Cherise Selley

As a Colorado Springs Realtor, I try to craft these blogs with objectivity mixed with some optimism. Because the reality is this: Perception turns in to reality. And having the right attitudes without embellished positivity, even with the Colorado Springs Real Estate market, makes the biggest difference with how the consumer chooses to purchase his or her next home and/or investment property.

Amidst some of the doldrums of today’s news, there is a bit of optimism to be noted regarding the number of El Paso County single-family home building permits. For October 2009, the home building permits totaled 105, which is approximately a 52.2% jump over last October’s numbers.

According to Ralph Braden, board president of the HBA of Colorado Springs, he expects to see only a slight increase in single-family permits in 2010. However, Mr. Braden offers some encouragement about the housing market in response to the expansion of the federal tax credit until April 2010.

For more information about this credit from Channel 5 news reporting, please click on to the link below to here from one of our Colorado Springs Realtors, Nancy Wile:

If you happen to live outside of the state of Colorado and are seriously looking to reconstruct your life, making the move to purchase some Colorado Springs Real Estate might be a viable option for you.

Besides being a great place to live and to raise a family, Colorado Springs continues to have the spotlight shone upon its city as it squirms its way out of this national downturn. In an article authored by Rebecca Tonn, Business Week ranked 100 of the largest metropolitan areas by four indicators to measure the strongest economies throughout the United States. These indicators are as follows: economic growth, home prices, jobs growth and employment figures.

Colorado Springs ranked 24^th on the list. Pertinent to unemployment, the numbers show the rate in June was 8.3 percent, increasing 2.4 percent from earlier this year.

Although Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke has essentially put his official stamp on the belief that the worst of the downturn has passed, the biggest question is whether our national economy, which is weighted down with debt and unemployment (10.2%), can produce strong, lasting gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Relative to this point, the state of Colorado’s gross domestic product grew 2.9% during 2008, ranking Colorado number 4 nationally.

For more information about Colorado Springs Real Estate, please contact Colorado Springs Realtor, Cherise Selley or Colorado Springs Realtors, www.selleygroup.com.

Colorado Springs Realtors as well as other real estate agents across the country have waited anxiously about whether the first-time homebuyer tax credit would be extended from November 30th until sometime next year.

Well…it looks like the extended homebuyer tax credit bill has passed both chambers of Congress and is expected to be signed into law on November 6, 2009.

Some details of the new bill includes the fact that the tax credit for first-time home buyers ($8,000 for married couples and $4,000 for those filing separately) would extend to contracts entered into by April 30, and thus closed by July 1, 2010. It is expected that income limits on those who are buying real estate would be increased to $125,000 for single individuals and $225,000 for married couples. This proposal covers a broader price range than previously seen with the 2009 tax credit limits of $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for couples.

The Colorado Springs Realtor can expect some boost from some of the other provisions with this particular tax credit extension. The bill offers some incentives for current homeowners who want to sell their homes in which they have consecutively kept as their primary residence for five of the last eight years. These individuals would receive a new credit of up to $6,500 for married couples and $3,200 for those filing separately.

I anticipate that this tax credit for the existing homeowners might bridge some of the gap seen with negative equity factors for those who want to list their Colorado Springs Real Estate properties with Colorado Springs Realtors of their choice.

From this past election of November 3^rd, the El Paso County voters made a definite statement by saying “NO” against raising property taxes.

Measure 2C would have increased property taxes to counterbalance budget shortages of nearly $30 million dollars for 2010.

While I’m a proponent of investing into parks and recreation, transit, as well as other city programs, from the perspective of a Colorado Springs Realtor, I do not believe it is reasonable to raise Colorado Springs Real Estate taxes on both residential and commercial properties to make these programs operate because of a budget deficit. And apparently, many voters feel similarly to me.

To raise property taxes would inevitable bog down the Colorado Springs Real Estate markets, especially the commercial market. Now isn’t the time to weigh down this segment of the market while national efforts are trying to stimulate the overall real estate economy.

Measure 2C was jam-packed with too many needs that would be placed on the property owner. Perhaps trimming the programs to fit a tighter budget might have been a better proposal? Or perhaps the suggestion of an increased sales tax?

From my experience, many Colorado Springs Realtors saw the disadvantages of 2C and are relieved at the recent election results.

It’s well documented that lead poisoning might cause several health illnesses, such as brain and nervous system disorders, as well as other circulatory irregularities like hypertension, especially for children six years old and under.

Colorado Springs Realtors are well-informed about these health risks, both educationally and empirically, as observed within the language of Colorado Springs Real Estate contracts.

Yet again, we’re witnessing front row seats to what appears as nationalization of all of our free enterprise markets in the United States, including the real estate industry.

Consumers and Colorado Springs Realtors already know that the federal government banned lead-based paint from housing in 1978 for the purposes to eliminate childhood lead poisoning and to strengthen lead poisoning preventions. This was a good thing. And to recognize these efforts practically and legally, lead-based paint disclosures are included as part of the Colorado Springs Real Estate contract.

But now, I wonder about the new EPA proposals and how these regulations might actually add to safety and prevention versus governmental control over the industry.

The EPA has announced that it will propose to modify the regulatory hazard standard for lead in dust so the information can be based on the most recent science. From what I’ve gathered, this means that pre-built 1978 homes will be subject to EPA testing for lead-based paint. In fact the EPA plans to work with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding some proposals to modify the regulatory definition of lead-based paint. The standards for EPA testing remain speculative, yet the potential liability for having any dust evidence of lead-based paint on homes that are built prior to 1978 is potentially outrageous.

How does this affect the national real estate industry? It will re-define and literally re-shape the renovation business for investors, as well as contractors/subcontractors who work on renovations of older homes. We can’t overlook the possibility that the incentive to make the renovation business a viable vocation may become jeopardized. The concern is that the financial risks for the investor or contractor are unrealistically hazardous to his or her organization.

Let me reiterate this point. As a Colorado Springs Realtor, I openly support good and intelligent proposals regarding Colorado Springs Real Estate, especially if these provide benefit to both the environment and to the human condition. However, I’m leery about any proposals that simply encumber free enterprise business for unnecessary, bogged-down regulation.

Regardless of my viewpoint, it sounds like the EPA will comment on its proposal during late November, and it is expected to be finalized sometime by April 2010.