Deb Jones

Veterans Day is November 11. Please say thank you to all the men and women who served or who are currently serving in our Armed Forces.

Pueblo Veteran's Day Events

Veterans Day Parade: Pueblo's Veteran's Day Parade will take place at 10 a.m. Nov. 7 beginning at Union Avenue and B Street. The Veteran's Day Parade is free. The parade route will follow Union Avenue beginning at B Street and Union Avenue heading down Union Avenue to First Street, left on First Street ending at Greenwood.

Veterans Lunch: The Ladies Auxiliary to VFW Post No. 5812 will host a free lunch for veterans on Nov. 7 from noon to 3 p.m. All service members are welcome to attend. Family, friends and the public are welcome to enjoy the Veterans lunch for $5. VFW Post No. 5812 is located at 127 E. Spaulding Ave, Pueblo West.

Applebee's Invites All Veterans & Active Duty Military to Eat Free on Veterans Day

In recognition of service to our country, all veterans and active duty military personnel are invited to eat free at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar Restaurants this Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Applebee's launched a pilot program last year on Veterans Day offering free entrees to military service personnel and veterans. Because the response was so overwhelmingly positive, Applebee's is extending the invitation nationwide this year.

Proof of former or current service required. Proof includes: U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card, U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card, Current Leave and Earnings Statement, Veterans Organization Card, photograph in uniform or wearing uniform. For additional details, visit: http://www.applebees.com/vetsday/.

Deb Jones, ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO
Realtor with Merit Co., Inc.
http://www.DebJones.com
http://www.MyPuebloWest.com
1-719-440-6202 - Email: Deb@DebJones.com
Real Estate Assistance in the Pikes Peak Region

Can you believe all of this snow and winter weather we've been having? A little early for me! However, the snow should be gone to celebrate Halloween on Saturday.

Halloween Bash: The Pueblo West Parks and Recreation Department will hold a Halloween Bash at Lovell Park on Oct. 31 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on ball field No. 1 and is free to all who attend.

Participants will receive a treat when they arrive and are invited to participate in carnival games, cake walks and a costume contest, which will begin at 3 p.m.

In case of inclement weather, the Halloween Bash will be moved inside to Pueblo West Middle School and will be held from 5-7 p.m.

Deb

This week was the Colorado Association of Realtor's annual convention at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The convention is always a great time to meet realtors from across the state, attend continuing education classes, and view what's new at the vendor displays. It was a little disappointing that so few people attended the convention - out of about 24,000 Colorado realtors, less than 1000 attended the convention. A sign of the bad economic times I guess. One interesting thing I did learn at the convention was something that is happening in our own backyard!

I met Larry Belkin, President of Encore Communities USA. His company is developing a master planned community near the Walking Stick Vista Golf Club and Colorado State University-Pueblo. Walking Stick Vista will be a community of Tuscan Villas and Luxury Homes in a "relaxed environment" that will be closer to the amenities that Pueblo has to offer. Larry told me that they plan to have a new exit off of I-25 that will lead to the community and he says that he hopes to have some model homes completed by the end of the year. Larry also said that they will target Pueblo West homeowners who may be ready to give up their 1-acre lots for a home closer to town. You can view what's being planned at: http://www.walkingstickvista.com/. I can't wait to see what they have planned - sounds great!

Deb

Here are the Pueblo West real estate statistics for 3rd Quarter 2009, 7/1/2009-9/30/2009

Of the 141 Single Family Sold, 2 were condo/townhomes.

Residential homes sold 3^rd quarter by price

14 < $100K
44 between $100-150K
46 between $150-200K
23 between $200-250K
14 over $250K

Residential homes sold 3rd quarter by Pueblo West MLS location [To describe the Multiple List Service area breakdown, Pueblo West Acreage includes those lots on one acre(+) on the south side of Highway 50, not including the Golf Course area (which are usually smaller lot sizes), Liberty Point (the areas adjacent to Pueblo Lake boundaries) or Pueblo West East (generally areas east of the first McCulloch with smaller lot sizes). There are two designated manufactured home park areas which are on smaller lots, one on the north side and one on the south side of Highway 50.]:

35 - Pueblo West Acreage
28 - PuebloWest East
22 - Pueblo West Golf Course
4 - Pueblo West Liberty Point
11 - Pueblo West Manufactured Homes
41 - Pueblo West N of Highway 50

Generally speaking, residential sales are up but inventory is down. I attribute the increased residential sales to first-time-homebuyers making a purchase to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit which currently expires November 30. Residential sales are still below last years sales levels.

