Colorado Springs Real Estate and Home for Sale Blog

If you are moving to Colorado Springs this year, then chances are you are doing so because of a military PCS relocation.  With five active military bases in the area, many of the homes for sale in the ‘Springs are being marketed to military families.  Does this sound like you?  Then take some advice from a military relocation specialist - Plan on looking at the homes for sale that are located in neighborhoods near your Colorado Springs military base.

Fort Carson is by far the most recognized name among Colorado Springs’ military bases, which also include NORAD, the Air Force Academy, Shriever Air Force Base, and Peterson Air Force Base.  Some of the neighborhoods closest to Fort Carson include Fountain Valley, Southeast Colorado Springs, Security, Widefield, Rock Creek and Stratton Meadows, to name a few.

Military PCS relocation is an important part of the military service member’s lifestyle.  As military families move around the country, they become more and more familiar with the benefits and allowances made available to them by the U.S. military.  The best way to learn about these relocation entitlements is to visit the finance office at your current duty station.  There they will explain to you what the military will cover in terms of your major and minor moving expenses.

It seems like whenever there is good news to be found about the housing market, Colorado Springs is listed among the best places to buy.  In mid-2010, The Street for MSN published an article that named the Pikes Peak region as one of the best places to buy investment homes for sale, as well as property. In Colorado Springs, as well as in many other cities, would-be real estate investors have been sitting on the sidelines for too long. They’ve been waiting for home prices to hit rock bottom, or waiting for economic news to change.  All the while, other buyers have been snatching up investment homes and earning money from rental property.

If you ask a roomful of real estate agents in Colorado Springs what they believe is the most effective strategy for selling a home, most would agree that it’s an effective pricing strategy, but few would be able to explain to you what that is.  That’s because market analysts are constantly changing their viewpoint on when the market will fully recover.  Keeping in mind that you don’t want to lose more money than necessary on your home sale, it is a good idea to price it at the higher end of available market comps in your area.

It’s a common question that Pikes Peak realtors hear every year, but it is more relevant this year than ever – “How confident are you that 2012 will be the turnaround year for the Colorado Springs real estate market?”  Compared to other cities and towns throughout the U.S., the Pikes Peak region has been less severely impacted by the housing crisis, but that fact may not offer much reassurance to a homeowner who has already lost money on their investment.

If you have been following the real estate market across the country, you know that all real estate is “local.”  Smart real estate investors rarely pay attention to national market averages unless they are looking at mortgage rates, because the sales figures for one area can be vastly different from another.  Take for example, the recent statistics about new homes for sale in Colorado Springs.  According to the November month-end report from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors (PPAR), home sales in Colorado Springs went up by 19 percent from the same period in 2010.

It used to be that if you wanted an excellent long-term investment, you would buy a home and just live in it for 20 or 30 years.  While this may have worked for the Baby Boomer generation, it might not have ended as well many of them expected.  If you or someone you know has been hard-hit by the housing crisis, then buying investment homes for sale may not be a top priority.

Just like the stock market, real estate investing is best when you buy low and sell high.  It doesn’t take a real estate guru to realize that prices have never been lower in many top-notch neighborhoods, so wouldn’t it make sense to snatch up some investment property now?  For some reason, not many people have entered the market in search of investment homes for sale; at least not in the numbers many insiders expected.  Foreclosures, short sales and abandoned homes haven’t helped people feel confident about buying a home, but this striking lack of investment activity has driven prices in many neighborhoods even lower.

If you are considering a family relocation to Colorado Springs, chances are you’ve already read several articles on housing values, neighborhoods, schools and real estate taxes.  Rather that rattling off more statistics that show Colorado Springs to be one of the most secure places to buy real estate, I thought I’d remind you about some of the non-financial reasons to make the move.

Recently ranked among Top 10 Best Places to Start Over by BusinessWeek Magazine, the Pikes Peak region has many companies that are hiring, and we all know that this is an area with a high quality of life.  Ranked number 8 out of 20 cities in the survey, BusinessWeek focuses on the number of viable job prospects here, even in a slow economy.  If you’re in construction, information technology, finance, hospitality, wholesale and retail trade, or nondurable goods manufacturing, Colorado Springs is the place for you.

