Colorado Springs Home prices (Denver, Boulder: homeowners insurance, schools, salary)

[ryanek9freak]

This is why I’m gonna have no choice but to build new. There just aren’t any homes available.

[Vision67]

Colorado Springs' housing market can't be stopped; prices and sales set record highs

https://gazette.com/business/colorad...79e17b798.html

"The Colorado Springs-area housing market smashed more records last month, as home prices and sales soared to new highs despite the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on the local economy.

According to the July market trends report by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors and historical data compiled by The Gazette:

• The median price, or midpoint, of homes sold during July climbed to $377,000, a 13.6% year-over-year increase and blowing past the previous record of $360,000 set in April and tied in June.

• The average price skyrocketed to $427,593, up 14.8% over the same month last year and surpassing June's record of $401,980.

• Sales of single-family and patio homes totaled 1,978, a 19% jump over July 2019 and eclipsing the previous one-month high of 1,743 in June 2017. Through the first seven months of 2020, sales totaled 9,177, a decline of less than 1% from the same period last year.

When the pandemic took hold in March and April, the state of Colorado temporarily banned open houses and put tighter controls on home showings as a means of halting the spread of the coronavirus; following those restrictions, year-over-year home sales fell locally by 7.7% in April and nearly 28% in May.

That slowdown in activity, however, triggered a pent-up demand among buyers, many of whom are taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates to purchase homes, said Dean Weissman, a real estate agent and partner/owner of The Platinum Group REALTORS in Colorado Springs.

"We did see a sharp decrease, and then we saw this V-shaped recovery, where once things started opening up again, combined with historically low rates, it just really made the market surge for sure," he said.

Even as some people have lost jobs after businesses permanently or temporarily closed because of the pandemic, others continue to work and buy homes, Weissman said.

The local inventory of homes for sale can't keep pace with the demand. In July, just 1,390 homes were listed for sale, a nearly 37% drop from the same month in 2019 and the fewest for any July over the last 25 years, based on Realtors Association reports and Gazette data.

Colorado Springs housing prices spike during the first quarter, report shows
Homes are especially tough to find around $350,000, and many sellers in that range receive multiple offers that top their asking price by thousands of dollars, Weissman said.

"Anything that's $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 that's in nice condition, you'll definitely be in a multiple offer situation," he said. "I had a home that we put on the market for $295,000. We had offers up to $320,000 on it.

"It's just crazy," Weissman added. "We're bidding for clients in some cases, and in these competitive price points, we're going $25,000 and $30,000 over, and in some cases we're not getting the property. That's what's driving that median and average sales price. There's just a pent-up demand with a lack of inventory that is requiring folks, if you want the home and you want it bad enough, you'd better be willing to play the game."

The competition eases starting around $600,000, and sellers of higher-end homes need to be more conscious of pricing their homes correctly based on location and condition, Weissman said. Still, multiple offers are possible for upscale homes and he said he's even seen sellers of million-dollar properties receive multiple bids.

The Realtors Association report includes home sales handled by real estate agents, but not properties sold by owners. In July's report, 91% of homes sold were existing properties and the rest were new houses, with most sales taking place in El Paso County. "

[orngkat]

If you look at realtor.com. quite a few homes are being reduced. Perhaps only certain areas are hot?

[otowi]

Originally Posted by orngkat

If you look at realtor.com. quite a few homes are being reduced. Perhaps only certain areas are hot?

I think some of it is speculation over how hot and overpricing a bit hoping to take advantage, but also being in a hurry to sell.

[Vision67]

Nation's hottest neighborhood for housing? Look just south of Colorado Springs

https://gazette.com/business/nations...d07367e35.html

"The nation’s hottest neighborhood for housing isn’t found in a bustling East Coast city, a tree-lined Midwestern town or a laid-back oceanfront community in Southern California.

Instead, it’s right here in the Pikes Peak region — though not in Colorado Springs.

The 80911 ZIP code that covers unincorporated Security-Widefield south of town, whose many older and less-expensive homes are popular even if they lack the sizzle of upscale properties, has been ranked as the nation’s No. 1 place to buy a home in 2020 by Realtor.com, the California-based online real estate service.

