WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of existing homes rebounded in February after declining for the previous two months, a sign that many Americans are still looking to buy despite rising prices and a shrinking number of homes available on the market. Continue reading ...

Last year was another record setter for housing in the Colorado Springs area, and there are no signs of a market downturn in 2018. Single-family home sales totaled 16,337 in 2017, the third consecutive year that sales hit a record high, according to the latest report by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. Continue reading ...

Homeowners who neglect routine maintenance heading into the colder months may find themselves faced with an expensive repair bill. For example, forgetting to clean the gutters could cause ice to build up and damage your roof. Windows and doors not properly sealed could cause your heating bills to surge Continue reading ...

Construction is set to begin next year on the first segment of a project that will eventually connect Powers Boulevard and Interstate 25. Gary Erickson, developer of a retail center in northern Colorado Springs, said ground could be broken in May on a stretch of highway that will link the interstate and Voyager Parkway. He expects the first stretch will be completed in 2019, but when the full extension will be finished remains in question. Continue reading ...

If you're looking for Colorado's hottest spot for hipsters, you're going to have to look past Denver. That's according to Yelp and Realtor.com, which ranked 297 U.S. cities to create their list of "The Hottest Hipster Markets." Colorado Springs was the state's top city for hipsters, ranking No. 10 nationally. Continue reading ...

The 30-year run of Triple-A baseball in Colorado Springs will end in 15 months. The Elmore Sports Group announced Wednesday it is responding to “pressure from within Major League Baseball” and moving the Triple-A Sky Sox to San Antonio for the 2019 season and replacing it in Colorado Springs with the short-season Rookie-level team currently in Helena, Mont. Continue reading ...

More than 1,000 homes now can be built on a sliver of the massive Banning Lewis Ranch with a rezoning approved Tuesday by the Colorado Springs City Council. The move, opposed by Councilwoman Yolanda Avila and Councilman Bill Murray, comes as the next major step for Denver-based Oakwood Homes, which owns a 2,600-acre section of the ranch. Nor'wood Development Group owns about 18,000 acres there. Oakwood's portion, broken into six sections dubbed Village 1-6, will have parks, trails and schools. Continue reading ...

Clients putting Zestimates on a pedestal? Point them toward this sale Continue reading ...

Colorado Springs-area foreclosure activity continued to decline during the first quarter, according to a report Monday from the El Paso County Public Trustee's Office. During the first three months of 2017, foreclosure notices sent to property owners in the Springs and El Paso County totaled 286. That's down by nearly one-third when compared with the same period last year, the Public Trustee's report showed. Continue reading ...

In the rapidly growing and competitive housing market, companies nationwide are finding it necessary to innovate in order to entice potential homebuyers to purchase properties. Toward that end, Colorado Springs-based homebuilder Vantage Homes recently introduced a new method for viewing and touring its many model homes — without even setting foot outside. On March 1, the company rolled out the use of virtual reality technology that is beginning to become a mainstay among many of the country’s real estate firms, although Marketing Manager Crystal Johnston said Vantage is the first homebuilder in the region to offer this particular service to its clients. Continue reading ...

Both buyers and sellers alike are feeling very good about the housing market this spring, even as home values hit new highs and mortgage rates move up. A monthly sentiment index from Fannie Mae rose to the highest level since 2011, when the survey began, thanks to a surprising surge from millennials. Continue reading ...

Colorado Springs' red-hot housing market is becoming its own worst enemy. Area home sales fell last month for the first time in about 2½ years - but not because of a softer market. Instead, too few homes are available to satisfy the demands of buyers, and sales dropped as a result, some local real estate experts say. Continue reading ...

Fed rate hike looming in this weeks Markets In A Minute... Continue reading ...

The booming resale side of Colorado Springs' housing market is off to another record-setting start in 2017. The average price for a single-family home that sold in January climbed to a record high of $298,774, a 13.3 percent increase over the same month last year, the latest Pikes Peak Association of Realtors report shows. The previous record of $295,877 was set in August of last year. Continue reading ...

Existing home sales hit a 10-year high in this week's Markets in a Minute!... Continue reading ...

