Real estate prices around Paonia (for sale by owner, how much, house)

[sue210]

Can anyone tell me if real estate prices are going down in the Paonia area due to the financial crisis? We would like to purchase about 5 acres in this area in order to build a strawbale/passive solar home, raise some hay and have a vegetable garden and orchard.
Thanks,
Sue

[jazzlover]

The short answer: Not yet. However, all across western Colorado, sales volume is slowing to a crawl, especially for properties over $300K. That's usually a good harbinger of price declines to come. That does not mean that real estate will be any bargain in Paonia soon--especially if one actually expects to make a local income there. That would require prices to drop on the order of 50% or more in order to have a decent affordability index for most people. There are also rumors of possible cutbacks coming in the local coal mines--which are the largest provider of any decent paying jobs in that area. If that happens, things will sour in a hurry. Anybody who lived through that type of economy in the early 1980's in western Colorado (and I did) will tell you that it was ugly. So--bad idea--unless you are an equity locust and bring a ton of money with you. As was posted elsewhere on the board, "How do you get a million dollars in western Colorado? Move in with $2 million and don't stay too long . . . "

[Zamfodder]

Sue,

I am a landowner in Paonia and I do believe from watching the listings that prices have or are on the verge of dropping. There are quite a few listings now that have been on the market for many months and I am not seeing many sell. Some properties have been taken off the market after not selling for many months as well. When you drive around you also see many for sale by owner signs. Moderator cut: you can send a DM to the OP about this

As for a suitable location for building a strawbale house, it is the perfect community since many in town are quite committed to the sustainable lifestyle. Solar Energy International has opened a facility in town and it is drawing a growing crowd of renewable energy practitioners. In fact they now teach a strawbale and earth plaster course. Also, there are some very good craftspeople in town. I know of one fellow who is one of the finest stucco and plaster artists around. To see his work, have dinner at the Flying Fork and admire the walls...then look at the stucco on the green house next door.

I don't know how much you know about Paonia but there are two things to keep in mind.

1) You want a piece of land with a water tap in place. Otherwise you are looking at working off a cistern or maintaining an expensive RO well water treatment system.

2) If you plan to grow anything, you will want good ditch irrigation water rights. Ususally 1 share per acre is considered good.

I hope things work out and do let me know how it goes in your search.

Zamfodder