that it had a significant impact on the state."

Other highlights from the study:

  •  Colorado's per-capita income ranking, which had climbed from 19th-highest nationally in 1990 to seventh in 2000, dropped to 16th by 2009.
  • Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the state lost more than 126,000 jobs.
  • The most jobs were lost - 134,000 - between the third quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2010.

P.S. This report emphasizes the urgency of electing a Mayor and City Council that will concentrate on bringing jobs to our area. Your vote is important to the future of our city.

 

INVESTORS DOMINATE DISTRESS SALES

Investor activity dominated a sluggish distress sale market in February as homebuyers are increasingly frustrated by difficulties getting financing, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.

For many homebuyers, mortgage financing is becoming an increasing obstacle. This was highlighted in the latest HousingPulse tracking survey as cash transactions set a new record, accounting for a huge 33.7% of purchases in February. The increase in cash purchases paralleled a rise in investor activity. Investors accounted for 23.5 percent of home purchases in February, up from 19.9% percent in only two months. Investors were obviously driven by the availability of high-quality homes at low prices and the availability of low mortgage-interest rates.

Other factors that persuaded Investors to buy now were the large pool of high-quality renters (former Homeowners) and the upward trend in rents.  

In what could normally be viewed as a positive development, the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index or DPI, a key indicator of the health of the housing market, fell from 49.6 percent in January to 47.3 percent in February. This marked the first decline in the DPI seen since last fall.

The bright side of our present market is that Colorado Springs looks better than almost any other area of the country.

Call us at 598-3200, or, toll free at 800 677-MOVE

 

FEBRUARY EXISTING-HOME SALES DECLINE FOLLOWING SUSTAINED GAINS Washington, DC, March 21, 2011

Existing-home sales fell in February following three straight monthly increases, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales are 2.8 percent below the 5.02 million pace in February 2010.

Newly constructed homes command higher prices than existing homes. Newer appliances, newer building materials and such, plus the new homes being generally larger-sized, account for most of the difference.

Historically the premium of new home price above existing home price has been about 15 percent. However, recent price data say that the premium has risen to 45 percent. That is, the median price of new homes in January was $230,600 versus the median price of existing homes of $157,900.

The much lower existing home price is partly due to distressed home properties on the market that are selling for much less than the replacement cost. Still, the exceptionally large price differential between new and existing homes may imply that either new home prices have to fall or that there is good growth potential for existing home prices.

The bright side, however, is that existing-home sales remain 26.4 percent above the cyclical low last July, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

 

SELLERS' MARKET A YEAR AWAY, SURVEY SAYS

Daily real estate News  |  March 25, 2011  

While buyer's mostly control the real estate market now, Americans say that will soon change. More than 61 percent of Americans agree that a seller's market is at least a year away, according to the latest Spending and Saving Tracker survey from American Express.

More than two in five Americans--or 41 percent--acknowledge that currently it's a buyer's market in real estate.

Forty-three percent of home owners said they are confident they would receive their asking price when selling their home, but 47 percent said they are not confident or "not at all" confident.

Yet, nearly 40 percent said they would not be willing to settle for less than their asking price.

To make a home more competitive in the marketplace, 44 percent of home owners surveyed said that to sell their home they would include appliances and 28 percent would consider offering to make requested repairs or allowing an allotment for repairs.

If you are considering selling your home, we can assist you in establishing a price and negotiating the deal. As the data shows, it is a very competitive Buyers' market and Sellers need the best, most professional assistance available.

Call us at 598-3200, or, toll free at 800 677-MOVE

And, please remember, I would be honored to serve as your Broker for all of your residential real estate needs. I want to help you, my reader, make the most prudent and accurate Real Estate business decision.

Also if you know of anyone who desires to buy or sell local real estate, or, who is moving in or out of the Pikes Peak region, remember that, with over 39 years of providing relocation and Real Estate services to clients throughout the country, I am uniquely qualified to assist them with the relocation process, including buying and/or selling their homes on both ends of their move. Please allow me to implement my negotiating skills on your behalf.

Just click on the icon at the top of this email to listen to my latest podcast. ..And, if you would like to learn more about our Job Loss Protection Program, please contact us. 

 

LATEST STATISTICS

Click here for the latest Sales and Listing statistics for the Pikes Peak area

 

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