About Mesa County, CO

The barbecue to benefit the Roice-Hurst Humane Society was a huge success. Not only did we sell a bunch of hotdogs, but we managed to find a new home for one very lucky dog. Not bad for four hour event! Thanks again to Ace Hardware in Clifton(next to City Market). They supplied all the hotdogs, buns, and soda. We were then able to sell the hotdogs for a donation and let me tell you there are some generous folks in Clifton. I, also, need to thank the men at the grill. It was a warm day, a hot job, and they smiled the entire time. I've included some pictures of our day.

No. Not Really. What do you define as a lot?


We have seen an increase in foreclosures in Mesa County, but not even close to the amount the national media is making it out to be. I recently read this http://kevinwade.blogspot.com/2008/06/foreclosures-its-going-to-be-okay.html and found it very interesting that just 4 states accounted for more than half of the country's foreclosure activity.


You might find the following links interesting:

• For more homes currently in the foreclosure process, in Mesa County - Mesa County Assessors Office, Public Trustee



• Forbes article - Smart ways to Profit from Foreclosures

This is a summary of May's Real Estate Market Statistics, for more detailed statistics check out the graphs at http://grandjunctionrealestate.blogspot.com. Please note, there is a substantial difference in inventory and days on the market for homes priced over $500,000.

• The Summary for May 2008 looks like this - 1345 active listings(homes for sale), 337 homes sold, and the average days on the market(DOM) is 113.
  
• There was a slight increase in sales last month. Most noticeably, in the $200,000-$300,000 price range.
  
• There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions(homes sold) each month, since January.
  
• The median price of homes sold this month went down by $17,156.

Today the Gas and Oil Conservation Commission was in town for a public hearing on recent recommendations for a number of possible energy regulations. This was a big thing for our community and one of the industries that supports it and our livelyhhoods. I attended for a little while, I got there about 8:45 am and it was standing room only. To call it standing room is really a misnomer, as I was barely able to walk in the door and I couldn't see who was speaking. Although, I was told that it was Josh Penry, our senator, and he gave a speech in support of the gas and oil industry. In which, he warned of the repercussions to the economy, of the western slope of Colorado, if the regulations were too stringent and caused these oil and gas companies to leave the area. As we were walking in, they handed us sticker to wear that said "Gas and Oil Feed My Family" In comparison, as we(a couple of other Realtors) were leaving we saw a tent with food. Never ones to miss an opportunity, we headed over to partake and refill our coffee mugs. The gentlemen there asked what side we were there to support. I told him I supported coffee. He seemed to appreciate that. He then told us that if we were going to drink his coffee we needed to wear one of his stickers that said "Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Environment" and "I Support Wildlife". It was fairly obvious, after talking to him, that he wasn't from the area. I would have liked to hear more from the speakers, but it was hard to hear and the idea of standing there for hours wasn't appealing. The commission's final energy regulations are expected out in July and I for one will be very interested in what they decide.

If you would like to learn out more or hear the public comments that took place today you can click on the following links:

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Website with audio -
http://oil-gas.state.co.us/RuleMaking/COGCC-Audio.cfm

Excerpt from Local Newspaper -
http://www.gjsentinel.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breaking/entries/2008/06/10/commissioners_thankful_for_pub.html

Excerpt from Local Newspaper-
http://www.gjsentinel.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breaking/entries/2008/06/10/thousands_pack_convention_cent.html

Summary of Josh Penry's Speech -
http://www.gjsentinel.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breaking/entries/2008/06/10/lawmaker_invokes_black_sunday.html

The US Housing Housing Market Index, from Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, has Ranked Grand Junction Colorado at #2 for Home appreciation in the last year. Our homes went up by 9.08% this year. We did come in behind Thibodaux, Louisiana, they had a whopping 11.22% for home appreciation this year. Coming in the top 6 were #3-Wenatchee, WA, #4-Austin-Round Rock, TX, #5 Billings, MT, and #6 Provo, UT. As a whole, the state of Colorado came in at #23 with 2.29% increase this year, 1% this quarter, and 18.22% over the last 5 years. The big picture for Grand Junction real estate looks like this, .14% increase this quarter, and over the last 5 years a 64.42% increase. Grand Junction was listed as #3 last quarter.

Our office has been watching this closely. We had a slower winter than we have had the last couple of years, but we knew our housing market was still doing fine. Now we have the statistics to prove it. I think that the one thing this proves is that real estate is still a good investment in Colorado. You would have trouble getting those returns on any other type of investment.