Hello From Pagosa Country!
The kids are back in school, there’s a lot less traffic on the roads, and the temperatures are ideal – morning temperatures are in the 40s and daytime temperatures are in the 70s. The biggest negative out there is lack of rain. The summer monsoons were a no-show this year. Combined with very little snow last winter, this has put us into a drought situation. The rivers are very low and unfishable. The creek that runs through my property is dry, and my trout pond, along with most of the other lakes in the region, is way down. Hopefully, this coming winter will be a big one! We need the snow!
Around town, the highway construction project downtown seems to be coming along according to schedule. It has been a pain for the merchants in the area, so whenever possible, please stop in and spend some money with them to get them through this time of turmoil. The north side of the highway should be completed this fall, and next year they will finish the other side. When all this dust settles, the whole stretch will be better than ever with concrete roads, new sidewalks, and new utilities underneath the road.
Now for the latest real estate news. Total year-to-date sales are down 4% with 414 transactions this year compared to 433 sales last year and 595 sales way back in 2022. For the fifth month in a row, the number of sales has been down compared to the previous year. Total sales in August were 57 compared to 81 last year. August is usually a very busy month for us, and this was our slowest August since 2012. Pending sales were down as well with 98 today compared to 116 a year ago. That means September sales will likely follow the same trend.
Looking more closely at the numbers, the strongest part of our housing market is the price range from $600,000 to $750,000. The softest is the high-end homes over $1,000,000. Inventory of homes is up 26% over last year with the biggest increase in the $1,000,000+ range. Condo and townhome sales are up just slightly, and the inventory is pretty flat. Vacant land sales are where we have seen the biggest decline. Vacant land sales are down 11% with 165 this year versus 185 last year. The softest part of that market is parcels between one-half and three acres, which are mostly in the Aspen Springs area.
See all the stats and check out the graphs below.
Some brighter news is mortgage rates are down. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now at 6.29% and a 15-year is at 5.60% for a primary residence. Rates for second homes and rentals are typically up another quarter- to half-percent higher. I’m expecting the Federal Reserve to cut the prime rate a quarter-percent in September with maybe another cut in December. Hopefully, we are in the mid-5’s by the middle of next year. Once we get there, I think it will spark the market and get the buyers off the sidelines.
The buyers are out there, but they are being very selective in looking for good deals. I listed a home last Saturday, and we had six showings on Sunday and three offers on Monday with the home selling above asking price. The reason this happened is my sellers were motivated, and we priced the home aggressively. That’s the secret sauce if you want to sell in today’s market!
So long for now! Get out and enjoy this beautiful fall season. Smell the roses and smile a lot!
GRI, CRS
2001 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