Many Front Range home shoppers can afford ground chuck, but are finding store shelves stocked with filet mignon, according to a study from Trulia. Each quarter, Trulia divides housing markets of 100 metro areas into three price tiers — starter, trade-up and premium — and then compares what people searched for online to the listings available for sale to determine a market’s “balance.” Continue reading ...

In a recent article published by the Colorado Springs Business Journal, Cameron Moix predicts that the 2017 Colorado Springs real estate forecast is looking great. So if you’ve been thinking about buying Colorado Springs investment properties or Colorado Springs rental properties, this is your year. Continue reading ...

Metro Denver’s housing market has run so hot for so long, it is hard to imagine another part of the state having more momentum. But demand along the southern Front Range accelerated in a big way last year, and Denver and Boulder homeowners, flush with equity, sought vacation homes in the neighboring mountain counties, supporting those markets. Continue reading ...

The Colorado Springs-based real estate firm Quantum Commercial Group expects 2016’s strong economic trends to continue during the new year — across both the commercial and residential markets. “We all believe that 2017 is staged for continued expansion and growth in both new and existing companies and employees for our city,” according to Quantum’s annual report, which cites population growth and a strong jobs market as two of the top predictors for the year ahead. Continue reading ...

The number of properties falling into foreclosure last year fell to a 15-year low in the Colorado Springs area, a turnaround that real estate experts and economists have credited to a stronger economy and a rebounding single-family housing market. See more here: Continue reading ...

Whether you’re looking for an investment or a new city with new opportunities, Trulia has compiled a list of the top 10 real estate markets poised for growth in 2017 based on five key metrics including high affordability, strong job growth, low vacancy rates, home searches on Trulia, and, because of the 2016 election’s outcome, a big population of Republicans. Did your favorite city make the cut? Continue reading ...

David Sheffield was facedown in the middle of the road on Ute Pass. His motorcycle helmet held his head a few inches above the pavement, high enough for his peripheral vision to pick out the nurses huddled around him in blue scrubs. “What hospital do you want to go to?” one of them asked. “Penrose,” he said. For Sheffield, the next couple of weeks were a blur. Continue reading ...

Homebuilder David Sinkey looked into his crystal ball about 30 months ago and a disturbing vision appeared. "One of the trends we saw: There won't be any new-build homes that are affordable in the future," recalled Sinkey, a principal at Louisville-based Boulder Creek Neighborhoods. The housing downturn had culled the skilled workforce needed to build homes, creating severe labor shortages and pushing up costs. Just as worrisome, finished lots that once were in oversupply were quickly being absorbed with no easy prospects to replenish them. What Sinkey didn't fully anticipate was the strong in-migration that would boost demand in the face of constricted supply and turn metro Denver into one of the tightest housing markets in the nation. John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which tracks housing markets across the country, provides the following proof of Sinkey's theory... Continue reading ...

Increased single-family home sales and rising prices last month capped off the best performance for the Colorado Springs-area re-sale market in five years, a Pikes Peak Association of Realtors report shows. Continue reading ...

More people bought previously occupied homes in January. But the increase was driven by rising foreclosures and all-cash purchases by investors, while the number of first-time buyers shrank. Prices sank to their lowest levels in nearly nine years, a troubling sign for the struggling housing sector. Continue reading ...

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs City Council Tuesday approved condemnation on 13 Pueblo West properties along the route of the Southern Delivery System, despite objections from several of the property owners. The property owners maintained they were not treated fairly, and that Colorado Springs Utilities failed to negotiate its offers. One said he signed an agreement Monday only after being strong-armed into the deal, and that he is still upset that his concerns about land value were not addressed at all. Council voted 7-1 to proceed with eminent domain, believing Utilities staff has exhausted all other avenues to solve the problem. Even at that, Mayor Lionel Rivera questioned Project Director John Fredell after it was revealed that Colorado Springs could spend up to $5,000 to help settle disputes of easement payments as low as $1,550. Continue reading ...

EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado — Eagle County's remains home to more than 50,000 souls, according to Census Bureau reports released Wednesday, despite anecdotes that the county hemorrhaging population. The 2010 Census puts Eagle County's population at 52,197, up 25 percent from 41,659 in 2000. Of those, 30 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 15,689. Interestingly, almost exactly half of Eagle County's school children are Hispanic or Latino, according to school district statistics. Continue reading ...

