Cherise Selley

During the recent NAR Convention, Chief Economist Lawrence Yun made some bold predictions regarding home sales and Realtor® income for the upcoming 2010 year.

Yun predicts that home sales will rise about 15% and Realtor® income will increase to around 20%. His optimistic forecast is predicated upon the continuation of the extended federal tax credit, which in turn continues to reduce inventory in the lower price ranges of actual home values, and thus allows the principles of “supply and demand” to impact the higher price ranges in the national real estate markets.

Colorado Springs Realtors have seen this trend occurring over the Colorado Springs Real Estate market for the past 18 months. Nearly 90% of homes sales have been concentrated at the price ranges below $400,000, and now that listing inventory has dropped significantly with an increase in overall home sales, there is some momentum of homes sales in the higher ends of the Colorado Springs Real Estate market that is now taking place. Personally, I’ve written two contracts during these winter months of $525,000 and $730,000 - something not really typical for Colorado Springs Realtors over this past year.

So in effect, the tightening inventory at all price points has helped to improve market performance for both the Colorado Springs Realtor with an increase of his or her income, as well as for the consumer who purchases Colorado Springs Real Estate properties at more stabilized prices.

I think Colorado Springs Realtors can continue to expect to see some slight peaks regarding home sales, and then followed by some dipping lows over the course of 2010.

Yesterday I was conversing with one of our Colorado Springs Realtors about some of the trends that he has noticed recently regarding the activity in the Colorado Springs Real Estate market.

The consensus among Colorado Springs Realtors is that the worst of the downturn has already hit rock-bottom. But I hesitate to jump on the band wagon of believing that all the pain of the Colorado Springs Real Estate market, as well as other financial markets, has been totally alleviated by the Obama stimulus, the federal tax credit and other debt-producing programs.

From previous blogs I’ve continued to keep the consumer apprised about the market from different angles. And when comparing the Colorado Springs Real Estate market to other real estate markets, we certainly have some distinct advantages over other regions.

Yet, I suspect we’re still going to experience some rough spots on our way to fuller recovery. My conversation with this Colorado Springs Realtor proves this point.

For instance, one of his current buyers is looking for a home in a well-established area of Colorado Springs, boasting of good schools, shopping convenience, safety, cleanliness, parks and such. The price range we’re talking about is from $250,000 to $300,000. Within the buyer’s selected searches of 7 homes, 5 happened to be short-sales. Now this isn’t the accurate ratio of short-sales on the Colorado Springs Real Estate market, so please don’t think that short-sales and foreclosures completely dominate our inventory. This is not the case. However there are more distressed properties popping up in this price range.

But the point is this. Buying and selling Colorado Springs Real Estate really can’t be done as effectively if slow-paced perusing or dabbling or indecision is the backbone of one’s mindset. This market requires knowledge and sacrifice, even for the mentioned buyer of this blog. It’s about listening to the expert advice of your Colorado Springs Realtor, then integrating this information into a sound strategy for buying and/or selling. Sometimes innovating thought about the transaction must be implemented in practical terms, different than we’re used to seeing. Sometimes it requires the process of renting before getting into another home. Sometimes the buyer and/or seller must fully evaluate all of the tangential factors about what it really means to get that best deal.

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.