Sunday, November 30, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Colorado Springs. After some teaser snow storms just after Thanksgiving, we got a real one today - and as usual, they did not predict it. I would guess maybe 8-12 inches? It was nice fluffy stuff, perfect powder for skiing, and easy to shovel, thankfully! My wife and college age son are hoping for a snow day tomorrow, we'll see. If it quits early enough in the evening, the plows get the school bus routes cleared, they will have school anyway. It could still be a late start though. That is when the kids don't go in until 10 or so, to give the plows a chance to do their job. It should be a gorgeous morning, with fresh snow and sunshine.
Hope your Thanksgiving was as good as ours! We had our usual family group, less a couple of families (between work, hospital stays and in laws, it gets harder as time goes on to have everyone at once), and had some guests who were new to the Springs, so it was very nice. I ate too much - as usual, before and after "the feast". I guess it will be a busy month on the tread mill for me!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008


People looking to buy a home in Colorado Springs were given a little holiday gift yesterday, with an unexpected drop in interest rates. I got one client locked at 5.5% yesterday, hopefully it won't change much today! For all the attention that things like stimulus checks get, lower gas prices and interest rates really make more of a difference in terms of people's ability to buy things. The difference between 6% and 5.5% on a $300,000 mortgage was $95.28 every month. Over the course of a 30 year mortgage, that is $34,300!

We are also supposed to get another holiday gift on Thanksgiving day, some snow. It has been warm and dry here for almost a month, and it will be nice to have some wintery weather to welcome in the holiday season. For Colorado residents, there are still some season pass deals to be had, Copper Mountain in particular is still available for $369 for the season, a great deal on my favorite mountain.

One of our traditions on Thanksgiving is to go around the room and have everyone share what they are thankful for. One the many things I am thankful for is the opportunity to live in this great state, and sell real estate for a living. While this is certainly not my best year in the business, I am so grateful I get to do what I do!
Today's photo is from Prospect Lake again. This goose is undoubtedly thankful he is NOT part of someones holiday feast!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008


Gas was $1.45 a gallon yesterday at my regular Western Convenience station at Briargate and Union in Colorado Springs. Lower gas prices should have a short term boost to consumer spending, but from a real estate perspective, it should ease the concerns people may have about buying further from the city center. One of the unpleasant side effects of the Oil Crisis of 2008 is that people have been a lot more worried about buying homes further from town. El Paso County is pretty spread out, and there are significant developments that are not conducive to walking, biking or busing to work. Areas like Woodland Park, Monument, Falcon, and Fountain should benefit from softer gas prices.

We wrote an offer on a property yesterday, and were pleased to get a quote below 6% on the interest rate. It was a 2nd home purchase, and the lender was also only requiring 10% down, which I think is pretty good considering the kinds of press that has been out there about funds not being available. It was a bank owned property, and the asking price was more than 25% less than the house had sold for in 2006 as new construction. You can see why the banks have a problem with these, and why distressed property made up 27% of our sales last month.
Today's photo was taken on Saturday at Prospect Lake at Memorial Park, where the ducks and geese were having a lot of fun in the shallows.

Saturday, November 22, 2008


Like most towns, Colorado Springs has it's share of families that unite over the holidays. Our daughter came home for Thanksgiving, and today she and I went for a walk around Prospect Lake at Memorial Park between hospital visits to my mother-in-law. It was a very pleasant day today (50's and sunny), and there were lots of birds out on the water. So many in fact, that we decided that many of them had also travelled for the holiday. I love the holidays, they make such a great excuse to just hang out and do the things you should be doing more often - like taking a walk along a beautiful lake with your kids!