Have only plastic in your wallet but need a marriage license or plates for your car? If you’re willing to cough up a little more money, you’ll soon be able to use a credit or debit card to pay for these and other services of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder. Continue reading ...

For the fourth consecutive month, builder confidence in the market for new, single-family homes remained unchanged at 16 in February, according to this month’s National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The index is based on a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20 years. It serves to gauge builder Continue reading ...

A new Texas-based taco franchise is breaking into the Colorado market in Fort Collins with inexpensive tacos and beers. Fuzzy's Taco Shop is opening its first Colorado location at 1335 W. Elizabeth St. in Westpark, west of the CSU campus in June. Marc Rogers, Colorado franchise owner, said he looked at Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins to launch the inaugural Fuzzy's. Continue reading ...

This is a brief overview of all single family/patio homes for the buyer, investor and/or seller who wish to participate in the Colorado Springs Real Estate market. When comparing the new listing and sales data from January 2010 to January 2011, here are some very positives numbers to consider, given the ongoing geo-political events, such as the Egyptian protests about radicalism, around the world: Continue reading ...

The Institute for Real Estate Management Economic Forecast breakfast was held yesterday in Colorado Springs. Several speakers addressed the real estate market in Colorado Springs and overall economic conditions. Continue reading ...

Pueblo West landowners refuse to sell land for SDS Springs City Council tells utility to keep negotiating with landowners. StoryCommentsShare This ShareSend this page to your friendsPrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font size.Posted: Thursday, January 27, 2011 12:00 am Pueblo West landowners refuse to sell land for SDS By DANIEL CHACON | McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE The Pueblo Chieftain | 0 comments Colorado Springs Utilities will have to take another crack at negotiating agreements with a group of Pueblo West property owners who refused to give up their land to make way for the 62-mile Southern Delivery System water pipeline. Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday refused to give Utilities the authority to use eminent domain to acquire 15 property easements in Pueblo West that are standing in the way of a nearly 7-mile stretch scheduled for construction this summer. The council voted 8-1 to postpone the decision until Feb. 22 to give Utilities more time to try to reach a compromise with property owners, many of whom were holding out for more money. Council members Bernie Herpin and Jan Martin voted in favor of the delay but expressed concerns about sending Utilities back into negotiations with property owners who had received offers based on what the city’s real estate manual allows. ‘‘I fear that we’re setting a bad precedent on this project, that all you have to do is hold out,’’ Herpin said. While Utilities has acquired easements on about 167 properties, it has a long way to go. Utilities needs to acquire about 300 property interests to build SDS, a pipeline designed to pump water uphill from Lake Pueblo to Colorado Springs by 2016. Utilities focused on acquiring property in Pueblo West first to meet the conditions of a land-use permit that expires next year. The permit requires Utilities to take ‘‘substantial steps’’ to build SDS in Pueblo County by April 2012. The permit can be suspended or revoked if the terms are not met. Four Pueblo West property owners facing condemnation raised concerns Tuesday about such things as dust and debris from the project and what they characterized as low-ball offers. ‘‘It’s not just the money, folks,’’ said Dwain Maxwell, who was offered $2,200 but is asking for $10,000. ‘‘It’s what they’re going to do to our property,’’ he said. Martin said she hopes Utilities and the Pueblo West holdouts can find ‘‘common ground’’ in the next month. ‘‘I’m willing to let us take another couple of weeks and see if there is some maneuvering we can do here,’’ she said. ‘‘But I agree. I think it’s a very dangerous precedent to suddenly say, ‘Well, that manual works when it works, but when it doesn’t, we just won’t use it.’ We have asked our staff, not just asked our staff but expected our staff, to follow the real estate manual from the city, and that’s exactly what they have done,’’ she said. ‘‘The value of the easements was determined after diligent evaluation and consideration of the sales of comparable properties throughout Pueblo West, where many properties are currently listed for sale,’’ Utilities CEO Jerry Forte said in a memo to council. ‘‘The listing prices and final purchase prices for those properties consistently support the underlying values used in determining the compensation offered for the easements.’’ The manual gives Utilities little flexibility on how much money it can pay landowners. Mayor Lionel Rivera and some council members said they might be willing to give Utilities more latitude on how much they can pay landowners, raising concerns among Utilities officials that land acquisition costs will go up. ‘‘I certainly don’t want this to seem like an open-ended check to the people out here in the audience,’’ Rivera said. ‘‘Someone who was offered $2,200 and wants $10,000, I think that’s a little bit unreasonable, so there has to be some kind of middle ground that’s based on sound logic, fairness and within the confines of the real estate manual.’’ John Fredell, SDS program director, said Utilities would take another stab at negotiations. ‘‘I think the direction is to go back, talk to the landowners, negotiate further and come back with what we think is a possible settlement,’’ he said. ‘‘We may or may not be able to get there,’’ he said. Continue reading ...

