Colorado Springs Homes Blog

Let the holiday festivites begin!  Downtown Colorado Springs will host two wonderful family events this Saturday, December 1.

Our Parade of Lights is an always anticipated annual tradition.  What's not to love about floats, bands, and a visit from Santa?   About 80 organizations will participate.  Turnout can be huge, so it's best to arrive early and wear comfortable shoes - you may have to stroll quite a bit after parking.   The Festival of Lights Annual Parade starts at 5:50 pm.   Official website:  http://www.coloradospringsfestivaloflights.org/

Pioneer's Musem, at 215. S. Tejon St, is one of our local historical gems. The museum will host the Children's Holiday Magic Celebration, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Enjoy the Colorado Springs Show Chior, marionette demonstrations, holiday ornament making, sing-a-longs, and more.  The museum will stay open through the Festival of Lights Parade. Call 719-385-5990 for more information.

Ken and Sandy Wickham  

1.  Huge selection - it's your chance to be picky!
2.  Motivated sellers - you may get concessions!
3.  Favorable interest rates (for buyers with excellent credit) - more purchasing power!
4.  Price appreciation has slowed - better value!
5.  Traditionally slow time of year for home sales - less competition for the best homes!

According to Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors, conditions in the consumer mortgage market are improving, which should help release some pent up buyer demand and increase sales in 2008.  So, we can't expect the vast choices and willingness for sellers to offer concessions to last forever!  Also, while interest rates should remain low by historical standards, they are projected to rise next year. 

Home ownership does not make sense for everyone.  But, if you're in a strong position to buy, and it fits your lifestyle and finances, there are many advantages to this market.

We happen to think Colorado Springs is a wonderful place to live - gorgeous scenery, wonderful climate, great recreation.  But once in awhile even we muse about what it would be like to live somewhere else - maybe by the beach (we love to sail), or perhaps at a ski area, or a place with constant entertainment.  But could we afford to?

So with a little help from Sperling's Best Places we did a little housing price comparison. 

Below are median home prices updated in October of 2007.  (The median price is the middle price of all homes sold; Sperling's believes this is a better indicator than the mean (average) price, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values.)

Colorado Springs:  $258,100

Some other great places:

• Aspen, CO                                          $6,990,000
• Vail, CO                                              $3,000,000
• Telluride, CO                                       $2,950,000
• Park City, UT                                       $2,350,000
• Hollywood, CA                                      $1,679,200
• Naples, FL                                           $1,657,700
• Coronado Island, CA                            $1,415,20
• Incline Village, NV (Lake Tahoe)            $1,395,000
• Westhampton, NY                                $1,364,100
• Santa Barbara, CA                                $1,334,900
• San Francisco, CA                                 $958,700
• Steamboat Springs, CO                         $925,000
• Washington, DC                                   $862,400
• Westchester, NY                                   $789,600
• San Diego, CA                                     $667,500
• New York, NY                                        $658,600
• Palm Springs, CA                                  $636,700
• Killington, VT                                        $599,000
• Seattle, WA                                          $591,000
• South Padre Island, TX                          $549,500
• Santa Fe, NM                                        $499,900
• Boston, MA                                           $477,600
• Atlanta, GA                                           $433,900
• Portland, OR                                         $387,400
• Asheville, NC                                        $325,400
• Denver, CO                                          $319,700
• Austin, TX                                            $312,500
• Minneapolis, MN                                   $260,000

So, while statistics don't tell the whole story, it seems to make sense to drive a few hours - through stunning scenery - to ski!  The beach trips will take a little more planning.

This is only a sampling; we apologize if we left your wonderful city or town off the list. 

There were 723 sales of single family homes recorded in the Pikes Peak mls in October, up from 695 sales in September.  The year to date sales through October 31 are 8,685, compared to 10,361 during the first 10 months of 2006.   The average sales price in October was $243,160, down from an average of $255,330 in September. 

But... even though it seems like we've been hearing doom and gloom all year; the average sales price in September was very similar to February 2007's ($255,017). 

Year to date, June has been our peak month for both sales (1,118) and average price ($276,148).  In June of 2006, 1355 homes sold; in June of 2005, there were 1390 sales (a record month, in a record breaking year of 13,124 sales). 

The challenge isn't that homes haven't been selling; but that there is a substantially larger than usual inventory to work through.  Although fewer homes were on the market in October (6,470) vs. September (6,767), that is up from the 5,750 single family homes on the market last October and 4,341 active listings during October 2005.

An additional 105 condos/townhomes  and 55 pieces of vacant land sold during October. 

Based on information from the Pikes Peak REALTOR Services Corp. ("RSC"), for the period 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.

