Flowers are coming up and trees are leafing out. We got a little rain a couple days ago, which was really nice. Our moisture levels are way below average with snowpack at 48% of normal in the mountains and 24% of normal down lower.
Wal-Mart is still going through the planning process. We will know more about it later in the summer. If everything goes the way Wal-Mart is hoping, we will have a store open sometime next Fall.
I recently attended a meeting of the Town Tourism Committee which discussed one of our local resources, Reservoir Hill. Reservoir Hill is a wooded area very near downtown which is owned by the city and operated as a park. Right now, there are hiking and biking trails and a disc golf course. The major events held on the hill are the two music festivals held around Memorial Day and Labor day every year. The Town Tourism Committee is considering adding some theme park-style attractions to Reservoir Hill, including a zipline, an alpine coaster, a tethered hot air balloon, an observation tower, an amphitheater, and a restaurant or snack stand. As is usual in a small town, some people favor this plan and some people oppose it. It is still in the early stages, so we’ll have to wait and see if anything comes of it.
The local real estate market is doing reasonably well. This time of year is normally kind of slow. I was watching 9 News out of Denver this morning, and the market there is quite strong. The Arizona market is also picking up. These are good signs for us. One of the problems with buyers in the recent past was they could not sell the home they already had, keeping them from buying here.
I negotiated four contracts this past week ranging from $235,000 to $340,000 – one for land and three for homes. Home inventory is down 21% compared to last year, making selection a little sparse, especially in the lower price ranges. Interest rates are still great, ranging from 3.25% for a 15-year fixed to 4.00% for a 30-year fixed. Local building activity has increased. Last year at this time, the county had issued six single-family building permits. This year they have issued 14.
One of the more promising signs right now is that the number of pending sales has risen dramatically compared to this time last year. In this chart, you can see how this year stacks up with last year:
As we continue to see “green shoots” both in the local market and in the local environment, I am very excited about the coming summer.
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
