REAL ESTATE: The Riley Report

Hello From Pagosa Country!

With election day behind us, all the terrible, negative commercials have finally gone away. I was hoping for a decisive outcome one way or the other in order to move our nation to a new chapter and help us heal, but it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards. This may be wishful thinking, but a little cooperation and bipartisanship among our nation’s leaders would be wonderful.

It sure would be nice to become the United States of America again.

So much for politics. Pagosa is gorgeous. The weather has been outstanding if you like blue skies and warm temperatures. There’s still not much moisture. Wolf Creek Ski Area opened on October 28 to become the first open ski area in the nation. Currently they have 37″ at the summit and 33″ at midway. It looks like more snow is on the way this weekend.

Around town, the local economy is still doing well. Tax revenues for the town are up about 10%. Around 5% of this increase is due to being able to collect tax on internet sales for the first time. Speaking of the internet, the county is working on getting more internet towers built throughout the area. Hopefully that will make our internet service better in the future.

Now for the latest real estate news. The train keeps roaring down the tracks at full speed. In past years, the market would have dropped off by this time of year. Sellers would be dropping prices in hopes of dumping their property before winter. But today, I have 11 homes on the market and 10 are under contract. We’re in negotiations on the 11th.

I am currently working on a transaction unlike anything I’ve seen in over 30 years in the business. We have two buyers competing against each other, each placing offers trying to outbid the other. That situation is relatively rare, but I’ve seen plenty of them before. What’s unusual in this case is that we also have multiple buyers bidding against each other in order to make a backup offer. I’ve never seen anything like that before!

Now for the latest stats. The numbers are a continuation of what we’ve seen over the past several months. Year-to-date total sales are up 21%. Sales for October are 167 compared to 90 last year, which is an increase of 86%. Pending sales are up 83% with 123 pending deals last year compared to 225 today.

Year-to-date home sales are up 27%, and inventory is down 59%. Condo sales are up 35%, and inventory is down 74%. Land sales are up 13% with inventory down 29%. Prices continue to trend upward.

So long for now. Remember, you will become what you think about most. The glass is half full!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!