Colorado Springs Wildlife Doing Well

It isn't every day that I see wildlife when I am out showing Colorado Springs homes to prospective buyers, although it is reasonably often. It is more seldom when we see deer on the east side of town (they are more prevalent on the west side). But these photos from yesterday (May 30 2009) were once in a lifetime for me. The house we were looking at was in a very established east side neighborhood, near Barnes and Powers. Apparently this mama deer decided because the lot was large and the house was vacant, it was a good safe place to deliver her twins. I think they were less than an hour old when we came across them in the first picture, still wet and unable to stand for more than a few seconds. Normally I am pretty good at spotting wildlife, but in this case it was the buyer who saw them first. Thankfully I had the camera along! We came back later for a 2nd look at the house, and you can see how much progress they had already made. This sort of thing is just one of the intangibles that come with Colorado Springs real estate, and makes my job fun!

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Days Like These are What Makes Colorado Springs So Popular

Since our wet Memorial Day weekend, we have had close to perfect weather here in the Springs. Glorious sunny warm days (around 80 again today), cool nights, a thunderstorm here and there in the afternoon, wildflowers blooming, even the snow is still on Pikes Peak!
I've been a little busy to write this week, as we've been getting my wife packed out of her classroom, showing properties, inspections, what have you. Not to mention I'm still moving kind of slow after being sick. While it is still not as busy as in some past years, the pace has quickened a little, especially in light of interest rates starting to go back up. In addition, short sales are making a lot of unproductive work out of this business. I previously wrote about one that finally gave up after 3 months and found another house. Many short sale buyers just give up after the lenders (who we taxpayers just gave hundreds of billions of dollars to) sit on their offers for months. For anyone who wants a house in the normal 30-60 day time frame, short sales are just not an option, and a big waste of time. Foreclosures will continue to be a problem until the banks get their acts together on this issue. In the mean time, it severely constrains the homes you can show for some buyers, and makes them feel cheated when a house comes up that looks great, only to find out they are a short sale. While only 9% of the 5079 homes in our MLS are indicated to be in any kind of distress, the actual percentage in many segments is significantly higher, and overall these are under reported, largely due to agents not wanting to restrict showings on their listings.
Interest rates jumped late this week, all the way to 5.25% That doesn't sound like much, but when you consider it was 4.75%, that is a big jump. While we all hope it will go back down, all this government borrowing isn't helping mortgage rates, and oil prices jumping again isn't going to help consumer confidence much either.
I'm off to show some more homes today. Being such a nice day, I'd guess we might even sell one!
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Wet Weekend Marked Memorial Day 2009 in Colorado Springs

I'd say we are finally drying out from all the rain this weekend, but it just wouldn't be true. May has been a funny month this year, with wet cool weather on the weekends, and drier, sunnier weather during the week. It rained a lot yesterday, but they say today will be wetter still. Fortunately, drier weather is forecast for graduation day on Wednesday at the Academy, so all is not lost.

The wet has everything very green, and wildflowers are starting to bloom as well. I'll get some fresh photos when the sun comes back out and time allows. Summer is such a great time of year in Colorado, and a little rain notwithstanding, it is such a great time to be out of doors taking in the fresh air, enjoying the majestic mountains and the natural beauty around us.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Memorial Day Weekend Kicks Off the Summer in the Springs

Like the rest of the country, Memorial Day weekend tends to signal the beginning of summer in Colorado Springs. The grass is now green, the leaves are on the trees, time to get together with friends and family and celebrate! That will hopefully be easier on Monday than today, as a cold front came through and dropped the temperature into 50's and 60's from the 80's yesterday! It was cool and rainy today, good for the grass and flowers to be sure.

Next week is Air Force Academy graduation, and VP Joe Biden will be speaking. The Thunderbirds always put on a good show for this, and we get a preview of the show as they practice in the days leading up to the graduation, especially in the Briargate and Northgate areas that sit immediately across I25 from Falcon Stadium, where the flyover and graduation occur. Today's picture was taken last spring of the Chapel and surrounding areas as seen from Briargate.

