November 21, 2016

HARRY’S BI-WEEKLY UPDATE

                                     A Current Look at the Colorado Springs Residential real estate Market

As part of my Personal Service, it is my desire to share current real estate issues that will help to make you a more successful and profitable buyer or seller.

...AND THAT I AM…FOR SO MANY THINGS

With Thanksgiving Day almost upon us, I can’t but think about the many blessings I have to be thankful for in my own life.  I’m actually thankful for these most every day, but this time of year I am doubly reminded of just how fortunate I am.

To start with, I am able to live and work in one of the most beautiful and exciting places in the country and I get to share that daily with my family, friends and coworkers to whom I am always thankful for their presence in my life.

I am thankful to live in a country that allows me to believe in the things that are important to me and to earn a living doing something I truly love.

And certainly not least, I am thankful to all of you, my clients and readers, whom I have had the privilege of working with and getting to know over the past 44+ years.  Your continued confidence, referrals and personal relationships mean more to me than I can tell you—so let me simply say—THANK YOU.

The good news I am sharing today in this edition of my eNewsletter is something for us all to be thankful.

I wish each and every one of you a very heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving.

 

***FROM ALL DIRECTIONS WE ARE POSITIVE, POSITIVE***

 

OCTOBER  LOCAL MARKET UPDATE AND MONTHLY INDICATORS PROVIDE RESULTS IN GREATER DETAIL

Pikes Peak REALTORS® Services Corp.,

In the recently published October 2016 Monthly Indicators and Local Market Update for El Paso and Teller Counties, new listings year-over-year were slightly down for the single-family/patio homes and down 7.7% for condo/townhomes.  Despite that, the great news is that we saw pending sales increase year-over-year of 23.2% for single-family/patio homes and 12.7% for condo/townhomes. 

The median sales price increase year-over-year in all properties was up 10.2%, which is a good sign that the housing market is continuing to appreciate.  If there were more listings, more people would be moving—either selling to trade up or buying for the first time.

     The “Activity Snapshot” shows the one-year change:

  • Sold Listings for All Properties was up 19.2%
  • Median Sales Price for All Properties was up 10.2%
  • Active Listings on All Properties was down 30.5%.

You can click here to read the 16-page Monthly Indicators or click here to get specific information on the neighborhood of your choice from the 33-page Local Market Update. These reports provide greater detail than the monthly “PPAR Monthly Statistics” that I share in the first eNewletter of each month.

Normally, this is the “slower” time of year in the residential real estate market, but there doesn’t appear to be a “normal” anymore.   Post election, with the probability of rate hikes on the horizon, we expect to see even more folks looking to sell and trade up or buy for investment purposes before the recent historical low interest rates are a thing of the past.

I’ve been telling you for quite awhile that this day is coming—and it soon will be here.  If you’ve waited—for whatever the reason—my advice to you is not to wait any longer. With steadily rising median sales prices happening and higher mortgage interest rates soon to be a reality, NOW is the time to make your move. 

To discuss how to make this a reality for you or someone in your family, simply give me a call at 598.3200 or email me at Harry@HarrySalzman.com and let’s see how together we can see what’s best for each individual situation.

 

COLORADO SPRINGS MEDIAN HOMES PRICES RISE 60% MORE THAN U.S. AVERAGE

NAR 11.16

In the 3rd Quarter 2016, metro home price growth was accelerated by the supply crunch, according to the latest survey results of the top 178 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) by the National Association of Realtors®.

Colorado Springs showed a median sales growth quarter-over-quarter of 8.9%, which was 60% greater than the U.S. average of 5.2% for those surveyed.  This is such good news for us and is indicative of our increased job market and continued consumer confidence locally. 

These numbers could have been even higher according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.  He said that prospective buyers faced a very challenging market during the third quarter.  “Mortgage rates around historical lows and solid local job creation created a winning formula for sustained home buying demand all summer long,” he said.  “Unfortunately for house hunters in several of the top job producing metro areas around the country, deficient supply levels limited their options and drove prices higher, especially in markets in the West and South.”

To look at the entire survey of all 178 MSAs, please click here.

 

STATISTICS FROM THE UCCS ECONOMIC FORUM DELIVER MORE GOOD NEWS

UCCS Economic Forum, 11.18.16

The just released October statistics from the UCCS Economic Forum continue to deliver good news on all fronts in the Colorado Springs area.  These charts, which you can access by clicking here, will provide you with graphic detail of how we as a city, as well as El Paso County, are doing in many areas that affect our growth and economy.

If you have any questions about these, or any of the information I’ve presented in this eNewsletter, please give me a call at 598.3200.

 

HOUSING STARTS ARE SEEING GREATEST INCREASES IN NEARLY A DECADE

Housingwire.com, 11.17.16

Housing starts across the U.S., as well as locally, jumped in October to their strongest pace since 2007.  Multifamily homes surged and continued strong demand for owner-occupied housing helped spur home construction activity.

Why now?  The answer—Millennials. 

According to a number of sources, increased demand is coming from Millennials who are seeing improved household growth as the economy promotes further job and income gains.  These folks are an expanding portion of housing demand as they move out of their parents’ homes—increasingly to form families. 

According to Quicken Loans VP Bill Banfield, this report from the U.S. Census Bureau is “a boost of confidence for the housing market, as we haven’t seen a month-to-month leap like this in more than 30 years”.

 “While much of this was driven by the multifamily segment, we cannot overlook the significance of the gains made on single-family home construction—increasing to their highest levels in nine years”, he added.

More excellent news for us all.