REAL ESTATE REALITY

A recent article in a rural area of Colorado tells a story. This area aspired to become the next "Jackson Hole", times were "booming", in prior years, however, 2008 painted a different picture.

The local paper reported that the number of real estate transactions had declined in 2008 as compared to the prior year. Not news exactly, as many areas have the same report. However the Tribune went on to report overall sales had dropped 21 percent from last year. And compared to the real estate boom of 2005, sales were off 40 percent overall.

In spite of those negatives the good news subject was foreclosures. Actual initiated foreclosures were down in 2008 from those reported in 2007.

Colorado Biz magazine reports that median prices were down more than 15 percent, statewide from 2007 to 2008. They were off more than 16 percent in Chaffee County and nearly 24 percent in Pueblo County, though Fremont County saw values increase some 13 percent during that period.

Residential sales were off 17 percent from the years '07 to'08, with 127 such properties sold in 2007 compared to 105 last year. But Colorado Biz, using the month of November as a comparison, said the sales of single family units were off as much as 60 percent in some mountain counties, with the state decline nearly 22 percent.

The Tribune went on to close by reporting that sales statistics that show double-digit drops can be scary. But when put in perspective, and when compared to other regions, it can be said that Custer County's real estate market is not experiencing a flying freefall, but instead a natural adjustment from the high-flying days of 2005. And most local experts say better days are ahead. Like theirs, the Tribune's fingers are crossed. Wet Mountain Tribune