Lee Riley

Go Broncos! This year, the Broncos are 6 and 1, and we are leading the division. According to the “experts,” we were only supposed to win 4 games this year! The sports commentators remind me of the financial gurus. Neither seems to know what they are talking about. I believe I’m doing better thinking on my own and not worrying about the negative naysayers.

Some good news! Real Estate sales for October were up 18% over the same period last year. There were 39 sales this October versus 33 last October. Year-to-date sales are down 29%, which is a 3% improvement over last month.

I attended our annual Real Estate Convention a couple of weeks ago, which is always fun, especially since it is held at the Broadmoor – a 5-Star facility. The Convention serves several functions, such as networking with other Realtors from around the state. The educational classes are great, and I really enjoy the motivational speakers. Just “getting out of Dodge” for a few days can do a great service by refreshing my mindset.

The most beneficial thing I pulled from this session is what short sales are all about. It is a very complicated and very misunderstood process. Here is the Reader’s Digest analysis:

If you purchased a home in the past 3 years, there is a very good chance you are upside down on your mortgage. You owe more than your home is worth. So, a lot of you who want to sell are asking the bank to take a loss. In order for the bank to consider this, they need to know you cannot make the payments due to a change in your financial situation, a job loss, health issues, etc. To prove this, you need to have a hardship letter. Additionally, the bank will want to see your last two tax returns. Also, you will be required to provide your last two pay stubs for both you and for your spouse. The bottom line is the bank will only consider a short sale if you are destitute.

There are about 80,000 people per month asking for a short sale. In order to get your bank’s attention, you must dot all the I’s and cross all your T’s. The package you send to your bank is typically 60 to 100 pages long, and it must be complete, or it will just sit in a pile on someone’s desk going nowhere. If you decide you are a candidate for a short sale, it is critical that you get both tax and legal advice. If you don’t, you might find you have to pay taxes on the amount “forgiven” by the bank, or you may have to pay the shortfall yourself. This could be devastating.

Only 50% of short sales ever actually happen. The process will probably take 3 to 9 months to complete, and most buyers are not willing to wait. From a buyer’s perspective, bank repos are a much better way to buy. Further complicating a short sale is the fact that many Realtors are hesitant to show or promote a short sale property. Realtors know the headaches and complications that are bound to arise during the long, unpredictable process, and they often don’t want to deal with a “tainted product.”

If you are considering a short sale as either a buyer or a seller, give me a call or email, and I will give you some contacts to help you go through the maze of uncertainty.

We are quickly approaching the Holiday Season. I sincerely wish you and your family a great Thanksgiving. I also want to thank our troops for a job well done.

As always, the latest stats are available on my website, ISellPagosa.com

Fall is here. The colors are getting bright, and mornings are cold. So, when will we get our first major snow? When will the ski area open? Will we have a hard winter or a mild one? In October in Pagosa, these are the questions on everyone’s minds.

After two tough winters, I’m hoping for an easy one for a change. I do hope the ski area opens early. Halloween would be ideal. In a perfect world, we would have good early snow but not too much. When this happens, folks from Durango and Northern New Mexico have to come here to ski. Contrary to popular belief, we actually do better economically when we don’t get too much snow. Wolf Creek Pass stays open, and we are the best, and sometimes the only game around.

I have been checking around town to see how our local merchants have been doing in this tough economy. The answer I am hearing, even though not as good as a couple of years ago, is that we are doing better than most people expected. Lodger’s Tax is up 9% compared to 2008. Sales tax is down only 2.2%. The county seems to be getting its act together after financial problems a couple of years ago. Foot traffic at the local Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center is up 15% compared to last year. The Town Tourism Committee recently ran out of their seasonal visitor’s guide, and they had to print an additional 20,000 copies!

As far as real estate goes, we are seeing improvement lately, especially in home and condo sales. At the end of July, real estate sales were down 37% compared to the same period in 2008. At the end of August, we were down 35%, and at the end of September, we were down 32%. So, we are still behind the 2008 sales pace, but over the last couple months, we have been gaining ground.

It’s still a buyer’s market, but we are starting to see a reduction in inventory. Quite often, Fall is the best time to buy. Sellers are worried about holding the property through another winter, and they are more motivated to make a deal.

Two other reasons to buy now are very low interest rates and the $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Many buyers do not realize that they qualify for this credit, so I’ll briefly go over the qualifications. If you have not owned your primary residence in the past 3 years, you are considered a “first-time buyer,” and you qualify for the $8000 tax credit. The home must remain your primary residence for 3 years in order to keep the $8000.

I feel very fortunate this year. Even with overall sales down 32%, my sales are up, and our office as a whole is doing very well. Over 10% of all transactions this year have come across my desk. I owe a lot of my success to my staff: Jody Moon is my full-time administrative assistant, and Jarrett Chaney is my computer specialist. Along with Jody and Jarrett, who work directly for me, Barb Taylor and Beth Tollefsen work for the whole office and are critical to our success. Finally, having a good boss makes it fun to come to work, and I have one of the best in the world – Jann Pitcher.

