Colorado Fishing Is Fun!

We went up to visit my son Mark this weekend. They live up in Basalt, about 15 minutes down valley from Aspen, within earshot of the Frying Pan River, and walking distance to where the Frying Pan and the Roaring Fork converge. We took a little time to fish as a part of this trip, and it was the first time in a long time I had even picked up a pole. Mostly I took pictures and just listened to the gorgeous sound of running water, but Mark and his wife, in the one hour that we were there, landed 8 fish! This stretch of water is mostly catch and release, barbless hooks, only 2 fish 14 inches or less can be kept, but what a fun little outing! Some of my clients come from places where fishing is one of their favorite hobbies, and I just thought I should let everyone know, this was really fun.

It was a hot weekend in the Springs, when we returned last night it was still 88 degrees, but thankfully we are back into the 70's for the rest of this week, so we never really were bothered by it.

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Downtown Colorado Springs Always Surprises Me

I will readily admit that I do not go downtown often enough. It's my own fault, life is pretty convenient in Briargate, and despite only being 15 minutes away, I just don't go! Yesterday however, I attended a meeting downtown for the Economic Development Corporation (focused on attracting new employers to the city), and got way ahead of schedule. So I decided to visit America the Beautiful Park with my camera. It is one of the newest of the city parks, and part of a revitalization program for the downtown. Located at the confluence of Fountain Creek and Monument Creek, only 2 blocks from the center of downtown, I can't believe I never stopped here before! The Penrose Fountain (shown above) was quite amazing. There are lots of walking paths, and it was really peaceful. For more pictures from this location and from around the Springs, click here: Miscellaneous Colorado Springs Photos
The meeting was very informative, and reawakened my sense of civic duty, I think I'll be getting as involved as time allows. It is a very talented group of people from all walks of life, and they all seemed to share a common theme: they LOVE Colorado Springs!
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784!

Colorado Springs #3 Rated City for Real Estate Recovery

It is nice when Forbes magazine recognizes your town, and it is especially nice when it is for something this good! In their rating of cities poised for recovery, we made #3 on the list. Here is a link to the actual article: Forbes.Com Recovery Article . I confirms my theory, that the worst is probably over here, and the opportunities for experiencing some appreciation have begun.
I was thinking on my morning walk today (which was a little tardy), where else in the middle of August is it still 65 degrees and sunny at 11:30 in the morning? Usually it wouldn't even be THAT nice here, but often in the mountains it is, and it brings up another of my favorite things about Colorado Springs. The mix of clear cool air, and bright warm sunshine is about the most perfect combination you can ask for. Makes you want to hum that great John Denver song, Sunshine on My Shoulders (makes me happy...)

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Colorado Springs People Are Special

One of my clients who just moved here to Colorado Springs from another state made an interesting comment to me yesterday. He said something to the effect 'we are more settled here in 4 weeks than we were in our old house in 4 years'. He went on to say how well the place just seemed to 'fit'. I hear similar stories a lot, and I believe one of the big factors are the people. It was a big draw for us in moving here 18 years ago, and I believe it is still one of the big strengths today. They already had met all of their neighbors, not by going to door to door, but by simply being there when people came over to introduce themselves. We had lunch with some other clients earlier in the week, and she had just had a hip replacement. Their neighbors had all banded together to bring them meals, and they actually had to ask for a break because there was so much food brought. I know that people help each other in many places, but the fact is that in many places they don't. Here in the Springs, it's one of those places where people really do help each other, and to me, that makes the people special.

The monsoon is back up and running after a short break, the afternoon cool downs and rain are such a treat, I'll miss this summer when it is over!

Today's photo was taken in April, but I always love the view of Pikes Peak with some aspect of Garden of the Gods in it. That is the famous Kissing Camels in the foreground.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Recession Over in Colorado Springs?

The Colorado Springs Business Journal published an article last week that I really liked, indicating that the recession is finally over in Colorado Springs. (See CSBJ Article) The main source of the information was Fred Crowley, a highly respected economist at UCCS, and I believe him based on all the data I can see. But if a recession is like a surgery or a serious illness, that fact is that this is pretty analogous to the surgeon coming in and saying the patient survived, and the surgery was a success. They aren't going home anytime soon however, because after the recovery room, they will in the hospital for while, and then there is the physical therapy... We are having lunch today with a good friend who had her hip replaced in June. She is doing really well, but is still using a walker or crutches when covering any distance. I'm guessing our local economy will be limping for quite a while before we can start singing 'Happy Days are Here Again', even though the contraction is pretty much over.
We visited some of the Parade of Homes sites yesterday. I don't go every year (I see a lot of the homes with clients without the crowds anyway), but my wife really enjoys it, and I was actually most impressed with a home that was on last years parade, and was open even though not part of this year's event. The builder is Copperleaf Homes, and house is their model in Flying Horse Ranch, offered for only $1.3 million. The other one I really liked was the model entered by Colorado Custom Homes at Flying Horse. The house had a huge basement 'sports bar' with 8 or 9 televisions and a 'score crawler' on the wall! It was fun. For more information on this year's Parade, visit Colorado Springs 2009 Parade Of Home Information
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Housing Action Still on the Affordable Side in the Springs

Despite improvements in the housing figures in Colorado Springs over the last several months, there is no doubt that the action is on the affordable end. 50% of Jul 2009 sales were under $199,500, but almost 69% were under $250,000. 82.9% percent were below the FHA loan limit of $325,000, and the 90th percentile (90% below) was only $387,500.
Factors going into this are:
1. The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is most effective up to about $228,000, and drops off benefit-wise after that. This credit is also driving many first timers into the market, many of whom are both income and down payment constrained into more affordable homes.
2. The rental rate of housing tends to fall as prices go up, and in these difficult times is an important component for buyers deciding on value
3. The job market here is not as good for higher paying jobs right now, leading to an imbalance of supply and demand in the higher price ranges.
4. The jumbo mortgage limit and VA loan limit of $417,000 is restricting sales a bit above that amount.
5. Many of the foreclosures and short sales tend to be in the lower price ranges, and while these are falling as a percentage of the market, it is still close to 20% of sales.
What this means is that we have some exceptional values out there for buyers in the higher price ranges!
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos.

Housing Numbers Improve in Colorado Springs - Again!

For the 2nd month in a row, housing sales in Colorado Springs are up over last year. The July preliminary numbers show sales up a huge 6.8% over last July. While prices are still down from last year, they have increased every month since January, and continued that trend in July, with the average up to $231,457 and the median up to $199,500. That is a jump in prices of 16.5% since January! The 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is starting to do some good here, along of course with some positive news on the job front locally, including new troop arrivals at Ft Carson and the new call center jobs on the west side. Is the recession over? Not sure about that, but it's sure getting better! Details are available from the Sales Trends link on the blog menu.

No that photo was not taken today, it was about a month ago, but reminds me of how the long the Peak held it's snow this year. It is, alas, bare of any snow now for about a month or so, until the fall starts.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!