Vacant lots sold 3rd quarter by Pueblo West MLS location:

3 - Pueblo West Acreage
4 - Pueblo West East
1 - Pueblo West Golf Course
4 - Pueblo West Liberty Point
7 - Pueblo West N of Highway 50

Vacant lot sales remain steady but at lower levels. There's just not that much building going on. Many of our local builders have closed their sales offices and ceased building spec homes. The number of homes in the year's Parade of Homes was much lower than previous years. However the number of vacant lots on the market has gone up. Vacant lot sellers have told me that they want to sell their lots since they don't plan on developing the lots or moving to Colorado and they are hoping to sell in order to get some cash. Most of the lot sellers I've talked to live in our country's mid section (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois) where marketing efforts were concentrated when Robert McCulloch first developed Pueblo West. If you live in Pueblo West or are a local builder and if you are interested in a particular lot because it is adjacent to your property or you want to build, give me a call. I've talked to many lot owners who want to sell but have decided not to place their lot on the market at this time.

Deb

Pueblo will be experiencing unusually cold and dreary weather this weekend. Here are some suggestions for things to do:

***Visit the Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library to view entertainer Cheech Marin's "The Chicano Collection" exhibition of works that depict urban life and the Chicano experience today. The exhibit is free and open to the public starting Saturday October 10 through Sunday November 22, 2009, Monday-Thursday, 9am to 9pm; Friday and Saturday, 9am to 6pm; and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm.

***Visit the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center to see the following exhibitions:

White Gallery - "Representing the West" Art Exhibition and Sale

King Gallery - International Watermedia XVI: Pikes Peak Watercolor Society

Hoag Gallery - Faces & Places: Selections from the Francis King Collection of Western Art

Regional Gallery - Gene Kloss Print Collection

3 rd Floor Foyer Gallery - Peter Marchand Photography

Boardroom - Susan Askey: Four Corners, Four Seasons, Four Directions

Hours: Tue-Sat , 11am to 4pm. Admission to the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Buell Children's Museum is $4 for adults and $3 for children. Members of the military and their families receive a $1 discount off of the admission price with a military ID. A discount of $5 off of a family membership is also available to military members. Members of the Arts Center to include Studio 210 members are admitted free. Free adjacent parking.

***Read a book, specifically join other Puebloans in reading "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros and "Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories" as part of The Big Read: All Pueblo Reads. Kick-off events at Rawlings Public Library begin on Saturday, October 10 and include a Neighborhood Craft Project, contributing/learning about the Community Offrenda, hearing mystery writer Manuel Ramos speak at 12:30 p.m., participating in Art for Everyone: A Family Mexican Mural Workshop at 1:30 p.m. Many more events are scheduled between October 10 and November 13. Visit www.pueblolibrary.org or call 562-5600 for more information.

*** Take a walk, a GHOST walk! The 5th annual Ghost Walk through the Historic Union Avenue District finishes up October 9 th and 10th. Walking tours leave every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting at La Placita of El Pueblo History Museum. In case of bad weather, the event will move indoors. The stories for this year's Ghost Walk are: Christmas Day Massacre Fort El Pueblo, Charles Goodnight, James Beckwourth, Theatre in the Old West, Pueblo's Hanging Tree, Cathay Williams - Buffalo Soldier, Dad's Flood Story, Telephone Operators' Heroics in the 1921 Flood, Baxter Bridge Shoot-Out, and La Llorona. Proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the Hospitality Networks' support of homeless families, and the Domestic Violence Task Force's efforts to provide training for those who work with victims, and for anti-violence advertising in the community. The cost for tickets is $7 in advance and $8 at the event. Children ages five and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Y.W.C.A., 801 N. Santa Fe Ave., and at El Pueblo History Museum.

Deb