Are you familiar with The Money Pit?  And no, we aren't talking about the movie, and hopefully not your neighbor's home, either.  

The Money Pit is a nationally syndicated home improvement radio show hosted by Tom Kraeutler, a former professional home inspector, and Leslie Segrete, a home improvement expert and designer.  Both have years of home improvement expertise and numerous media credits.  If you have a repair or improvement dilemma, they'll probably have the answer. 

The show airs on Colorado Springs station KZNT AM 1460 on Saturdays and Sundays, and is also available at various times on XM satellite radio. 

Log on to the web site, where you can listen to current and archived shows, subscribe to their newsletter, tips of the day and podcasts, and access home improvment articles and tips.  

We just found a website we weren't familiar with - Peak Radar.  It's a full directory of Colorado Springs events, including sports, festivals, history and heritage, music, downtown events, plus many others. 

We love the City of Colorado Springs site - a comprehensive site that includes pages and links to City Council, City Planning, Transportation, Public Safety, Parks and Rec, Visitors and Vacations, City Cultural Services, City Jobs, and more. 

In case you've wondered what lies on the opposite extremes of available homes in the Colorado Springs area...

The least expensive listing with a Colorado Springs address is $59,000.  Built in 1895 and located at 2820 W. Cucharras St. on .05 acres, the house is listed as a one bedroom, one bath fixer upper, with 488 square feet on the main level plus a 288 square feet unfinished basement.

The lowest price listing submitted to our mls is in the town of Flagler in eastern Colorado: a two bedroom 1 bath home on .24 acres, offering an enclosed porch and free standing stove, and described as a great hunting cabin.  It's priced at $23,000 and has been on the market 726 days. 

Perhaps you're more interested in our high end homes?

For $9,999,000, you can pick up a beautiful 1195 acres in Divide touted as "truly a piece of Colorado history."  With 3 usable homes, outbuildings, Pikes Peak views, trees, lakes and ponds, and water rights, you'll have a bit of flexibility.

For those preferring a Colorado Springs address, the most expensive home - at $3,900,000 - is under construction on 2.66 acres in the Flying Horse community.  It offers all the amenities you'd expect in a 10,627 square foot home, plus a chef's office, making it "an exceptional lifestyle package."

If you don't want to wait to move into your dream home, consider a gracious, sunny 10,778 square foot beauty, "Broadmoor living at its best!"  Enjoy the many columns and balustrades from inside or outdoors by your pool.

If your taste and budget fall somewhere in between, there's a huge inventory to choose from. 

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Southern California wildfires.  The scenes on the news are horrendous, and we can't imagine how horrifying the situation is in person.

We're certainly not immune to wildfires in the Pikes Peak area.  Colorado Springs and the surrounding locales have many hillside areas where fires can be a threat.  The Hayman Fire in 2002 - Colorado's largest wild fire - burned 133 homes and 138,000 acres.  (The Hayman Fire was caused by severe drought coupled with arson.  It did not reach Colorado Springs; it was centered approximately 30 miles southwest of Denver.)  Even though the physical scope of that fire paled in comparison to the fires in California, five firefighters lost their lives.

If you live in a hillside area, you may want to check out the Colorado Springs Fire Department's FireWise site to help you identify your home's wildfire risk and implement ways to reduce that risk. 

Also visit Firewise Communities. The national Firewise Communities program is a multi-agency effort designed to reach beyond the fire service by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, and others in the effort to protect people, property, and natural resources from the risk of wildland fire - before a fire starts.

One of the most intriguing properties in our 2007 Parade of Homes was a house in Turkey Canon Ranch built to Firewise specifications.

Sunday we had our first snow of the season.  These shots were    taken at Garden of the Gods.  The sun came out a little later, and most of the snow melted quickly - typical of our usual snowfalls.

While we still have plenty of leaves on the trees in Colorado Springs, it's a different story in the high  country.  The pic below  was taken  three weeks ago.   The drive to  Cripple  Creek is particularly  gorgeous while  the  Aspens  are changing.   

Just in from one of our lenders...

Very few people realize that each time their credit is checked, the "inquiry data" the credit bureaus have on file becomes a commodity that is being sold to other lenders.  Your privacy is being sold! 

The consumer credit reporting industry has a way to opt out and remove your name from these lists.  Contact them at 1-888-567-8688 or www.optoutprescreen.com.  You must opt out a minimum of 48 hours before having your credit checked to ensure your request is processed in time. 

Opting out can protect you being contacted by disreputable lenders and from those "pre-approved credit" offers in your mailbox.  (It's always best to initiate contact with a lender - ask your realtor).

Contact us if you'd like more information on this subject.