Colorado Springs Real Estate and Home for Sale Blog

Every year, hundreds of new military families make Colorado Springs their new home, so Colorado Springs realtors are quite familiar with military relocation. Whether your family is being relocated to Colorado Springs to serve at Fort Carson, Shriever, Peterson or the Air Force Academy, chances are you will need an experienced Colorado Springs real estate agent to make the process go smoothly.

Before you choose a realtor in Colorado Springs, be sure to look for one who is willing to work around your tight schedule.  The best realtors are well aware of what homes are available in which neighborhoods and how well they will meet the needs of your family.

Well the rush is over, and time has run out if you had planning to buy or sell a Colorado Springs home before the April 30th tax credit deadline.  The flurry of activity leading up to last weekend’s deadline is finally over, but many houses remain unsold.  Before you let this discourage you, remember that most Colorado Springs neighborhoods saw a boost in sales.  For sellers, this reduction in inventory may help keep prices higher in the summer months, and buyers can expect to see better incentives and improvements as sellers try to remain competitive.

Here are some ways to keep your home at the top of the list as spring and summer homebuyers start looking for that perfect home in Colorado Springs.

Believe it or not, the spring real estate season is finally upon us in Colorado Springs, and by the end of this week the federal home buyers’ tax credits will have expired.  Homeowners all across America are getting ready to put their home on the market, but as the economy continues to sputter along, it is hard to predict what will happen this summer in Colorado Springs housing market.

If you are buying a home in Colorado Springs, then you can expect to see prices creep up as inventory goes down, but it will be a gradual increase.  The real issue for buyers will be financing, so be sure to lock in your best mortgage rate as soon as you have an Agreement of Sale.

Declining home values are another issue that may present a financing roadblock for buying a home in Colorado Springs.  Even when you have found a mortgage company who is willing to finance your purchase, your approval could be pulled if the home appraises at less than your purchase price. Be careful of this, because you could potentially lose your deposit, or “earnest money."

Market analysts expect Colorado Springs home prices to rise again in the second quarter, but with so many unsold homes on the market, this price increase may only be temporary.  There is a certain sense of urgency for sellers as we enter the 2010 prime selling season.  Interest rates are starting to rise, the deadline for the Federal New Home Buyers Tax Credit expires at the end of this month, and many homeowners who have been waiting for the right moment are expected to list their homes for sale.

So how do you stay one step ahead of the competition this spring?  One proven method of selling your home quickly is by pricing it effectively.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you should price it too low; but it does mean you should price it accurately right from the start.  Most importantly, it should be priced to fall into the right search categories as buyers search the Colorado Springs MLS listings.

While the real estate market across the country is still sluggish, Colorado Springs real estate agents have a reason to smile.  According to the Colorado Springs MLS listings, the housing market in the Pikes Peak region continues on a positive trend.

For February 2010, the total number of active listings went down by 14% compared to the same period last year, which means the inventory is tightening.  This should help sellers fetch higher prices this spring.  Also, total sales are up by 4% over 2009, and new construction in Colorado Springs increased by 45%!

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home in Colorado Springs, you might want to act quickly.  The federal tax credits for first time home buyers and other real-estate tax credits are set to expire on April 30^th 2010, and I wouldn’t expect this one to be extended.  This highly popular part of the stimulus program has helped many people become homeowners who would have stayed out of the market otherwise.

So what will happen to the Colorado Springs real estate market after the tax credit expires?  Well, some analysts predict that home sales will slow down considerably during what is normally the busiest home-buying season of the year.  If this happens, one can expect the price of homes to fall.  While this is a great outcome for homebuyers, it is not such good news for sellers.

Like almost every other city in America, Colorado Springs is entering the spring real estate season with a large inventory of unsold homes.  Even though the Colorado Springs real estate market has improved significantly since a year ago, sellers still face a highly competitive market.

How do you make your Colorado Springs home for sale stand out without spending a fortune?  All it takes is a little creativity and resourcefulness to make your home attractive to potential buyers.

According to a recent article in The Colorado Springs Gazette, local home sales and prices are continuing to trend higher in 2010.  Once again, prices rose and sales increased in the month of February, which reinforces an ongoing pattern of growth in the Pike’s Peak real estate market.

In February alone, Colorado Springs home sales totaled 572, which represents a 13.5% increase over February of 2009.  It was also the 8^th straight month where sales had improved year over year.  This is after three solid years of decline.  The February news brings the total year-to-date home sales in Colorado Springs to 1,035.

For many prospective home buyers in Colorado, the foreclosure crisis has been too much of a national tragedy to find anything positive about it; but Colorado Springs real estate agents have been helping their clients see the silver lining.  Despite the negative effect it has on sellers, buying a foreclosure property may be the best way for new homebuyers to find their dream home in Colorado Springs.

