Colorado Springs Real Estate and Home for Sale Blog

Finally, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is showing increases in existing home sales in their year-over-year report.  In their recent figures for April 2012, sales rose 3.4 percent.  With a total dollar amount of existing home sales reaching $4.62 million, this is a 10 percentage point jump over April 2011.  Realtors in Colorado Springs are celebrating this news, as it points to recovery in the housing market.

If you’ve ever wondered why so many homebuyers seek out real estate specialists in the Colorado Springs market, it may have a lot to do with the military presence in the area.  If you are in the Army, Air Force or the D.O.D, relocation becomes a part of life – and you may find yourself moving to – or from – the Colorado Springs area.  When it comes time to buy or sell a home in this region, working with a military relocation specialist really can make a difference.

As someone who needs to manage all the details of a military relocation while remaining on active duty, you have enough to worry about.  It can be a challenge to keep up with the mortgage interest rates, check out the latest listings, or learn more about the area where you’re headed.  You may not know a lot about the neighborhoods surrounding the Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base or Fort Carson; that’s why it makes sense to work with real estate specialists who do.  In addition to assisting military families make the transition to a new area, these seasoned realtors offer extensive experience with the DOD National Relocation Program (DNRP), which is available to families in El Paso County, Colorado.

One of the first questions I hear buyers ask is “Why do I need a realtor to help me buy a home in Colorado Springs?”  Unless you’ve been through the process without a realtor, it’s hard to fully understand the perils of going it alone.  Buyers are particularly curious about why they would need to hire a realtor when buying new construction.  After all, the builder already has a very helpful sales agent at the building site that is very upfront about all the facts – right?  Don’t be fooled.  If you’re buying a home, you will need the best representation possible.

The builders may have a terrific customer service team but they are still looking to make a profit, which means they are thinking of their own best interests over yours. You may think the price of a new home is non-negotiable, but in this housing market even some the best new homes can be reduced in price. However, if you want to find out what your options are you should plan on meeting with a Colorado Springs realtor.  You have nothing to lose.

If you’ve been watching the Colorado Springs real estate market for a few years, waiting for the right time to make your move, you may want to get out there and start looking.  Many real estate agents believe that the Denver and Colorado Springs markets are poised to become sellers’ markets over the next few months, primarily because the supply of homes is down and the demand is up.

Spring is usually a great time to buy a home, and it’s usually most anticipated season of the year for real estate agents.  Buyers who have been “waiting it out” for the past few years are hoping to get a great deal on a home before interest rates begin to creep up.

By now, you’ve probably heard about at least one person who has been affected by foreclosure; whether their home was affected or they purchased a foreclosed home. Still, very few homebuyers feel comfortable with searching through foreclosed properties when buying a house.  Without some real estate knowledge and an experienced realtor by your side, buying a house in foreclosure can be very complicated.

What is involved in buying a foreclosed house?

The first thing that should be done when looking at a foreclosure is a title search.  Without this, you could think you just purchased a home by paying off a $200,000 mortgage only to learn that there is a second mortgage that must be settled as well.  A title search will also reveal if there are any liens against the property.

Additionally, foreclosed homes are usually sold “as is,” which means they may require quite a bit of work after you move in. Oftentimes, you are not able to get a look inside of a foreclosed home until after you buy it. Be careful that the 30 percent you just saved on the purchase prices is not eaten up in repairs within the first year.  Remember, when a homeowner is losing a home to foreclosure it is unlikely that they have been making necessary repairs.  In fact, angry homeowners are known to damage the home intentionally as a way to deal with the angst of losing their home to foreclosure.  If this is not what you had in mind for buying a house, you may want to stick with the traditional MLS listings.

When buying a house in foreclosure, there are three ways to do it:

Pre-foreclosures – This allows you to buy a home directly from the homeowner before they are officially in foreclosure.  When buying a house in foreclosure, pre-foreclosures can be very appealing because the buyer gets to inspect the home and conduct a title search.  Since this type of sale means you acquire the mortgage of the current owner, if the current owner is behind in payments you will need to make any back payments to the bank.

Auction – A more common practice, this is where you place a bid for the home, possibly with competition from other bidders.  Probably the riskiest type of sale, auctioned homes can also carry the greatest reward.  Because buyers cannot inspect a home that they buy at auction and they must pay for it in cash, few people are comfortable with this type of sale.  In many cases, it becomes the new owner’s responsibility to evict the old owner.

Real estate companies – These foreclosures allow you to buy directly from a real estate company.  Known as an REO, this is the least risky in terms of knowing what you’re buying. Most banks sell foreclosed properties through a broker because it is considered the safest buying option and the homes tend to be in better shape. The only downside is you won’t always get the deals you would find at an auction or with a pre-foreclosure sale.

Before moving forward with a foreclosed home, speak with a Colorado Springs real estate agent from Action Team Realty.  An experienced realtor can explain the pros and cons of foreclosure and make buying a house a lot less complicated.

Ever since the introduction of Realtor.com, buying real estate has become a self-directed activity.  By the time most potential buyers reach a real estate agent’s office, most have already done at least one Local Listings Search.  But are they searching area listings to its fullest potential?

What is the MLS?

The MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service and was originally available in weekly printed editions.  Now that it is completely online, realtors and homebuyers have access to the latest home listings.  The data found here is originally entered by a listing broker who is offering to share the commission with a broker who can attract a buyer.

Not everyone who plans to buy a home in Colorado Springs will ask their real estate agents for information on a specific zip code, but if they did it might be 80917.  The Pikes Peak region is full of beautiful neighborhoods with jaw-dropping views, but residents are drawn to the Austin Bluffs area for its natural beauty and seclusion as well.  Real estate agents who venture into 80917 often find that their clients’ favorite landmark is Palmer Park, an incredible parcel of open space that was given to Colorado Springs by the city’s founder, General Palmer.

It’s a phrase heard often at open houses by people who are just casually “browsing” the local real estate listings – “I’m just not ready to work with an agent.”  Colorado Springs realtors have been hearing this more often than ever as the real estate market struggles to fully rebound, but using a buyer’s agent doesn’t mean you must purchase a home right away.

Many people refrain from working with realtors because they worry that an agent might try to sell them on a home that they don’t want.  Or they may believe that online MLS listings make it easy to buy a home without an agent.  The truth is that these people don’t really understand everything that Colorado Springs realtors can do for them.  Nobody really needs an agent.  As a buyer it is easier than ever to find a home and as a seller it is possible to generate interest without a realtor, but a good agent can make it much easier to do both.  For example, when you have a realtor working on your behalf you can expect about 22 percent more potential buyers will see your home.   According to Realtor.com, more than 80 percent of buyers find and purchase a home through a real estate agent.  If you are looking for a home in the Pikes Peak region, Colorado Springs realtors can be an incredible resource.

Have you been thinking about buying a home, but you just cannot get up the nerve to do it? Over the past few years, countless first time homebuyers with excellent credit and plenty of income have resisted the temptation to take steps toward home ownership. It’s not that they don’t want the benefits of owning real estate, or they don’t want to take advantage of low interest rates; but the general consensus has been to wait out the housing crisis until home prices stabilize.  Well, if you  have been holding off for a home in Colorado Springs home, now may be the time to get started.

For homebuyers who have never been through the process, buying a home can be summed up in five simple steps.  Bear in mind that these steps will vary from state to state, but when you strip away all of the local differences, these five steps to buying a home can be done in any order you want.

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.