With the Fed continuing to lower interest rates, I am optimistic for Colorado Springs real estate in 2008, although January will probably not be a great closing month. Our unsold inventory is holding at fewer than 5500 units, which is a very good sign, down almost 2000 units from the peak last summer. In addition, with today being the last day of the reporting month, there are almost 900 units pending (in escrow), which bodes well for the next month.

Sometimes the week day a month ends on can make a difference as to how closings happen, and can affect statistical reporting. Many / most people prefer to close toward the end of the month, or on the very 1st day of the month, because the buyer is charged minimal prepaid interest in their closing costs. In addition, many people like to move on the weekend, and so Fridays tend to be popular closing days. When a month ends on a Thursday, as it does this month, there will be closings that are held on the 1st that might normally have happened earlier. We'll see how the actually number line up, but it would be my guess that we will see around 600 sales for January, and closer to 800 for February, even though it is a shorter month.

The current national real estate slump is having an impact that I had not really anticipated. When someone moves here from out of state that has sold their home, we assume they probably have equity, and are not in need of "zero down" financing. However, with the market being tough all over the country, that is not necessarily so, and sometimes equity has disappeared with price declines in other areas, resulting in someone "starting over" in the home equity building process, but not being a 1st time homebuyer either. Fortunately, we still have programs for this, and if you anticipate that will be your situation, you should speak with Dana Hines at Colorado Online Mortgage (719-593-8778) about it. She can advise you on the program that will best fit your needs.

Another sign the Colorado Springs real estate market is turning? After showing 6 or 7 homes on Saturday out in Woodmen Hills, I got calls yesterday from 2 of the listing agents that they had received offers over the weekend. Who can say whether they will go under contract (neither has been indicated on the MLS yet), but these are the sort of calls we used to get when the market was more "normal". In addition, after almost the entire month of January, the inventory of homes for sale has only increased by only 100 homes or so, to just over 5500, which is a very good sign. We had expected a rush of listings as people who had pulled their home for the holidays came back on the market, but that does not appear to have happened.
After such a balmy weekend (50's and low 60's), it was cold and windy this morning, in the low teens. I guess Four Corners area (Durango, Telluride) got dumped on but we got no snow whatsoever, and although it is very cold, the sun is shining.

This weekend I showed homes in the Woodmen Hills area, and thought I would say a few words about it. This unique subdivision was built with mostly 1 acre and 1/2 acre lots, and most of the homes are less than 10 years old. It has 2 recreation centers ( of which now managed by the YMCA) , and while horses are not allowed, it is somewhat friendly for parking extra vehicles such as trailers and boats. The subdivision is located near Meridian and Woodmen Roads, where the new Falcon SuperWalmart and a host of shops, restaraunts and businesses (including the RE/MAX Properties Falcon office) are located. We looked at homes ranging from $235k to $275k (there are homes for even less on some smaller lots), and there were some very nice choices. Woodmen Hills has dues of around $125 per month that go for the recreation centers, water and sewer, and street lights. It is a little confusing, but the mailing address for homes here say Peyton, even though Peyton is quite a bit further northeast up Highway 24.
The Falcon area has been growing by leaps and bounds for years, it is very popular with people who work at Shriever AFB, Peterson AFB, the airport, or other east side employers, as well as anyone who just wants some extra breathing room at a reasonable price. Part of School District 49, Woodmen Hills is a good choice for someone who wants some city conveniences, and is willing to drive just a little for them, without the population density of areas like Stetson Hills.

Yesterday was a ski day for me in Breckenridge. I thought I would share a few things that are peculiar to living here that came from the day.

1. The weather. I left the Springs under sunny skies and mid 30's. It was still sunny when I got to South Park (yes, it is a real place along Highway 24, west of the Springs), but it was -7! The temperature fluctuated dramatically along the whole route. It was 18 degrees at the top of Wilkerson Pass (where the top photo was taken), and -7 just 5 minutes later! Once I crossed Hoosier Pass it was snowing off and on the rest of the day, and very cold and windy. I left Breck on the early side, and it was still mid 30's and sunny when I got home to the Springs. Lesson? The weather is hardly ever the same in the mountains as it is in the Springs, and always dress for the coldest scenario when skiing, especially at Breckenridge.

2. The Drive. It was 2 hours and 15 minutes, and 115 miles, both coming and going. Highway 24 always has some slow traffic situations (it is a 2 lane state highway), but it hardly ever stops like I70 can. I saw elk just west of Hartsel, and a large herd of antelope right along the road just east of there. The buffalo herds in South Park were also very close to the road, and it made for a very scenic drive.