ZIP codes were ranked by how fast homes sold in those areas and how frequently listings were viewed online by prospective buyers. Realtor.com also limited hot ZIP codes to one per metro area to avoid having a single red-hot locale dominate its list.

According to Realtor.com, homes in 80911 spent an average of 13 days on the market before selling — fastest among the 20,000 ZIP codes. The time that homes stayed on the market in 80911 was 20 days less than the overall Colorado Springs area and 58 days shorter than the national median.

The 80911 median list price of $287,000, while up 6.5% from a year earlier, was 39% lower than the rest of the Springs area and 13% below the national median, Realtor.com’s report said.

At the same time, 77% of 80911 residents were homeowners, while the ownership rate by millennials was 62% compared with 43% for the rest of the country.

The 80911 ZIP code is generally east of Fort Carson and southwest of Milton E. Proby Parkway and Powers Boulevard. Its residents include many people who work in Colorado Springs and members of the military deployed at Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base.

“This area offers residents a great quality of life including affordable homes, especially compared to nearby Denver, and strong schools such as Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School,” Realtor.com said in its report.

Dianna Dalton-Daily, a real estate agent with The Platinum Group Realtors in Colorado Springs who markets homes in 80911, said lower prices make the area extremely attractive to buyers.

The area also is convenient to military bases and Interstate 25, has good schools and boasts lower property taxes for residents, Dalton-Daily said.

“People are getting more value for their money,” she said.

Big backyards and mature trees in much of Security-Widefield — where many homes date back at least to the 1970s — also appeal to buyers, some of whom are spending more time at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dalton-Daily said.

“It’s kind of that ‘Brady Bunch’ feel, with larger yards and big trees,” she said. “Especially with COVID and people not being able to go anywhere, their home has to be their sanctuary. They’re going to be spending a lot more time in their home and their yards than ever before. A private backyard is really appealing to people.”

Last year, Realtor.com ranked the 80916 ZIP code in southeast Colorado Springs as the nation’s 10th hottest ZIP code; in 2018, the Springs’ 80922 ZIP code on the northeast side came in at No. 2."

[otowi]

I live in 80911 and I believe it. Great place to live and one of the last places where people can sneak in at lower price points although that is steadily evaporating.

[hat_man]

Maybe I'm just naive living in NW Illinois, but the price of homes out there is crazy. After looking at Realtor.com just to see what you all are talking about, it makes me wonder if it's cheaper to build new rather than buy old.

$250k for an 850 sq/ft one story fifty year old house? I know location,location,location but the same house here sells for $60k in a decent neighborhood near schools and parks. Even in Rockford (pop. 160k) the same house is half the price compared to COS. From what I'm seeing, $60k might buy me an empty lot to start building on.

Please don't think I'm complaining, I'm not. It's just a real eye opener for me.

[dr.frog]

It's all relative. My sister and her husband have been shopping for a house in Oakland/Berkeley CA, where there are intense bidding wars and things are routinely going for 20% or more over asking price. Like, $1.3M for a 2-bedroom 1500SF house. They've lost every house they've bid on so far. Meanwhile, they could easily get a similar house here in COS for under $400K, but they really want to live in the Bay Area and not Colorado, or Illinois. I think they're kinda nuts, but it's not my place to tell them what to do with their retirement....

[abcdefg567]

Originally Posted by hat_man

Maybe I'm just naive living in NW Illinois, but the price of homes out there is crazy. After looking at Realtor.com just to see what you all are talking about, it makes me wonder if it's cheaper to build new rather than buy old.

$250k for an 850 sq/ft one story fifty year old house? I know location,location,location but the same house here sells for $60k in a decent neighborhood near schools and parks. Even in Rockford (pop. 160k) the same house is half the price compared to COS. From what I'm seeing, $60k might buy me an empty lot to start building on.

Please don't think I'm complaining, I'm not. It's just a real eye opener for me.

Aren't property taxes considerably higher in Illinois though?

PITI on a $350k home here with 20% down and current rates would be around $1500/month depending on insurance and tax area.

[joyeaux]

How does zip 80905 fare in this run-up/hot market?
My stepson is there & has had great appreciation since buying in 2012. But now as my brother approaches retirement at 62, he's considering the area.
Any thoughts on a price of a <2000 sq ft home price for an empty nester in zip 80905 now?