May is also the kickoff of allergy season, at least for me. My allergies are usually a lot better here than they were in prior places I have lived (Michigan and California), but in May I can get it pretty good sometimes, and this year has been extra bad for a couple of weeks. It usually passes fairly quickly, but the doctor thinks I picked up some kind of bronchitis along with them this year, so I have been sick for a few days this week (I hate it when that happens!). Hopefully I'll be good as new shortly.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Wildlife Still Thrives in Colorado Springs City Limits

This past week I had a couple of vivid reminders that wildlife is very abundant inside the city limits of Colorado Springs. Friday I took this picture while I was waiting for some clients, to show them a house. It was on the west side, but probably less than a mile from the heart of downtown. I spooked her buddies while trying to get this photo, there were a half dozen or so grazing together. Yesterday it was really foggy, and I was heading out to Falcon to pick up a client, when a couple of pronghorn came up to fence along Woodmen road in such a way I was afraid they were going to jump right in front of my car!

Wildlife tends to do well here for several reasons. To the west of the city, we back up to the Pike National Forest and the Air Force Academy, so there is an incredible amount of unspoiled land very near. Within the city, we have a lot of open space and parkland, so there is plenty of area for wildlife to live, even if the National Forest or Air Force Academy (which is like a big national park in it's own right) are not a factor. Also, we have a fair number of creek beds that traverse the area, making it easy for wildlife to move around, in many cases without ever hardly crossing a road.

When we decided to come to live in Colorado Springs, one factor was that we wanted to be "where the wild things still grow', and it is nice almost 20 years later to see that they still do!

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Another Blue Sky Day in Colorado Springs

It got warm here yesterday, in the low 80's, but today will be a little more normal, around 70, and not a cloud in the sky at the moment. I like the spring. The flowers and trees are blooming, the grass is turning green, the birds are singing, it's like nature is 'all happy' out there. We even had a fox in our back yard this weekend. Given that we have 6 foot privacy fencing, it was a little surprising when he jumped over it (or maybe crawled is a better word, he did not clear it in a single bound!). Our lawn even got it's first mowing of the season. Today's photo was actually taken last May in our back yard, but you get the idea.

Spring is also when a lot of out of town visitors begin to show up. Air Force Academy graduation is just around the corner, and then there is a rush of weddings before the new graduates get shipped out to their assignments. But many people like to come because Colorado Springs is a great place for a summer vacation. There are lots of things to see and do, the weather (especially in the mornings) is very pleasant, it's affordable, and there aren't a lot of places quite like it. And it is exceptionally pretty, with our mountain views that dominate the horizon from almost every angle.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Access to the Eastern Plains Gets Much Better

Yesterday I drove out to Woodmen Hills in Falcon for an inspection on a new home, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the new widened portion of Woodmen Road was finally open. The drive out was quick, smooth, and pleasant. The pronghorns were out in force, and while this photo is not from yesterday, it gives an idea of what you see almost every day when you drive from the northeastern section of Colorado Springs to Falcon and Peyton, or visa versa. This new section of 4 lane road will significantly improve access for residents of Falcon, Banning Lewis Ranch, Forest Meadows, Black Forest and other eastern communities here.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

April 2009 Housing Numbers Improve For Colorado Springs

As of today, May 6 2009, the Colorado Springs home sales statistics are not yet final for April, but preliminary results show sales only 8.3% behind last April, the smallest year to year decline we seen in some time. Prices were still soft at a mean of $210,141, down 12.3% on average, driven by a stubborn presence of foreclosure and short sale properties. These 'distressed' properties still comprised at least 26.3% of sales for April, and while that is the lowest percentage since last September, the average price for these transactions is very low. There is a permanent link on this blog on right side called Colorado Springs Home Sales Data Trends that you can click on for more details.

This is article #301 on this blog. When I started writing it, I wasn't sure how often I could write. Given that there is always SOMETHING going on in Colorado Springs, I guess I should not have been worried! Today we will see temperatures approaching 80 degrees, and the leaves are out on almost every tree, so Spring has finally sprung. Today's photo was actually taken last May in Monument Valley Park.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Back Home In The Springs

We just returned from a most amazing trip to the Western Cape region of South Africa. Since this blog is really about living in Colorado Springs, I won't post a bunch of travel stuff here. However, I thought there were a few things I should share.

1. Travel to anywhere in the world really connects well with Colorado Springs. It is amazing to me still that jet airliners can take you anywhere, with a plane change here and there.

2. Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the whole Western Cape region of South Africa is a fantastic trip. If you want more information about our own trip, I may post to a different blog at some point on it, or can email me and I will share some things. The rand exchange rate is very favorable still, and I enthusiastically recommend a visit to this truly fantastic place.

3. As fun as any trip can be, and as beautiful as South Africa is, it is so good to be home and see the grass turning green here, the days getting longer and more spring like, and see our own mountain, still covered in snow, majestically overlooking the city.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!