I hope everything is going well for you and your family. Keep thinking positive. If you have any real estate questions about Pagosa or anywhere else in the world, please contact me. If I don’t have the answer, I will find someone who does.

As always, the latest stats are available on my website, ISellPagosa.com

This month has been and will be a busy one for me. I have just returned from my son Patrick's wedding in Steamboat Springs, which was my second wedding of the summer. September is also a busy time for local real estate, as Labor Day weekend and archery hunting season bring in many out-of-towners and potential customers. As such, this will be an abbreviated newsletter. I am running a fun contest on my website that I want everyone to know about, because you've got a chance to win $100!

I am constantly looking for ways to improve my website and give my clients a better experience. I hit upon the idea of running a survey contest, where my clients can fill out a survey and give me recommendations about how to improve my website. At the end of the contest, the best suggestion will win $100.

To enter, just visit my website, ISellPagosa.com. Take some time to look around the website. You might try searching for some properties using the standard search page or the new MLS Mapper. When you've got some ideas for me, return to the main page and click the big button that says "Enter to Win $100."

Fill out the survey, and you're automatically entered! I look forward to all of your wonderful suggestions, and I will put as many of them as possible into practice on the website. Good luck to everyone!

As always, the latest statistics are available on my website, ISellPagosa.com

I have some good real estate news. Things have been very busy in my office lately. I think we may have hit bottom in the housing market. About the time I decided to take a summer vacation two weeks ago, the genie came out of the bottle. Most of the activity is on single family homes. It reminds me of two or three years ago. I’m not sure why things have picked up so much, but if I might speculate, here are a few possible reasons. First, the media is sounding more positive. I have heard reports on several occasions suggesting that housing might have reached a bottom. Denver is doing better than other parts of the country. Second, we have more people in town this time of year. Third, interest rates are still very low. Fourth, the stock market has been rallying and consumer confidence is improving.

The following chart shows that home sales are steadily increasing throughout the county:

Buyers are still focusing on repos and great deals, and there is a good selection to choose from. Currently, the number of available repos is down, while short sales are up. Banks are taking longer before pulling the plug on owners. There are a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline, but they are taking longer to come to market, thus keeping the supply down.

Hopefully, this will continue and expand. Activity on vacant land and condos is still slow. Our office, Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate, took over a townhome project known as The Enclave and The Cottages 60 days ago. With very aggressive pricing, they are selling pretty fast. Touch base with me if you would like further info.

If you haven’t checked out my website lately, ISellPagosa.com, you should do so. I will show you all the properties on the market which are in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service.) Don’t miss the Bank Repos, which are right at the top of the page. Several great deals can be found here.

It feels good to be doing some business again, and I hope that this economic activity will spread to the rest of our little town.

As always, the latest statistics are available on my website, ISellPagosa.com

One down and one to go! I just had the best Father’s Day ever, as my daughter just got married at our home. It was a beautiful ceremony on a perfect afternoon. Heather married John Lovell, a Navy man from Tennessee. After months of planning, everything went off without a hitch. Next, my son will get married on September 12th in Steamboat Springs. In the mean time, I need to get back to work to pay for all these festivities!

The Real Estate market is staying pretty constant. Sales are steady, but still sluggish overall. Sales are down about 41% from last year, and inventory continues to rise. The recent increase in county property valuations (and therefore taxes) has hit a lot of people hard, and many are very upset. I have been pulling up comparable sales several times a day for the past two weeks for those who want to protest. The protest deadline was July 1st. In most situations, protesting will not do any good, because the “evaluation period” that the county is currently looking at is January 2007 through June 2008. During that period, sale prices were higher than they are today, and the county assessor is just doing the math mandated by state statute. Unfortunately for property taxpayers, not much relief is available. I hope the county saves and spends wisely because the next go round, taxes will be coming down and costs will probably be up.

I just spoke to my banker, and rates are still low at 5.37% with no points. This is up a little from when I refinanced at 4.75% a couple months ago.

I’ve been showing more property recently. Buyers are very particular and cautious, as they try to decide whether we have found a bottom to the market yet. I don’t know, but I think we are close. As I look over my stats, the most notable number is home sales over $400,000; we have had 6 this year, and we have 206 on the market. Throughout the whole county, we have had only 1 sale over $500,000. One factor contributing to these low numbers is the lack of availability of Jumbo loans, which are $417,000 and higher.

Another notable stat is condo sales; we have had 5 so far this year, and there are 135 on the market. With all this available inventory, buyers can have their pick of the litter. Again, the silver lining is, “It’s a great time to buy!”

Have a great summer, and call me with any of your Real Estate questions. Also, please keep me in mind if you know anyone looking to buy or sell. I promise to treat them like family.

As always, the latest statistics are available on my website, ISellPagosa.com