3. The Skiing. They had about 4 inches of fresh powder, and conditions were excellent, except for how cold and windy it was . They were actually stopping the lift periodically on Peak 7 because the blowing snow made it impossible for the upper lift operators to see the chairs coming in. There were virtually no lines except for right after lunch break. The new gondola from the village up to peak 8 is very nice, although the new parking setup is a bit sketchy (they have eliminated a lot of the free parking they used to have, and charge $5 to park in the old free lots).

4. The International Snow Sculpture Competition. This was a little surprise, first that it was going on, and secondly how interesting the sculptures are. They have people from all over the world who come and create ice sculptures, and they are very ornate. I have included a few photos here.

What a week in the financial markets! Even mortgages had a wild ride yesterday. One of my favorite lenders, Dana Hines at Colorado Online Mortgage, said they got repriced 4 times yesterday afternoon, starting the day at 5.25% and ending at 5.675%. A few of the things I like about working with this particular lender are:
1. They always do what they say they'll do
2. Their rates are great, and they never charge an origination fee
3. They have a great web site for getting current rate quotes (although when the market is jumping around so much, sometimes these can be out of sync a little) and making application
4. When you need to talk to them, they answer the phone
5. When talk isn't good enough, or paperwork needs signing or picking up, you can go into their office
I do a lot of relocation work, and one of the biggest problems we run into is when a relocating buyer wants to bring their old lender along for the deal from out of state. Don't get me wrong, there are some situations that are complicated enough and the history is good enough where that can make sense, but MOST of the time, it results in problems. My most recent horror story on this was just at the New Year. I think told the story in an earlier blog, so I won't repeat it here, but the bottom line is that when relocating or even making a local move, it is a good idea to use a reputable local lender.
This week I have been showing property in the low 200's in the Powers area and on the eastern plains, and have been very impressed with overall quality of the homes we are seeing. What a great time to buy! The weather has been a little cold, but sunny at least. Yesterday it was about 10 degrees colder (16 degrees!) in Forest Green (Northeastern Black Forest) than it was at Woodmen and Powers, only a 15 minute drive or so.

It was a very pleasant weekend here. After a little snow on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were sunny, and Sunday got all the way to the mid 40's before a cold front brought us another dusting this morning and highs in the 20's today.
The playoffs were kind of fun to watch. With the Broncos out, it is not like I had strong favorites, but it was kind of cool to see Eli Manning make it into the Superbowl after Peyton won it last year.
Apparently there is an internet problem that began last Friday night that is affecting some of our clients, and us. If you have sent us email and not received a timely response, please be patient, it is our understanding that it will be repaired sometime today.

T Rowe Price has opened their second Briargate facility. There was a nice write up on this in today's paper, and since I drive by this facility almost daily, I thought I should mention one of the bright spots on the Colorado Springs economic horizon. They expect to add another 700 employees or so over the next several years (they have around 675 now). See T Rowe Price Careers web page for more info. Other financial services firms with a large presence here include Progressive Insurance and USAA Insurance. Progressive in particular has also grown their local presence a lot in the last few years.
I don't know about you, but -12 is a bit cold to me, and I was shocked to see that for the low this morning here. At our own house it was only 2 below zero at bed time, and 1.6 degrees at breakfast, but cold is cold! They actually closed school yesterday, not really over the snow (although there was a little), but because the wind chill was forecast below zero all day! Fortunately we don't have too many days like this, and while it will be colder than average for several days now, the sun is out and should be a little more comfortable without the wind.

It was a little sad to see the official announcement of the closure of Penrose Community Hospital this coming August. I suppose it was inevitable, with the St Francis Medical north campus opening at Woodmen and Powers, there are only so many beds really needed. We have made good use of that old building in the 16 plus years we've been here. Our 2nd grandchild was born there, and we've spent many a sleepless night in the ER with various family members. Our first visit to the ER there was almost 17 years ago, during our first week in Colorado Springs!

The new hospitals are good too though. The new Memorial Hospital which will celebrate it's first anniversary this year is a really quite something, and so convenient for our family here in Briargate. Our 3rd grandchild will be born there in February. The new St Francis Medical Center is gorgeous as well, and I know everyone will love it when it opens in August of '08.

Todays photo of Pike Peak was taken Sunday from the new Chili's at Powers and Union, and shows the new Memorial Hospital in the foreground.

