So much for an early spring. Winter has returned with a vengeance. Two weeks ago there was almost no snow in town and temperatures were in the 50s. Now there is two feet of snow in my yard, and it was zero degrees this morning. Wolf Creek received 97 inches of snow in 11 days. The Spring Break skiers due to arrive in town this week should be ecstatic.
The snow pack hit a low of 55% of median during the big thaw. With the recent storms it is now back up to 78% of average. We’re still low, but it is not quite as dire as things were looking a few weeks ago.
The best part of the recent snow event was that my wife and I were on a Mexican Riviera cruise while most of it was happening. While everyone else was out shoveling, I was working on my tan!
Spring is producing many changes around town. Walmart is due to open on April 22nd. There are a number of restaurants coming and going. The Chivalrous Shark is now the Break Room Bar & Grill. The folks who own the Alley House are moving Side Street Sushi from its current location behind Farrago to a new spot where Nello’s used to be. They are also planning to open a new French restaurant called LeBoeuf in the space next to Citizen’s Bank where Newberry’s used to be. A deal is due to close at the end of March which would re-open JJ’s on the river near the Highway 84 junction. What used to be the Elkhorn on Main Street will soon open again as The Lost Cajun. The old City Market complex downtown is filling up as well. A retail shop called Feathering Your Nest has relocated next to the old grocery store, and the grocery store itself is under contract. That’s a lot of activity!
Now on to real estate. So far in our short year, home sales are up 44% and condo sales are up 67%. Land is down slightly, and the overall number is up 18%. Pending deals are on the rise as well, with 70 this year compared to 62 last year at the same time. Stronger sales combined with less inventory is just what we want to see in order to drive prices up.
Over the next three months, we’re going to see a whole new crop of properties hit the market. Many will be last year’s leftovers which got pulled off the market for the winter, but many new properties will turn up whose owners have decided to move on for one reason or another.
Interest rates are creeping up almost a half percent since January. The forecast is that they will continue to rise, but that all depends on our economy as well as events unfolding around the world.
I just sent out 10,000 letters asking for new listings. My cupboards need to be replenished so that I’ll have some inventory to sell. If you know of anyone looking to buy or sell, please keep me in mind. I am optimistic that we are about to have a great year.
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
