Fred Crowley Helps Sniff Out The Truth About The Colorado Springs Market

I had the pleasure of speaking with Fred Crowley (Southern Colorado Economist) about his data on Colorado Springs and its real estate market. Fred gave a lecture on how we are actually seeing a 1.8% annual increase in property values (remember, that number is an average for all neighborhoods combined.) Granted, if one were to track the data back 10 years you would find that in general, Colorado Springs properties generally appreciated about 5%/year. Though the numbers are down I think that it's important to realize that things could be much worse. We have an office in Las Vegas and the things that some of the owners are having to go through are very disturbing. So though this data that Fred presented on the Pikes Peak region looked positive, I still had the question that I am sure you all want to know as well; "When is the market going to get better and when will sellers begin to see a little more bargaining leverage?" The short answer was Spring 2010. The longer more complicated answer was somewhere between Fall 2009 and Summer 2010. Not only are we experiencing a influx of military, but Colorado Springs got ranked on Kiplinger's top 10 list of best places to Live, Work and Play. This is all great news.
I will talk more in my next post about how the presidential election can help jolt our economy (regardless of who wins.)

Who would have thought?

Now that Tejon Ave. is two way, it looks like we have a slight problem...Taxi cabs.
As of now they are holding up traffic loading and unloading passengers on busy Saturday and Friday nights. The real bummer is that the taxi can't just park in the middle lane loading zone because then you will have intoxicated people strolling across the street. Lets hope this problem gets a solution otherwise we might encounter more DUI's.

80916 Foreclosure help!

80916 is facing foreclosure crisis yet hasn't responded to information on various help programs. I am asking the question...........................WHY????

Gov. Ritter caught. (click for story)

Campaign violations are a serious matter and one that I feel deserves close attention. It is important that we demand that these laws be enforced.

Health care industry is one of Colorado Springs fastest growing sectors

Between Memorial Hospital (multiple locations) Penrose hospital, Centura Health, and Peak Vista among a slew of others, COlorado Springs is quickly gaining national recognition for its health care facilities. On a natioanl level, Colorado Springs has Cancer treatment and child birth facilities that rank this community amongst the best of the best.
If your looking for an investment property or a good starter home try to find one near these major facilities. Properties tend to appreciate better if they are close to a community anchor and properties that are near health care facilities tend to rent quicker too!

2 way Tejon (click for story)

In an effort to increase traffic downtown, Colorado Springs has decided to make Tejon a two way street. It's too early to tell if this is going to work or not, however, I don't want to be caught behind a delivery truck. :)

USOC STAYS!

Kudos to Colorado Springs for making the right decision to keep the USOC in Colorado Springs by offering a 54 million dollar incentive package. I had great concerns over this matter since the USOC has always been a staple of Colorado Springs and has brought many jobs, city recognition and marketability to the Colorado Springs region. After the closing of many large businesses that have left massive empty buildings behind losing the USOC would have been a very hard blow to deal with. Additionally, Landco and the El Pomar foundation are major contributors to this effort and should be thanked as well. Thank-you Colorado Springs for keeping this wonderful organization right were it belongs.