Active, Pending, and Sold Since January 1, 2010

Since the $8000 first time homebuyer and $6500 move up buyer tax credits expire after 04/30/10, I thought it would be interesting to see what the effect of the home buyer credits have been on our local market this year.  By analyzing the numbers now, I can do another analysis at the end of summer and see what the real impact has been.  Many of the residential properties closing between now and the end of June undoubtedly are affected by the tax credits.

Since January 1, 2010

There are currently 6027 residential properties for sale in the Pikes Peak MLS.  Since January 1, 2010 2682 have sold and 2174 are pending.  Of the properties pending 328 or 15% are tagged as short sales.  What is more interesting is the distribution of activity in different price ranges in 2010.

Sales and Pending Sales in 2010

The statistics related to different price ranges is very interesting.  Of the 6027 active properties today, 19% are priced $400,000 or higher.  That equals 1165 homes.  Of those, 159 are priced at $1Million or more.  Between $300-400K, there are 883 homes or 15%, between $200-300K, there are 1672 homes or 28%, and below $200,000 there are 2307 homes or 38% of the homes available for sale.

Pending sales with a $300,000 or higher list price are 18% of the pending sales or 389 homes.  Between $200-300K are 23% or 507 pending sales, and the remaining 59% of pending sales are priced below $200,000.  I would say from this that the first time homebuyer credit is definitely having an effect on which homes are selling.  This affects the median sales price as well since a much greater volume of lower priced homes are selling.  It will be interesting to see if the median price increases as the tax credits go away.  Right now demand is high below $200,000 and it is helping to stabilize prices at this level.  As the tax credits go away we will see if that demand continues to keep prices stabilized.

The High End of the Market

So higher priced homes ($300K and above) account for 34% of the market but only 18% of pendings and 16% of sales so far in 2010.  The mid-range of $200-300K accounts for 28% of the available homes, 23% of pending sales, and 24% of sold properties in 2010.  The curve is very much skewed to the lower end of the spectrum as 59% of available homes are priced below $200,000 as are 38% of pending sales and 60% of sales so far in 2010.  The properties included are single family homes, patio homes, townhomes, and condos.

For homes priced at $1Million or more, 7 have sold in 2010; 9 are pending, and 159 are available.  It will take a long time for that part of the market to recover.  With 34% of the market but a much lower percentage of sold properties, sellers in the $300,000 price range and above are going to have to have their homes be very competitively priced and in excellent condition to acquire a sale in their peer group.  For buyers with extra cash, wonderful homes can be purchased at prices that wouldn’t have even been dreamed about 3 years ago.  Stay tuned for our follow-up report in August as the high selling season winds to a close for 2010 and we prepare for the more sluggish autumn sales months.

I recently included Paravicini’s Italian Bistro located in Old Colorado City in my restaurant posts.  I found out by receiving their enewsletter that they are included in a progressive dinner being sponsored by several very nice restaurants in Old Colorado City on March 23, 2010.  That’s tonight!  If you want to see if there’s still room and get more details, call Paravicini’s at 719 471-8200.  The other restaurants participating are Gertrude’s, Pizzeria Rustica, and Jake and Telly’s.  The only one of the 4 restaurants I haven’t tried yet is Jake and Telly’s, but it is a local favorite.  The food at all 3 of the other restaurants is delicious.  Gertrude’s menu includes some very nice vegetarian dishes for those of you looking for a vegetarian restaurant in the Pikes Peak Region.  What a lovely way to spend an evening!  Attending offers an opportunity to do a little walking around the area.  In case you are not familiar with Old Colorado City, it is one of my favorite haunts in the Pikes Peak Region.  Lots of fun shops, good restaurants, and an amazing view of Pikes Peak.  Territory Days is coming up Memorial weekend and there are always other events throughout the year.  The lights at Christmastime are really beautiful.

I’ve lived in Colorado Springs for 22 years and have seen restaurants come and go.  A few I was sad to see close.  Others were open such a short time it was obvious the owners didn’t plan for enough money to stay afloat until they were solvent.  Or maybe they just didn’t have good food or service.

One of my favorite places for Chinese food is Tsingtao House at the corner of Woodmen and Rangewood, just east of the King Soopers.  I used to have another favorite Chinese restaurant but when new owners took over I didn’t like the food anymore.  Then I found Tsingtao House.  I have to go a few extra miles to get there, but it is worth it.  It’s a great value.  They have a varied menu and the food is consistently good.  They have a great lunch and dinner special that includes soup, crab wonton, eggroll, and hot tea.  Give it a try!  It’s great when we can keep local restaurants open.  And watch for more favorites in the future.  What is your favorite Pikes Peak Region restaurant?