REAL ESTATE: The Riley Report

Hello From Pagosa Country!

It’s another Chamber of Commerce day with clear skies and a crisp morning. The temperature was 28 degrees this morning and will warm up to 55 degrees this afternoon. Most of the leaves have fallen, creating compost for next year’s spring flowers.

The local economy is still chugging right along. The big game hunters are here; they’re spending a lot of money – more than I’ve seen in the last couple of years, which is great! The contractors are all still very busy. I have one downstairs as we speak putting in a new heating & air conditioning system. The ski area is open on weekends, but we need a couple more good storms if we’re going to be ready for the Thanksgiving crowds.

I just looked at the long-range forecast, and they’re predicting less snow this year. I hope they’re wrong because we really need the moisture.

The big issue overshadowing everything in Archuleta County is employee housing. I met with Pamela Flowers yesterday who works for the County as the Development Director. She has proposed two changes to the County regulations. One is to increase the time that folks can live in RVs and campers on their property from 120 days to a year. A permit would be required to do so, and the permit would cost $50. This could help folks who can’t find affordable permanent housing right away by providing them with a little longer grace period. Aspen Springs is the area which would be most affected by this change. There is a large population living there in this way because they have no other options.

The second proposal is to put a moratorium on new vacation rentals in the County until the employee housing issue is resolved or improved. This proposal probably won’t pass, but we will see more fees and restrictions associated with VRBOs in the future. If you’re considering buying a vacation rental, I would recommend that you do it sooner rather than later so that you can avoid some of the road blocks that will be coming.

Now for the latest real estate news. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. Sales continue to slow down due to lack of inventory. Two months ago, the overall number of sales was up 73% for the year. Last month they were up 53%. This month we’re up 35%. By the end of the year, we may not be up at all. There were 121 sales in October this year, compared to 173 in October last year. We’ve got 164 pending sales today compared to 225 last year at this time. Currently, we only have 80 residential properties available on the market. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019, we had 299 at this time. There are only 19 stick built or mobile homes listed right now for under $500,000. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently going for 3.125%, and a 15-year is 2.375%.

With low inventory in mind, I’m excited to say I have a couple new spec homes coming on the market soon. Both are ranch-style homes with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two car garage, and over 1600 square feet. Give me a call if you know anybody that might have an interest. If you know anyone looking to take advantage of the current market conditions who would like a big payday, please have them contact me.

So long for now! Have a great Thanksgiving! Stay healthy, think positive, you will become what you think about most!