Finally, summer is here! The trees all have their leaves and green is the color of the day. School is out, and the tourists are ready to escape the heat from the southwest. Last weekend was the 11th Annual Pagosa Folk ‘n Bluegrass Festival, which was lots of fun and great music! Next weekend will be the Pagosa Car Show. We expect to have events and festivals nearly every weekend throughout the summer. Rafting season is in full swing which is another economic boon for our local economy. In the ongoing 5th Street Bridge controversy, nothing is new. They are still waiting on the traffic study.
As far as the real estate market goes, there are no big changes from last month. Home sales are up slightly. Condo sales are flat. Vacant land sales are up 17% with the largest increase in 3 to 6 acre parcels. Parcels of 35 acres or more have been much softer than last year. One of the more eye-catching numbers is that we’ve had one home sell above $750,000 this year, and we’ve got 81 on the market.
Personally, I am extremely busy. Over the past week, I have had several homes go under contract. One of them on the higher end of the spectrum has only been on the market for about ten days. I had one go under contract that’s been on the market for four years, and two others go under contract that have been on the market for at least a year. Local home builders are very busy as well, as they have been all year. The county has issued 43 permits for new homes this year compared to 32 last year at this time.
I’m including a couple of graphs in this month’s edition of the newsletter. The first shows pending sales, and the second shows completed sales on a month-to-month basis.
My forecast for the year is “steady as it goes” with nothing over the top. We’ll see a steady increase in sales and prices will continue to rise. If you are a buyer, the selection right now is the best that you’ll see all year. If you’re a seller under $400,000, you’re in pretty good shape as long as you don’t get greedy.
So long for now. I hope everybody has a great summer vacation!
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
