REAL ESTATE: The Riley Report

Hello From Pagosa Country!

Summer is winding down. Labor Day is happening with little fanfare. There will be no Four Corners Folk Festival for the first time in 25 years. But on a brighter note, our schools start here on Tuesday, which will be a blend of in-school and remote learning for our students. My wife, Laurie, has been up in Denver helping the grandkids with their Zoom-learning on Chromebooks. We will wait to see how it all works out.

The weather pattern continues to be very dry with monsoon rains few and far between. Traffic has been tapering off downtown, which is a nice change. It’s easier to get across the street now!

There are four changes to the downtown landscape that I want to report on. The biggest news is construction has started on 34 townhomes geared toward affordable housing, along with a new human services office. This is happening across from Town Hall on Hot Spring Boulevard. The land is county-owned, on a long-term lease.

The county is trying to sell the old jail and courthouse. There are a number of proposals on the table which would turn the building into office space, but it’s pretty early in the process. We’ll see if they can make the numbers work.

Another change is the construction of a new park on Lewis Street where the Adobe Building used to be. Evelyn Tennyson purchased this parcel and is planning to put in an art and landscape memorial park to honor her beloved husband, Mike.

Speaking of art, there is a new mural being painted on the outside wall of Goodman’s Department Store. It will show Pagosa landscapes and outdoor activities. This will help replace the mural which is due to come down when the Rose Restaurant does a major expansion.

Now for the latest real estate news. One word sums it up: Wow! I’ve been selling real estate here for over 30 years. These past 60 days have been the busiest I’ve ever seen. August closed sales were up to 131 compared to 106 in August last year. Pending sales are even crazier with 255 this year versus 142 last year. Year-to-date sales have finally caught up to last year after a slow spring due to the virus shutdown. We are now up 1% for the year.

The only downer is vacant land, which is down 11%. Home sales are up 6%, and condo sales are up 36%. The biggest surge is in high-end properties of $1 million or more. This is surprising, because this was the slowest sector for years. We have more than doubled last year’s sales of 7 in this category. This year we have 15, and we’ve got 7 more in the hopper. If this trend continues, we’ll sell three times as many million dollar homes as we usually do.

The other big change is a huge reduction in inventory. We’ve got 48% fewer homes, 63% fewer condos and townnhomes, and 21% fewer vacant land parcels available. With a lot of demand and not much supply, we’re seeing higher prices, and multiple offers are common.

Why is this happening? I believe that there are three main factors. First, a lot of folks are trying to get out of the big city to enjoy our small-town charm. Second, extremely low interest rates make home buying more attractive. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently at 2.75% and a 15-year is at 2.25%.

Finally, compared with other Colorado mountain towns, Pagosa is more affordable.

So long for now! Enjoy this fall season. Stay safe. Think positive. The glass is half full!