One thing that most homebuyers have trouble with is learning to navigate the foreclosure process.  For some, it is simply too time consuming, but if the investment of time and effort is worth it.  The trouble is, by the time a home has been foreclosed upon by a mortgage company, it usually becomes a “distressed” property.  This means the home is in poor condition and will need many repairs right away.  Even in affluent neighborhoods, this can include everything from stained carpets to broken appliances.  While the home may be selling at a bargain price, by the time a buyer calculates the cost of needed repairs it is no longer such a great deal.

The foreclosure crisis in this country may seem like a statistic on the news that doesn’t affect you personally; so it is easy to ignore the headlines.  But foreclosure is a far-reaching problem, and if you are a homeowner who plans to sell in the near future, it can affect you too.  According to analysis presented in a Colorado Springs Gazette article entitled Foreclosure problem drags down home values, the impact is widespread.

Your Colorado Springs military relocation may be bringing you to Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, NORAD, or the U.S. Air Force Academy.  With such a large military presence in Colorado Springs, it is no surprise that military families often find themselves looking for a home in the Colorado Springs area.

If you are in the military, and you find yourself in a position to buy your first home in the Pike’s Peak region, you may be wondering what kind of mortgage you will qualify for.

When you start looking for a home in Colorado Springs CO, you will immediately notice that almost every neighborhood looks appealing.  So how do you choose the one that is right for you?  Consulting with an experienced Colorado Springs realtor is a great place to start, since they always know which developers have the best reputation.

If you are buying a home in Colorado Springs, you owe it to yourself to check out the Briargate Colorado Springs community.  Of all the beautiful neighborhoods in Colorado Springs, Briargate is one of the most value-packed.  Encompassing over 9,600 acres, It is also one of the largest and fastest growing residential areas in northeast Colorado Springs.

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention to the Colorado Springs real estate and housing market, things are looking much better than they were just a few months ago.  Part of the reason for this is the extension of Federal Homebuyer Tax Credits, originally set to expire on November 30, 2009.  Thanks to the extension and revision of these tax credits, both new and repeat home buyers now qualify for credits of up to $8,000 through April 30, 2010.

Buying a home is perhaps the most important investment of your life.  Whether you are searching for an investment property, a starter home or your dream home, working with an experienced real estate professional can make all the difference.  Not only will you get a personalized approach to your individual needs, you will be able to search the MLS listings in Colorado Springs CO and identify the best places to live in the area.

Why buy a home in Colorado Springs?  I always say, if it weren’t for the lingering effects of the economic crisis we would all be in the housing market right now.  That’s right, everyone!  The only missing ingredients in most real estate markets are consumer confidence and jobs.

Consumer confidence in Colorado Springs real estate is starting to rebound, however, especially if you look at how crowded the malls have been this holiday season.  The unemployment rate is what keeps many people from entering the housing market, but it really depends on where you live.  In the state of Colorado, unemployment is only 6.9%; a much more encouraging number than the national rate of 10.2%.  Perhaps that’s why the Colorado Springs housing market is experiencing a more robust recovery than a lot of other regions of the country.

The first week in December saw a welcome reduction in interest rates, making this a great time to look at the MLS listings in Colorado Springs, CO.

Why Colorado Springs?

Colorado Springs has been selected as one of the best places to live in America by several magazines and web sites, including Outdoor and CNN Money.

Colorado Springs is also within a short drive of six major ski resorts, numerous outdoor trails, great fishing, biking and water sports.  A strong high-tech economy is bolstered by five active military bases in the immediate area, bringing a constant influx of military families moving into the area.  The housing market in Colorado Springs is rebounding nicely too, and as demand continues to rise, it shouldn’t be too long before prices begin to go up.

For several months in 2009, it seemed that the U.S. government was only interested in helping first-time homebuyers get a great deal on a home.  Even though the Federal New Homebuyers Tax Credit was a boon to realtors and homebuyers across the nation, and helped to spike home sales in Colorado Springs, it was hardly an incentive for people looking to trade up.

Thankfully, the federal government has gotten the message loud and clear.  In an attempt to sustain the momentum created for new homebuyers, the credit has been extended to include existing Colorado Springs home buyers as well.  This new stimulus, intended to boost the middle-tier of residential housing, is expected to help homeowners trade up to bigger and better homes and ultimately revive a sluggish housing market.

When it comes to buying a home in Colorado Springs, most realtors will agree that you should trust your instincts.  Even during a recession, buying real estate in a place like Colorado Springs still makes sense.  Why?  Because the Colorado Springs housing market is rebounding nicely, and the area is considered one of the best places to live in the country.