It’s Fair time again! The 68th Annual Archuleta County Fair is happening as I write. It’s small town America at its finest. The 4H kids have been working hard for many months on their projects and raising animals for show. Saturday night is the livestock auction right after the chukwagon barbecue dinner. Of course, there will be a country & western dance to follow. There will be two rodeos – one for the cowboys and then the kids’ rodeo is at high noon on Sunday. For all the details, visit ArchuletaCountyFair.com.
It’s been a very pleasant summer so far – not too hot, not too cold. The monsoons are here, with a little rain in the afternoons, but mainly at night. Pagosa is still very green. The wildflowers are everywhere. The rivers are finally coming down and are fish-able. Tubing and rafting are in full swing.
Town is very busy, but the only downside is the traffic. The highway department needs to re-think their strategy and expand our roadways to handle the demand.
After a fiasco with poor cell service a couple of weeks ago, our community leaders are talking to Verizon to help improve the service. We need more towers. We need one in the Hatcher area. We need one somewhere around the fairgrounds to deal with the junction of Highways 84 and 160. Then we need one about 20 miles down Highway 84 to deal with the Alpine Lakes Ranch and Navajo River Ranch areas. One of the delays is the chronic issue of “Not In My Backyard,” where folks don’t want to see a tower from where they live.
Another local issue resurfacing is the debate over vacation rentals. We’ll need to find a solution that balances the needs of homeowners who want to rent their properties with the needs of neighbors who have to deal with the guests. We have a large number of part-time residents in Pagosa who would not be able to afford a second home in Pagosa without the ability to short-term rent the home to help defray the cost. In most cases, a permanent deed restriction preventing short-term rentals would negatively affect the value of the property. Hopefully we can come up with a solution that is reasonable for both sides without throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Now for the latest real estate news. We are still playing catch-up from last year. Overall sales are down 8% versus down 10% a month ago. Home sales are virtually the same. The biggest change from last year is in the $500,000 to $750,000 range where sales are up 45%. This represents 29 homes sold this year compared to 20 last year. The weak spot in the market is $200,000 to $250,000, due to lack of quality inventory. The overall home inventory is up 14%, mainly due to double the number of available homes in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, where there are 49 listings this year compared to 24 last year. Condo sales are down 24%. Land sales are down 8%. Pending sales are down as well, with 128 this year compared to 147 last year at this time.
Some other good news – interest rates are at a 3-year low. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at 3.75% and a 15-year is at 3.125%.
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