After visiting the Pikes Peak region for the first time, many people consider moving their family to this beautiful area of the country.  If the sluggish economy and housing market has kept you from buying a home in Colorado Springs, it’s important to stay on top of the latest market trends.

According to the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, October home sales were up by 20.1 percent since the same month in 2010.  One reason for this is that so many sellers are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the market to make a full recovery.  According to the association, the region has just over a five month supply of homes on the market right now, which is considered “normal” by most traditional measurements, but it’s a big change since last October.  While home sales have increased by 20.1 percent, the number of homes on the market has decreased by 20.1 percent.  Typically, when supply is lower and demand remains the same, prices go up.  This is what sellers are hoping for, but it’s not such a good thing if you plan on buying a home in Colorado Springs.

Looking at the real estate market across the country, Colorado Springs homebuyers are in a much better position than buyers in many other cities.  One of the main reasons for this is the consistent buying and selling by military service members stationed in the area.  With five major military bases located here, it it’s not hard to find a realtor who is also a military relocation specialist, and who truly understands the unique needs of the military.  If you are facing a military PCS relocation to Colorado Springs, there are several ways a specialist can help you find the right home.

The best military relocation specialists are realtors who have a long history of helping service members buy and sell homes in a given area.  They understand the importance of moving quickly to secure the best home and they understand the unique qualifications needed to secure a VA loan.  Another very important aspect of military relocation is resale value, and these realtors know which Colorado Springs neighborhoods to recommend.

Look for experience first

When you start searching for a specialist in military relocation, you may be surprised at how many realtors market themselves this way.  In this region it seems that every realtor wants to service military families, but very few possess the necessary qualifications.

What should you expect from a military relocation specialist?

• The best realtors servicing military families are very Internet savvy, and they can access their email from anywhere.  Military service members will rely heavily on virtual tours, email and other online technologies to speed up their search for a home, and they expect their realtors to respond quickly to their requests.
• Realtors who are military relocation specialists will be well-educated about VA loans and the qualifications needed and the programs available to service members in the state of Colorado.  Their clients expect a full-service approach from military relocation specialists to help them move quickly on financing the sale.
• Military relocation realtors are always looking for stable neighborhoods with a predictable resale market.  Most military service members won’t remain in one place long enough to build equity, so they are better off choosing a popular neighborhood that will generate a quick turnover when it’s time to move on.

When it’s time to make the move to Colorado Springs, work with the experienced realtors and military relocation specialists at Action Team Realty.

Deciding to buy or sell your home is not a decision that you enter into lightly.  In fact, it’s one of the most important financial decisions a person can make.  But for some reason, most buyers and sellers give very little thought to finding the best real estate agent.  In Colorado Springs, there are hundreds of real estate agents who claim to be the “best,” but very few actually live up to this description. If you ask anyone who has been through the process several times, how you choose a real estate agent is almost as important as how you decide on a home.

Most homebuyers start out the process of finding a home by doing an independent search on the Internet.  When they find a home that interests them, the next logical step is to contact the agent who listed the house.  This is where many homebuyers go wrong.  They ask the realtor to show them the home, and then just rely on that agent to show them additional homes.  In most cases, they do this without ever checking the realtor’s references or asking about their background in real estate.

Thanks to the strong military presence in the Pikes Peak region, military families are constantly moving into and out of the Colorado Springs area.  With the real estate market volatility over the past few years, military families have faced tough times in buying and selling homes.  That’s why so many of them rely on realtors with military relocation expertise in the Colorado Springs area.

What can you expect from realtors who work with military relocation?  In Colorado Springs, real estate agents work with military families on a very regular basis.  Some are moving to the area for the first time and want to find affordable housing in and stable neighborhood.  Others are trying to sell their Colorado Springs home due to redeployment elsewhere.  But one thing that all of these families have in common is a tight timeline.  They generally need to make their move quickly and need a reliable realtor with military experience in the area.

How do people find the best deals on new homes in Colorado Springs? The MLS free listings, of course.  Real estate shoppers may have more homes to choose from than ever, but if you’re looking for a specific type of home in a particular neighborhood it requires some diligence.  Learning how to use the MLS free listings to your advantage is an important part of searching for a home, but if you are not checking it daily it’s easy to miss out on a golden opportunity.