Thursday, November 20, 2008

We have LOTS of luxury homes for sale right now in Colorado Springs. Yesterday was our tour of luxury homes for the south end of town. Our office's Luxury Home Professional designation requires us to attend a monthly tour, and there were some beauties this time!
My favorites were of course the most expensive, after all, what is not to like about a $2.5 million home? Here is a link to the homes we viewed: RE/MAX Properties Luxury Home Tour
These homes are all in the Southwest area of town, which is often locally referred to as the Broadmoor area, named for the The Broadmoor, our only 5 star rated hotel and resort, and home of this years Senior PGA Open. Check out the link, they have some gorgeous photos on this site that really set the stage for what this area is like.
Technically the southwest area falls into 3 school districts, but the main portion of the area, and the one I am going to talk about today is the portion that is School District 12 (Cheyenne Mountain). It consistently has the highest test scores of the entire area. There are actually lots of sub areas to this section of town, including the flat, large lot (and large home!) areas near the resort itself (Old Broadmoor), newer hillside homes in the Broadmoor Bluffs, the Skyway area (upper and lower), gated areas such as Stratton Preserve, etc.
The foot hill setting, plentiful wildlife (there was even a bear on the course for the TV cameras this summer at the Open), and aristocratic feel make this area a special place. Some of the best (and most beautiful) parks in Colorado Springs are in this area, including Bear Creek Park, Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and Cheyenne Canyon. This area features some of the best hiking and mountain biking in the city as well.
A cold front came through last night, and we went from sunny sixties to overcast 30's with some freezing frizzle.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

After living here in Colorado Springs for 17 years, I didn't think there were a lot of things I did not know about our town, but I discovered one this week at the old St Francis Hospital on Pikes Peak Ave, just east of the downtown, west of Memorial Park. My mother-in-law is staying there for a while for recovery from surgery and other maladies, in the Select Long Term Care Hospital. What I discovered was a cafeteria with what I think is the best view of the city I have seen, at least for a place that serves lunch. Gazette employees have known about if for years, and even get a discount. The food is inexpensive, though not terribly healthy, but the view is why you go there, if you aren't visiting relatives in the hospital!
Can you believe gas was $1.65 this morning! I don't think it has been that low for years. I am not a conspiracy theorist as a rule, but the run up this summer, just before the election, really makes me wonder, who might have wanted to manipulate the oil market to such an extent? It is hard for me to believe that simple supply and demand are causing these kinds of swings.
Mortgage interest rates were down this morning, a pleasant side effect of more turmoil on Wall Street. With no points, 6 3/8%, lower with discount points. It seems like a reasonable place to be right now with the economy where it is. Lower would be even better!
I hate to keep repeating myself about the weather, but wow what a nice day, supposedly tying a record high of 73 degrees for November 18. It could just as easily be 23, and snowing at that!

Monday, November 17, 2008

I was able to help several families get a step closer to living in Colorado Springs last week. One of them now has a house under contract, one knows which house they probably will buy, when they get their job situation settled over the next month or so, and one knows where they want to be when they get their current house sold. I enjoy working with new residents a lot. This is such a great place to move to, it is always a treat to see them smile at the great views, nice (or at least interesting!) weather, or other opportunities that develop for them.
The gorgeous mild sunny weather we've been having reminded me of earlier in the fall when I caught this elk napping under a tree up in Estes Park. I think if he had had an IPOD, he would have been listening to John Denver's Sunshine On My Shoulders :-)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

