Spring time and spring weather have come to the Rockies. This week, the weather forecast shows three days of sunny skies and 50-degree weather, and two days of snow! Snow pack in the high country is at 81% of average, and there are a couple more storms out there on the horizon. The Spring Break crowd should have smiles on their faces when they start rolling into town in a week or two.
In real estate news, the national market is making great gains lately. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes are up 9% since this time last year. Median price has risen 12% since last year, and now sits at $173,600. This is the 11th consecutive month of rising prices. Pending sales are looking good, too. The pending home indicators are at their highest level since April 2010, when the home buyer tax credit was about to expire. Other than the inflated tax credit number, you have to go back to February 2007 to see this many pending sales. All this good news from around the country is also good news for us in Pagosa. Most people who are coming here have to sell somewhere else first!
A little closer to home, Heather continues to make great progress getting me up to speed in the digital world. I am now on LinkedIn, and you can connect with me at linkedin.com/in/leerileyisellpagosa. My Facebook page is off to the races. There you’ll find updates on interest rates, Pagosa real estate news, links to my new blog posts, and my deal of the week. You’ll also find a weekly hotsheet of all the new listings. “Like” my page at facebook.com/ISellPagosaLeeRiley.
I’d like to offer a word of advice to all those people considering listing your home or property this Spring. In my opinion, the ideal time to list your property is March 15. This surprises many people, as most of my clients want to wait until there is green grass in the yard and flowers in the garden. The problem with this thinking is that everyone else wants to wait until there are flowers in their gardens, too. About May 15, there is a huge stampede as everyone rushes to list their property at the same time. All the new inventory is overwhelming, and most properties get lost in the shuffle. Why not list early and beat the rush? If you’d like to get out ahead of the crowd, give me a call and we’ll get your property listed in the next few days.
Looking at the stats, the magic number for homes seems to be $300,000. If we look at the market above and below $300,000, we see two different pictures. The inventory of homes below $300,000 is down 20% compared to last year at this time. The inventory of homes above $300,000 is up 9% compared to last year at this time. The competition at the lower end of the price spectrum is thinning out. This is good news for people trying to sell a home in this price range.
Finally, I’d like to hear your suggestions. We are currently planning a summer vacation to Tennessee, and I always like to poll my readers for their advice when I am traveling. If you are familiar with the area, what should we be sure to see and do? What should we not do? Thanks for all your input!
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
