It’s a beautiful autumn day in the mountains! There is frost on the pumpkins, and the temperature has fallen below freezing the past couple of nights. I’ve started covering the flowers in my yard. We were hit with a couple of major storms recently, and the river looks like it’s the spring runoff. We’ve got snow up on Wolf Creek, and the elk have started to move down the mountain. The fall colors in our area are a little late this year; they haven’t quite peaked yet, but they will in the next week or two. October is one of my favorite times of year in Pagosa.
There’s not a lot of local gossip to report. The Walmart construction is still cranking away. They’ve done a lot of work recently on Alpha Drive, which will serve as the main access road to the store once it is open. Most of the other road and bridge projects around town are either winding down or have already been completed.
One potential project in the works is an expansion of our local hospital. The Pagosa Springs Medical Center is growing rapidly, and it now employs nearly 200 people. Space is running out! A new capital project is underway to expand the emergency department, lab, radiology, and surgery departments. Another phase of the project would build an attached, two-story primary care clinic. This project is still in the funding stage, so everything is tentative, but we could see some expansion as early as 2016.
In other news, the first batch of hunters carrying bows and muzzle-loaders have already come and gone. The first rifle season will open on Saturday for both elk and mule deer. Town will be hopping for the next couple of weekends.
As far as real estate goes, there is nothing major to report. The overall sales number is up by 10%, with the biggest driver being vacant land. The residential and condo segments are up slightly over last year, but the bargain-basement prices in vacant land have pushed that category to a 27% increase over last year.
There were a couple of big ranches which sold recently to a single individual. Together, the two ranches sold for over $12 million. This is a pretty big transaction for our little town. If we look at the dollar volume statistics instead of the number of units sold, we’re up 16% over last year. But without this one heavy-hitter ranch buyer, we would only be up 1%.
On a personal note, I was honored to learn that I have been named the 2014 Pagosa Springs Realtor of the Year. I am deeply appreciative of this award, as it is voted on by all the other Realtors in town. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be recognized by my peers, my colleagues, and my friends. There are about a hundred real estate agents in our small community, and I am truly grateful to work with such an outstanding group of professionals.
Thanks everybody!
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