#1 I need to correct a prior post on Colorado Springs cost of living items. Gas has dropped to $1.92 at the nearby local gas stations. I actually saw one station drop their prices 3 times in 24 hours this week!
#2 Yesterday we had an extended briefing from John Tuccillo, former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors yesterday. He had a couple of uplifting items, and some not so much
a. He indicates we are in a "garden variety" recession, not any sort of "depression", and expects the country will be completely out of it in 2010, with some pockets recovering sooner. He expected national unemployment to top out at 8%.
b. Because of all the bail out expenses, new government programs, etc, he expects interest rates to get all the way to 8% as well (we are currently at 6%, and it may trickle even a little lower in brief pockets). For that reason, he indicated anyone who can, should be looking at buying sooner as opposed to later.
c. He believes that the FHA loan limits that are currently scheduled to expire at 12/31/08 will be extended, and that the first time home buyer tax credit may be extended and expanded as well, in the lame duck session of congress.
d. He expects an expansion of households (and by extension, homes sales) to emerge once the economy gets back on track, and home sales will come "roaring back".
It was a productive session, and I was once again reminded what a great brokerage RE/MAX Properties is to be able to have such a high caliber speaker for our monthly sales meeting!
Today's photo was taken in the fall several years ago at Patty Jewett Golf course, in downtown Colorado Springs. The foxes have always been pretty bold and plentiful there, feeding on unsuspecting geese that frequent the water hazards, and handouts from golfers.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Hospitals shouldn't be thought of as resorts or hotels or anything, but with a view like this, you can see why someone might get them confused. Today's photo is of the view of Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs city owned Memorial Hospital Central. Some of the rooms in the upper stories can even see the Garden of the Gods. We've spent some extra time there this week for my mother in law. After a very successful shoulder replacement, she developed some other issues that have resulted in her needing to be readmitted for a while.
She started out at the Emergency Room at Memorial North (at Union and Briargate Parkway), which was so close to our house in Briargate that I actually walked home while my wife stayed with her longer. Unfortunately, due to her need for kidney dialysis, they have had to move her to Central (there is no renal unit at North), so we are back to the extra 20+ minutes of driving each way to visit her. This commute is about to improve, as the overpass of Austin Bluffs over Union is done, and the "cone zone" almost ready to completely disappear. That has been a long time coming, but should really speed up both the north-south and east-west flow of traffic. Memorial Central is right next to the Olympic Training Center (at Boulder and Union), and is a landmark building here.
The forecast snow never did show up, but the cold did! It is a brisk 28 degrees or so out this morning, and even colder forecast overnight tonight.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The election is finally over. I won't recap election results for Colorado Springs here (here is a link if you want some of that: Colorado Election Results), but a couple of things seem worth mentioning.
1. Most tax increases were shot down, whether school related or not. Exceptions were Academy School District 20 and Fountain - Fort Carson School District 8, which both got approvals for their ballot measures.
2. While the numbers for the state showed a shift to the Democratic side, that was less so here, with still 57% of the county voting Republican on the presidential ticket.
Like most elections, I suspect that when all the dust settles and speeches are over, not a lot will really change from this one either.
The thing that I hope DOES change, is that people can get back to focusing on living life. Much like after 9-11, the financial market problems and election news have been great distractions. Hopefully they can start thinking about buying houses again, especially in such a great place as Colorado Springs.
We are expecting some snow showers today, and much cooler weather. We'll see if it shows up. Weather forecasters in Colorado are the only people I know of who can be wrong most of the time and still have jobs!
Today's photo is of 2 of my grandkids on Halloween night. Now THERE is the future for you!

Monday, November 03, 2008

When you first move to Colorado Springs, there are some good reasons to rent a place sometimes. Here are a few:
1. Getting to know the area. While this is generally a "30 minute town" (30 minutes north to south, east to west), there are lots of neighborhoods and school districts, and if you don't have time to get a little familiarization first, it can be helpful sometimes to rent first until you feel like you know the town better.
2. You aren't staying long. If your sojourn here is going to be only 2 years or less, and you know that up front, it is a safer bet to rent instead of buying.
3. You have bad credit. I don't mean a couple of blips, I mean BAD. If your credit score is under 620 these days, you may HAVE to rent.
4. You have very little income to work with. The landlords are more likely to let you spend your whole paycheck on rent than the banks.
5. Your job security is not good. If you think you are prone to getting to getting laid off or fired soon, a rental with as short of a lease as possible is probably better to keep you "light on your feet" in case something happens.
6. Your down payment is tied up in a house that is not yet sold. While there are some good ways to work around this, sometimes you just have to wait it out.

There are some caveats to these arguments of course.

1. Because of the way our MANY school districts work, even if you rent when you first arrive, if you have kids, you will probably want to make a school district decision that can last, because otherwise you may not only be moving more than once, you may end up in different schools and school districts in the process.
2. For a given comfort level, you are not going to save a TON by renting. Rents tend to run about the same as the interest rates, so a $250,000 house is going to rent for around $1250 - $1400 per month. The same house can usually be bought for a similar house payment, allowing that maintenance, taxes and insurance can make it slightly more per month, even with very little down. After a few years, the rent while likely be higher, the house payment will not be.
3. If you have pets, you are much more restricted in the places you can rent.
4. Moving twice can be a royal pain!
Preliminary sales statistics for October homes sales show sales down 10.2% from last October, and prices down 5.4%. With all the uncertainty of the financial markets and the election, I'm actually a bit surprised it isn't worse. My personal opinion is that life will settle down after the election, and people will go back to buying and selling.
Our summery fall weather is supposed to cool off a bit this week. I actually had to turn my sprinklers back on yesterday because the grass was getting crunchy already since our little snow of a week or 2 ago.
Today's photo is of my wife Holly, on the New Santa Fe Trail on Saturday, where the trail hits the south entrance to Air Force Academy. This is a very pretty, easy piece of walking and we enjoyed the 70+ degree weather on Saturday.