What an odd week this has been in the financial markets. While everyone who is anyone in Washington says they want lower mortgage rates, whatever they seem to do about it, keeps pushing them up instead of down. While low 6's is not bad by historical standards, we were in the mid 5's only last week, and it makes a difference. Since most people are payment constrained, the difference between 5.5% and 6.5% is the difference between a $300,000 loan and a $269,000 loan, when budgeting roughly $1700 for a PI house payment. At 7.5%, it drops all the way down to $244,000. In our market, that can make a huge difference in the choices a buyer has. I for one am in favor of low interest rates :-)
Tuesday we had our monthly sales meeting, and this month was hosted by the Colorado Springs Country Club. They have a membership drive underway, and I was impressed at how affordable the packages seem to be. They have a family full golf membership (they have an 18 hole golf course, tennis, pool, restaurant, etc) for $9500 initiation plus monthly dues, which by local standards is very cheap (Flying Horse for instance is $38,000 for initiation). We also have a special program whereby we can take our clients for an orientation, and they can receive a voucher for a round of golf! If this sounds good, give me a call (719-590-4768) and we'll set it up.
The other guest presentation was by the Banning Lewis Ranch, and although I have covered this topic before, it once again hit home how important this new development will be in this city. Please give me a call if you'd like a tour of this fantastic new concept community, it is going to be big, really big!