Are you looking for reliable information to help you with a military PCS relocation?  When it’s time to make a “Permanent Change of Station” in the military, you may dread the financial fallout of such a move.  The housing market is still in the doldrums, which is never a positive thing when you need to relocate every few years.  But there are some things you can do to save money on a military PCS relocation.  A little advance planning can keep you from losing money in the long run, and this Colorado Springs real estate blog can help.

If you and your family are like the 700,000 or so military service members who are moved to new locations every year, you know that it can be an expensive undertaking.  According to a recent article published on Military.com, military relocation can cost an average of $1,725 in non-reimbursable expenses.  Combine this with the difficulty of uprooting your family every few years, and it’s easy to see how a military PCS relocation can take its toll.

There’s no doubt that buying your first house is one of the most important decisions you will make.  But now more than ever, it is important that you do it right.  Follow these tips for buying your first home and you will be better prepared for the process.

Learn about negotiating a sale price.

As a new homebuyer, it is important to understand the process of making an offer, a counteroffer, and how to negotiate the right sale price. It hasn’t always been as easy to do this as it is today, but buyers usually have the upper hand in negotiations.  This is known as a “buyer’s market.”

Real estate agents in Colorado Springs are on the front lines of all sorts of real estate transactions; from the ones that sell in just a few weeks to those that sit on the market for several months.  If anyone knows what sets a quick sale apart from a slow one, it is the agents who spend their days taking showing houses.  According to one Colorado Springs realtor, “Even when you’re home is located in what some would call “paradise,” you will still be up against a lot of competition. A lot of people think that because their home is great condition on the outside that it won’t matter how it’s decorated, but they couldn’t be more wrong.”

The Colorado Springs real estate market may have taken a hit over the past few years, but their losses were nothing compared to other similar sized cities across the country.  This came as no surprise to Pikes Peak realtors, especially those who keep up with what the media is saying about the region.  In just the past year alone, Colorado Springs has been singled out by news organizations like CNNMoney and lifestyle publications like Outside Magazine, to name a few, for its ultimate livability and resilience to economic trends. 

If you’ve never been to the ‘Springs, then you may not fully comprehend the natural beauty of this region.  Not only does it have the ideal climate for year-round outdoor activity, the Rocky Mountains provide the ideal backdrop for numerous adventures.  Everything from sitting on your back porch to climbing one of Colorado’s famous “14ers” takes on a magical quality when one is surrounded by jaw-dropping vistas in every direction.   The winding mountain roads may not be for the faint of heart, but nothing about Colorado is. Pikes Peaks realtors will tell you; even if you’re not an “outdoorsy type” when you move here, you will soon become one. 

Have you been waiting around for the housing market to stabilize?  Well, as they say in the real estate business, all buying decisions come down to one thing – “location, location, location.”  If location is really your deciding factor, then choosing Colorado Springs should be a no-brainer.  Year after year, the Pikes Peak region is chosen among the top places to live in the United States, and it’s not just because of the scenery.   Many new homes for sale in Colorado Springs are hot commodities because of the region’s strong military presence.  Other families move here because of its values-driven family environment and many faith-based organizations.  Then, of course, there are those who want to enjoy the outdoors, and where better to do that than in the heart of scenic El Paso County, Colorado? 

No matter how great or how small the demand is for homes in Colorado Springs, there are always a few good times of year to make a move in residential real estate.  In fact, it is during these times when people look for investment homes for sale or investment property for sale.  One of these seasons is immediately following the summer selling season, when there are more unsold listings than there are potential buyers.  Another time is in the dead of winter, when no one is interested in house-hunting. 

Even if you’re new to the world of real estate, if you’ve been looking for investment homes for sale, now is the time to get serious about it.  Economic volatility has caused many to believe that interest rates will be going up, so this opportunity may not last forever.  Plus, you can be more confident in the viability of the Colorado Springs market than with many other similar sized cities.  A strong military presence and healthy technology sector, plus year-round tourism, has always kept the ‘Springs more stable than many other areas of the country. 

If you look at the state of the real estate market across the country, it’s easy to get discouraged.  Similar to other areas of the country, realtors in the Pikes Peak region are responding to requests from homebuyers for Colorado Springs rental houses. While renting does seem to be more popular than buying these days, the Colorado Springs region continues to be quite resilient.  It could be their 249 days of sunshine each year, or perhaps it is the inescapable natural beauty from the surrounding mountains, but this area never feels the impact of a national housing slump as much as other cities.