REAL ESTATE: The Riley Report

Hello From Pagosa Country!

I just finished meditating. I turned 74 a couple of weeks ago with some new goals in mind. First is to enjoy the moment. Today is the most important day of your life. Second is to lose ten pounds. And third is to be satisfied with who I am and what I’m about.

As I look out my window, it’s a beautiful day. Pagosa Peak has lots of snow, and spring is just around the corner. Temperatures over the next couple of days will reach 60 degrees – way above average. A week ago, Wolf Creek Ski Area received 51 inches of new snow and the lows downtown were below zero. The plan is for more snow this weekend.

Unfortunately, I’m going to miss it. I’m headed to Phoenix for three days to attend the annual CRS convention. CRS stands for Certified Residential Specialist, and I’ll be mingling with the top 4% of Realtors from around the country. I’ve been attending these gatherings for 20 years, enjoying all the classes, getting up to speed with the latest real estate trends, and networking with industry leaders. I guess I’ll just have to deal with 70 degrees and no snow!

Around town, all is well. Skiers are spending money. The second and third week of March will be peak time for Spring Breakers coming to town. Contractors are also busy and the pandemic is winding down. I called the Chamber of Commerce yesterday to see what was new. I spoke with the new Executive Director of Economic Development, Emily Lashbrooke. She told me about a couple of projects that she’s working on. She’d like to have Pueblo Community College open a campus here. She’s also working on starting a Boys & Girls Club, which would likely go into the Powerhouse downtown behind the Humane Society Thrift Store. (By the way, I helped start the Economic Development group over 30 years ago.)

Now for the latest real estate news. Do you remember the movie Groundhog Day? Well, that’s the story of today’s real estate market. Nothing has changed over the past several months, as we continue to have low supply and high demand. I listed a home yesterday and we’ve already received multiple offers above asking price and substantially above values from just a couple months ago.

As you look at the included stats, you’ll see overall sales are down 13% from last year. Home sales are down 6%, and inventory is half what it was a year ago. Home inventory is down 81% from pre-pandemic levels. We only have 35 homes available on the market at the moment. Condo sales are flat. Land sales are down 20%. Pending sales are down 46% from last year at this time…

Prices are still going skyward, especially vacant land. I’ve seen some parcels listed with ridiculous prices, probably due to too many rookie agents in the market. Another issue with pricing is we have too many Realtors chasing too few listings, which is creating our own kind of price war.

A piece of good news for home buyers I heard this morning is that interest rates have dipped back below 4%. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently at 3.875% and a 15-year is at 3.375%. I expect the Fed to raise rates in March by a quarter percent to help combat rising inflation.

Finally, our hopes and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine.

Sorry, there will be no Featured Home this month. The new home I just listed two days ago is already under contract. If you know anybody looking to sell, let me know!