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 :-)

Colorado Springs is not immune from the craziness in the financial markets right now. Interest rates shot up to 7% yesterday along with the freefall of the stock market. But while all this was going on, gas prices fell almost 20 cents ($2.93!), and it was a gorgeous day, so I guess you have to put things in perspective.
Yesterday was also our office's Luxury Home Tour (this link will show you what we saw), and we saw some really beautiful homes, all in the $600's. They ranged from mountain lodge style homes, to country style rural playgrounds, and it was really fun. Yet another reason I enjoy being a part of RE/MAX Properties.
Maybe the most important thing that happened yesterday was the opening of Arapahoe Basin and Loveland ski areas. Ok, maybe not that important, but still great? Opening day of ski season for me is a while down the road still, but it is always fun to see the first ones open. Generally the conditions are terrible for these openings, and you don't want to scratch your equipment up on the exposed rocks.
I will be glad when the election is over, however it turns out. Last night's presidential debate was much better than the last one, it seemed like the questions were much more interesting, and there was less repetition of the stump speaches, but I'm pretty convinced that whoever wins, very little will really change.
Today's photo is from a couple of weeks ago at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Colorado Springs home sales statistics for September 08 aren't official yet, but it looks like we finally have a year to year INCREASE IN UNIT SALES! This is the first time since May of '06 that the year to year figures show an increase (5.6%) Prices are still soft, the average is down 6.3%, but this is really good news for us. We recently have been told the Denver Metro area has been upgraded to Stable from Declining as well, which mean that regionally, the worst is likely over.

The "bailout plan" looks like it is back on. There is a lot at stake, and after the prior fiasco in the House of Representatives, there are high expectations this version will pass. If it does not, we can expect more turmoil in the financial markets for the foreseeable future, and likely see a deepening recession. No one (even in Washington!) wants that.

Today's photo was from Friday 9-26 at Rocky Mountain National Park. It was amazing to be able to be so close to these magnificent elk.

It was a very summery weekend here in the Springs, a great time to enjoy the outdoors. We attended an outdoor wedding up in Parker on Saturday night, which was a gutsy move, but it came off without a hitch. Evenings start to get cooler, along with arriving earlier this time of year, so evening outdoor events start getting a little less common.

I have another closing tomorrow, and need to do a walk though for the client. Standard practice here (and a stipulation in the standard real estate contract) allows the buyer to do a last minute walk through inspection of the property to make sure that inspection issues are complete, the house is appropriately clean and empty, no damage has been done to the property, and utilities are still on. Neither the buyer or the seller will be at closing, the seller moved out several months ago, and the buyer arrives at the end of the week. "Mail Out" closings are pretty common these days, and usually go quite smoothly.

The above video clip is a bit shaky, but it was taken Friday up in Rocky Mountain National Park, where the elk rut is in full swing. The eerie high pitched squeal of elk bugling is repeated often in the fall, and adds to the fun of seeing these magnificent animals "up close and personal".

Rocky Mountain National Park is about 2 1/2 hours away from Colorado Springs. I had not been up there for some time, and yesterday decided to go elk hunting there - with my camera of course. It is surprising to me that we don't go more often. I can't say enough good things about the spectacular scenery, incredibly abundant wildlife, and the serenity of the place. Fall is the absolute perfect time to go. I got so many good photos, I'll spread these out over some time.
I have to say it was nice to get some time away with my cell phone off. With all the wrangling going on in Washington over the "bailout package", it was probably going to be a quiet day anyway!

We closed on a bank owned home on Friday. Distressed / foreclosures were 23% of the market in Colorado Springs in August. It was actually one of the smoothest foreclosure home deals I've done, but it was still not without it's moments. These deals all use Denver title companies, so if there are any changes to the figures, checks to be written, etc, it is tough getting help during the closing. For some reason the seller never has signed off their paperwork ahead of time either, so we ended up sitting around for 2 hours waiting for the seller to sign so the keys could be given to the buyer (who had help coming to unload her POD). It is hard when you can't count on everyone to execute on time with these, but we got through it, and the buyer got a very good value.
Today is the first day of fall, and what better symbol of fall in Colorado than a herd of elk? We spotted these right off Highway 24 on Saturday, just west of Woodland Park, before Divide. I've only spotted elk along this stretch of road a few times in the 17 years we've lived here, so it was a treat to have them out in the late afternoon sun posing for us. It is supposed to hit 83 today, which is unseasonably warm for this time of year.
What another crazy Bronco win yesterday. This is an interesting team, with the highest scoring offense, and most scored against defense in the league. I like the offense side of that, but the defense is making me crazy. How big a lead can they fritter away? Still, it is good to start the season 3-0.