Insight into Pagosa Springs through the eyes of Chris Liverett (aka PagosaRE Guy)
A friend sent me this graph yesterday. It tracks the real estate sales activity in Pagosa Springs compared against the S&P index. It is not rocket science but it gives the indication that market activity is directly tied to stock market confidence here in Pagosa Springs. This makes even more since considering we are primarily a second home driven market. I thought it looked interesting when you look at it using the graph.
Pagosa Springs Real Estate market compared with the S&P 500
A picture is worth a thousand words…
History of vacant land sales in Pagosa Springs Colorado from 2003 to 2008 catogorized by parcel size.
In response to the comment I get 20 times a week…”Chris, let me know if a screaming deal comes along…” I am going to attempt to post what I feel is one of the better real estate investment opportunities every week here on Peak Buzz.
253 Wilderness Street Pagosa Springs Colorado
Asking Price- $165,000 now $144,900
MLS#- 616544
Square Feet- SEE COMMENTS BELOW
Bedrooms- 4
Bathrooms- 2
Year Built- 1997
Subdivision- Lake Forest Estates
Garage- 1 car
Here is my opinion on this home-
THE UP
It sits in a good location of Lake Forest Estates just a short jaunt to the grocery and shopping, so on the location for re-sale I give it an 8.5. The listing agent has it in the MLS for 1095 square feet which would make it about $132 dollars a square ft which is only a good price in this market for this caliber of home. After showing it to some customers a few weeks ago this number of 1095 did not sit very well with me, I felt it was much bigger. After talking to the county folks they tell me it is almost 1300 square feet. (1268 to be exact). This puts the price per square at around $114…I like that much better. I give the price a rating of 9 right now.
THE DOWN
The home needs some updating so for condition I give it a 7. The layout of the 4 bedroom design does not work well, however remove one wall and expand your living, then update your kitchen and equip it with upgraded doors and paint and…
THE ALL AROUND
…I think someone could make a a few bucks on this one. The curb apeal is nice and doesn’t need too much. That’s my take on it. I would love to hear yours.
Give me a call if I can help you see this one and be sure to check out it’s location and more information below.
I just added another potential buyer to agrowing list on my IGoogle homepage. I am running into the same scenario time and again, and I am hearing my colleagues say the same thing. This summer and fall I have had many customers head down the exploratory road with me, get excited about purchasing a property or two, and then opt to sit on the sidelines. I don’t really blame them for being a little timid or even confused at all of the mixed economic signals floating around out there. What goes up must come down, and we have been watching prices slide slightly for a while now. Even on a National level August gave us a breath of fresh air with a higher than expected pending contract report.
I feel like many buyers are waiting for the signal, the checkered flag of real estate….The proverbial “bottom”. The slight problem with that is that no one knows the bottom until it has already come and gone.
I do however know that the investors who are prudently looking at price but also looking at other factors such as optimal financing, time of year, and practical circumstances are winning in our current market.
The overall economic grey sky is causing some sellers to get really serious about home pricing. For example- This 3 bedroom 2 bath single family home hit the MLS just this morning for $125,000. In an area where average home sales are in the mid $250’s, this home is priced well enough to stand out far and away from it’s competition.
This home is listed by Jan Pitcher Real Estate and not Jerry Driesens Real Estate
Someone will grab this little house up, possibly rent it for a cash-flow profit or simply have a great little starter home…..It may be my potential buyer #15…or someone else’s.
According to CNBC, Agust 2008 pending home sale contracts have risen 18% in the West, for an average of 7.4% Nationally.
During my recent conversations about the market I have found myself using the phrase “There are some good buys in our market right now if you are in the buying mode.” I generally try to stay away from this type of talk and just let the market and facts speak for themselves…I just don’t really want to come across as being salsey. However, I feel like there are great buys right now for the savvy purchaser.
Sales jump 7.4%
Well apparently so does the national market… I ran across this article on MSNBC during my 3rd cup of coffee and found it share-worthy.
WASHINGTON – Pending home sales rose 7.4 percent from July to August, an unexpected piece of positive news for the battered U.S. housing market.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose to 93.4 from an upwardly revised July reading of 87. The reading was the highest since June 2007.
Home sales are considered pending …Read on if you like
While working in Pagosa Springs real estate I often get the question what will (fill in the blank) buy me in your area? I get it often enough that I thought it might warrant a little blogging on the topic. So here is the first post of my WWMMB? series.
Single Family Residential
This is the begginging price range for single family homes in the “PLPOA” or Pago
sa Lakes Property Owner’s Association. This area is what some refer to as the core area of single family living. It is comprised of several subdivisions that are in close proximity to fishing, golfing, hiking, biking, x-country skiing, grocery, coffee shops and other shopping.
View Featured Home In This Price Range
View All Homes In This Price Range
Condo Residential
For the condo buyer this offers the second tier of buying options with many used and new units, up to 3 bedrooms, mountain views and extremely convenient locations to service your vacation or part time living desires. Many of these units offer a garage for super convenience during the winter months.
The settlement’s terms are secret, but developer Bob Honts said Tuesday that owners of the ski area and the village “have amicably resolved all their differences in this settlement.”
Honts “absolutely” intends to build the village, despite a series of legal defeats this year.
Memorial day to many REALTORS®, especially those of us in vacation destinations, holds a pretty significant place as an indicator of the upcoming Summer’s market performance. I think many this year were waiting with mixed anticipation not sure what to expect in the eve of a particularly hard winter.
I am pleasantly surprised. I have not crunched all the numbers to have a smooth sounding statistical analysis…but our market is much busier than it have been for quite some time.
I have 3 buyers this week that are qualified and have a real desire to buy. Those are the two main ingredients in my business! One of these said buyers actually put a contract on a home today in the middle of multiple offers!! Very strange.
Greg Swaan speaks of the current Phoenix market change in His article on BloodHoundBlog. I can echo some of his sentiments.
Mortgage rates continue to fall to levels last seen in July of 2005. At wek end of January 17 the average 30 year fixed passed the low level of %5.69, and accordiong to many sources %5.5 is a pretty doable number. Reference more information @ Mortgage Daily news.
