May 23, 2017

HARRY’S BI-WEEKLY UPDATE

                            A Current Look at the Colorado Springs Residential real estate Market  

As part of my Personal Service, it is my desire to share current real estate issues that will help to make you a more successful and profitable buyer or seller.

BE PREPARED FOR WHAT’S CURRENTLY “NORMAL” IN LOCAL RESIDENTIAL real estate

I’ve been in local residential real estate for 45 years now and I’ve never seen anything like what’s been happening in the last few months.  Aside from the astronomical median sales price growth and the continued shortage of available listings, multiple offers are starting to become the norm here.

There are few home sales in the under $300,000 range that I’ve been involved with as either a broker for the buyer or seller that haven’t seen multiple offers—within hours of appearing on MLS.  This is creating a “new normal” for both buyers and sellers as it takes real strategy to even get your offer looked at. 

That’s where someone with my expertise becomes essential.  On top of the thousands of offers I’ve written and had approved over the years, I also bring my Investment Banking background to the table.  This allows me to “think outside the box” and find creative ways to make your offer one that will at least warrant consideration, if not accepted. 

In today’s market it’s essential to make your first offer your BEST offer.  There’s no longer the luxury of “negotiation”, except possibly for the closing date or something of the like.  If you’re looking for a bargain—you’re too late. 

Buyers need to be prepared for all of the above.  I cannot emphasize that strongly enough.  It’s essential to have an open mind and to have options, as it’s very possible that the first or second home you make an offer on won’t be the one you get.  That’s just reality today.  With a shortage of listings, sellers can be picky, and they are being just that. 

Sellers also need to be prepared for this and also for a much quicker turnaround than in the past.  Because of that, you need to have a good idea of where you intend to move.  Lately, many of my seller clients have chosen to find a new place to live prior to listing their current home.  That way they know where they will be moving. 

If this all sounds a bit unsettling, it is.  But I’d rather alert you in advance than have you disappointed in your search.  There ARE homes available in most neighborhoods and in most price ranges, but there aren’t many. 

I just returned from a relocation Directors Council (RDC) conference in Atlanta.   RDC is comprised of the leading brokers and relocation directors throughout the U.S.A.  I have been a member since it was created in1985 and am a past president of the board.  “Multiple Offers” was a big topic at this conference and that confirmed this isn’t just a Colorado Springs thing.  Multiple offers—many over list price and all-cash with quick turnarounds--are becoming the norm all over the country.

If a move is in your plans, call me at 593.1000 or email me at Harry@HarrySalzman.com sooner than later and let’s see how we can make this a reality.  With some advanced planning on both my part and yours we can hopefully succeed with as little stress as possible. 

 

APRIL 2017 LOCAL MARKET UPDATE AND MONTHLY INDICATORS ILLUSTRATE OUR CONTINUING UPWARD TREND IN GREATER DETAIL

Pikes Peak REALTORS® Services Corp.,

I’m happy to continue the good news in local residential real estate.  These reports contain much greater detail than the first of the month reports and cover all residential areas in the Pikes Peak Region.

The local median sales price increase year-over-year in all properties was up a fabulous 10.6%, which is a good sign that our housing market is continuing to appreciate.  If there were more listings, more people would be moving—either selling to trade up or buying for the first time and for investment purposes.

In the recently published April 2017 Monthly Indicators and Local Market Update for El Paso and Teller Counties, new listings year-over-year were down 11.8% for the single-family/patio homes and up 0.4% for condo/townhomes. 

You can again see why now is a great time to list your home.  The only drawback, as I’ve mentioned time and again, is that you need to have an idea of where you want to go because your home will likely sell much quicker than it might have in the recent past.

     The “Activity Snapshot” shows the one-year change:

  • Sold Listings for All Properties was up 2.4%
  • Median Sales Price for All Properties was up 10.6%
  • Active Listings on All Properties was down 33.3%.

You can click here to read the 16-page Monthly Indicators or click here to get specific information on the neighborhood of your choice from the 33-page Local Market Update. I would highly recommend that you check out your own neighborhood, or one that you are considering, to get a good idea of what’s transpiring there.  I have reprinted just one neighborhood, Northgate, below to show you the type of information available for all local areas.

       

Despite rising home prices, interest rates, while slowly rising, are remaining historically low for the time being.  That won’t always be the case, so “sooner than later” should be your motto if a real estate move is in your immediate future.  If you’re thinking of a move or looking for investment property—I’m your guy.

For questions about any of these reports or just to find out how I can put my special brand of customer service to work for you, please give me a call at 593.1000 or email me at Harry@HarrySalzman.com.

 

UCCS ECONOMIC DASHBOARD UPDATE

UCCS Economic Forum, College of Business, 5.22.17

I just received the most recent update from Dr. Tatiana Bailey who heads up the UCCS Economic Forum and as always, want to share it with you in a timely manner.

As you will see in the report, Colorado and El Paso County unemployment rates are both well below the national rate.  In April, the national unemployment rate was 4.1% (not seasonally adjusted), whereas it was about two percentage points lower for the state of Colorado (2.2%) and only slightly higher for El Paso County (2.5%).  The Colorado rate is the lowest in 41 years.

I am reprinting just one page of the report here so you can see how positive the information is for El Paso County. 

       

You can look at the 4-page report in its entirely by clicking here.   

 

EXISTING HOMES SALES IN U.S.A. WILL SEE BEST YEAR SINCE 2006

Housingwire, 5.19.17

A forecast from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) says that single-family existing home sales, driven by robust job growth and improving household confidence, are set to see their best year since 2006.

The first quarter 2017 came in with the best sales pace for existing homes in a decade and Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, expects that pace to continue, finishing off the year with an increase of 3.5% over 2016.

And that’s not all.  NAR also projects an increase of 5% in existing home prices in 2017.  However, as I showed you earlier, homeowners in the Pikes Peak area are already experiencing an increase of 10.6%--double the national projection!

First-time buyers are continuing to be plagued by the shortage of starter homes for sale.  According to Yun, “There’s little doubt first-time buyer participation would improve and the homeownership rate (under the 50 year average for more than 10 years now) would rise if there was simply more inventory.”

Yun also predicts two more rate hikes this year to bring mortgage rates to an average 4.3% by the end of 2017 and climbing towards 5% in 2018.

While home sales continue to rise to such highs, economic growth is at its slowest since World War II.  Mark Calabria, chief economist and assistant to Vice President Mike Pence, explained that the housing market cannot be strong without a solid economic foundation. 

“A strong labor market will drive a strong housing market, but you can’t have a strong housing market without a strong economic foundation,” Calabria said.  “The recovery has been uneven with roughly 70 counties making up roughly half of all job growth.”

As I mentioned earlier, our unemployment rate is almost half of the U.S. in general so we are most definitely one of those “70 counties” Calabria refers to. 

Bravo for us.