House prices -- but also interest rates -- declined in 2010, and the housing market continues to struggle. A mortgage expert looks at what's likely to happen next. In 2010, the housing market was hit hard as the U.S. struggled to emerge from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. House prices declined, there was an abundance of homes for sale, and mortgage rates dipped to lows that hadn't been seen in decades. Now, though, the market is still struggling, and mortgage rates on are on the rise. What can you expect in 2011? Here are eight key factors to watch: Continue reading ...

In 2008, when the housing market was in deeper trouble than it is in now, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to help move a glut of homes off the market. One of the key provisions was a tax credit for first-time homebuyers. That provision would be extended twice — and getting in early might have been a mistake. If you claimed a federal income-tax credit for a 2008 home purchase, you'll probably have to pay it back over 15 years, starting with your 2010 Form 1040, due in April. If you claimed a credit for a 2009 or 2010 purchase, however, you probably won't have to pay it back. Blame Congress' patchwork legislating. Before getting into whether the credit-repayment rules will affect you, here's how the homebuyer credit itself works. Basics of the homebuyer credit: Continue reading ...

A few years ago, most homeowners didn’t know a short sale from a bake sale. As the nation’s economic woes continue and the housing market attempts to rebound from its worst downturn since the late 1980s, short sales — selling property for less than, or short of, what’s owed on the mortgage balance — have become a desperate alternative for homeowners trying to stave off foreclosure and an attractive option for homebuyers looking for a good deal... Continue reading ...

While new-home sales rose from a depressed level in September, they’re still really, really low. And home builders continue struggling. What a change from earlier this year, when builders were snapping up land in preparation for a recovery expected by year end. But those sales gains came as the government offered buyers a tax credit of up to $8,000. Since that offer’s April 30 expiration, builders have struggled to find stability without government support. September’s new-home sales climbed 6.6% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 the Commerce Department said Wednesday. When compared to a year earlier, the rate tumbled 21.5%. September saw the fourth-worst monthly reading since 1963, though these statistics are notoriously prone to later revisions. Regardless, sales “remained stuck at near rock-bottom levels,” said Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight. Indeed, shares of home builders fell following the news. Lennar Corp. recently declined 2.28%, while Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. lost 1.9%..... Continue reading ...

A housing provider for Auraria campus students alleges a rival operator's arrangement to provide exclusive accommodations for University of Colorado Denver freshmen amounts to a monopoly of the city's student-housing market. Auraria Student Housing at The Regency LLC filed the lawsuit Oct. 14 in U.S. District Court, alleging Campus Village at Auraria violated antitrust laws by conspiring with UCD to put a stranglehold on housing for its freshmen. That arrangement was signed in 2004 — two years before Campus Village was built by the University of Colorado Real Estate Foundation, known as CUREF — according to bond documents issued to finance the project. UCD and CUREF agreed that all incoming freshmen who live more than 50 miles away — and all first-time international students — must live at Campus Village. The policy wasn't enacted until 2006, when Campus Village opened its 685-bed complex on Walnut Street on Auraria's west side. "If you didn't have this live-in requirement, you'd have three student-housing apartment communities competing fairly for all three schools," said Tom McMahon, an attorney for The Regency who filed the lawsuit. Students who live at Campus Village also pay more for their apartments — freshmen must live four to a two-bedroom apartment — and for their required meal plans, though every unit has a kitchen, according to the lawsuit. Many public colleges across the country — though not all — require freshmen to live in on-campus housing. It's unclear whether that's ever withstood a court challenge..... Continue reading ...