This morning was our monthly sales rally, and there were a couple things that I thought might be worth sharing. I've previously shared the citywide statistics for December, and our company stats were pretty comparable, with over $800 million in sales for the year, and RE/MAX Properties once again #1 in Colorado Springs, by a factor of 2 over our next largest competitor. A web site was shared that many should find useful, published by the National Association of Realtors, called www.HousingMarketFacts.com. It does a nice job of showing why homebuying is such a good decision, and how homeownership results in about 60% of the average family's net worth.
We have most our meetings at a unique facility, called Mr Biggs. They were in the news this week as a church group is now using the facility on Sunday mornings, and include an hour of fun in this great entertainment complex. Steve Bigari who is one of the principals in this venture gave us all a copy of a book he wrote at our last meeting, called The Box You Got, and it was really inspirational. It is fun to see what entrepreneurial stuff this guy has done, and we really enjoy the facility. What a great place to bring your kids! Mr Biggs has taken on a great Christmas charity event that was originally started by a man named Bob Telmosse, and they gave away presents to thousands of children this year.

Typical winter weather these last couple of days, sunny with 30's and 40's, and great scenery. Someone asked "How will we really know when the market has turned the corner?". The only way to really know is when sales and prices reflect a turnaround by increasing. The problem with that is, it will have already happened at that point. There are some secondary indicators. Inventory, as an example, after seasonally dipping to 5,385 units at the end of December, has only increased by 50 units or so since then, a very good sign. Pending and Under Contract (show for backup) sales already exceed last months closings, and while this figure is not closely tracked, shows some strength in the market. Showings, at least at our firm, are on a very healthy upward trend. Interest rates were at 5 5/8% this morning, a very good sign of good things to come.

Today's Pikes Peak photo was taken New Year's Day.

Skiing was GREAT this week! We went up to Keystone, which is 135 miles from our driveway in Briargate. Traffic on I70 was a little grim yesterday due to fresh snow still falling (so who is complaining?), but the snow was fantastic. We tend to take guests to Keystone first because it has a great range of terrain that is "beginner friendly". My nephew joined us, and he progressed quite well from the greens to the blues. The other thing I like about Keystone is that the night skiing makes it less urgent to leave right away at the end of the afternoon. We stayed later one day, and it was very nice. College classes start back up next week for our kids, so this was kind of our "last hurrah" from their Christmas break.
Interest rates have dropped to around 5.75% as a result of the stock market softening. What a great time to buy, with tons of inventory, and low rates. This will not last forever!

Things seem to be picking up with the new year. I had another listing go under contract yesterday, and have had quite a few requests for relocation packages in the last week. More and more people seem to be getting the message that this is a great time to buy, and especially here in Colorado Springs. Even the Gazette, our local paper, had a prominent article to that effect this morning.
It looks like the new Costco is going to be opening late February (about the same time our new granddaughter is due!). I'm not sure how exciting that will really be for everyone, but my friends and clients from California sure are looking forward to it. I know people who drive to Denver to shop at Costco instead of Sam's, and while I don't really understand it (3.5 miles vs 60 miles each way, with gas at almost $3.00/gal, hmm?), it shows that they have a strong following, so we'll see how they do here. It's always nice to have more choices, and you can't beat the location, Barnes and Powers is a hopping place these days!

The monthly sales statistics for the Pikes Peak Association are finalized, and not much different than I have previously mentioned. Sales were 644 units, down 12.7% from last December. The median (1/2 above, 1/2 below) sales price of $214,882 was down 4.5% from last December, but actually made its 2nd consecutive monthly increase from the low in October of $205,000, and looks very similar to the numbers we saw through the 1st quarter of 2007. Have we hit bottom? Not sure, but these are encouraging numbers, possibly indicating the bottom was back in October for us. The new arrivals and returning troops at Ft Carson should be helping.
Overall 2007 sales were down 16.1% from 2006, and the average (mean) sales price was virtually even with 2006 (down .3%) at $259,629.
On the weather front, last nights light snow was not quite enough to delay school this morning, much to the disappointment of tens of thousands of school children, and my wife, who loves a late start as much as her students!

Travelling cross country in the middle of winter tends to be a pain. Whether it is problems where you are coming from, where you are going to, or where the airplane you are going to ride in is coming from, there always seem to be problems with midwinter flights. We just returned from my dad's funeral in Michigan, and it feels so good be home again after spending endless hours waiting for delayed flights! It also feels good to have the warm sun on your skin, and see the mountains (it was less than 1 mile visibility when we left!) It was wonderful to see everyone and visit, and funeral was actually a very uplifting service, but I am glad to be home.
We are all looking forward to some skiing this week to make up for some lost time over the holidays, the snow is looking good with over 40" of base most everywhere now.

My dad died last night, at the age of 84. It was a strange way for the year to end. He had been ill for a long time, and in a way, it was no surprise to anyone, and yet we were all still caught a little off guard. He was a Marine, had served on Okinawa among other places in WWII, and became a real estate broker about the time I was born. I'm not going to do an obituary for him here, but I do want to honor a man who was husband of one wife for 60 years, raised 6 kids, served his country well, and was strong in his faith in God. He'll be missed by many.

This photo was taken just a month or so ago when I went back to Michigan to visit.