If you have followed the "Hoopla" - including Discussions, Protests etc about the Widening of Woodmen Road on the North Side of Colorado Springs, as well as the accompanying planned Overpass....you might be interested in the Open House that will be held on: January 24th from 5:00pm to 8:00 pm at Jenkins Middle School.Jenkins is located on 6410 Austin Bluffs Pkwy. Hope to see you there! 01/21/2007

 We are 21 days into 2007. And so far, our Real Estate Market in the Springs has been active! The following Data is for the period from 01/01/07 to 01/21/07:Homes Sold 01/01/07 to 01/21/07 - 351Average Price - $245,373Average Days on Market - 118This is the total number of homes that have sold and closed since 01/01/07. No distinction has been made as when the home was added to the Market.Homes currently under Contract/Pending - 480Average Price - $235,620Average Days on Market - 108New Listings since 01/01/2007 - 823Average Price - $274,887Average Days on Market - 38This includes - 88 Homes already Under Contract/Pending since they were activated/offered for Sale as of 01/01/07- 4 Homes that are currently withdrawn from the market for a variety of reasons If you are considering selling... 01/21/2007

Are you a Military Spouse, who is, once again,  trying to rally the necessary enthusiasm to pack up and move? To get to know new surroundings, find a new home, a school for the kids and meet new Neighbors? Make new friends, continue long distance friendship and start a career - all over?I've been in the same situation plenty of times! And I know what it feels like to hear those words: Honey...we've got orders! We're moving in a month...If you just found out that yet another PCS move is coming up and it's bringing you to Colorado Springs or the surrounding areas, feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. I am here to help.Here are some website that can give you a glimpse about the City you might call home soon....City of Colorado Springs - City Agencies, News, Events, Vi... 01/21/2007

New to Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region? Want to own your piece of beautiful and wild Colorado? Look no further than me to help you find the PERFECT location for you to plant your roots.... Whether looking for that uptown city condo or those wide open spaces I can help you find just the spot! Don't hesitate to call Robyn - your partner in the real estate market!!www.morningstar-realestate.com    01/15/2007

I know of several commercial/retail locations in the Colorado Springs area that are open and available right now!! Excellent locations with high traffic counts and great visibility, not to mention a wonderful landlord!! So hurry and contact me now before all the good spots are already taken!! I know I have just the spot for someone out there!!Contact Robyn now!! 01/15/2007

Hey there - Are you having problems making your house payment and have been told that the only solution is bankruptcy and foreclosure? Please call or email me - I CAN help. Whether you have decided you want out, or you really want to save your family from the pain of forclosure and eviction - let me help you!! I know where you are and how distressing this time is for you. I know how frightening it can be to tell your lender that you really can't afford your mortgage payment. There is help! I don't know if I can save your home, but at least let me try... No false hope and no lies or misleading information. I will do EVERYTHING in my power to help you.....http://www.consolidatedsg.com/robynabc/fc   01/15/2007

I just signed up to be a member of this site and thought I would say hi. I'm a Realtor in Colorado Springs and love to travel. Go check out my website at http://www.homesforsaleco.com/ and don't forget, if you or anyone you know is considering selling, buying or renting property now or within the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, I can help with relocation needs anywhere in the world!!!Warmest Regards, Candice Bronwyn Tracy DespyBroker AssociateMerit Co., Inc.1150 Elkton DriveColorado SpringsCO  80907Cell: (719) 229-0935E-mail: Candice@Despy.netWebsite: http://www.homesforsaleco.com/ 01/08/2007

What happened in December, here in the Colorado Springs Real Estate Market? I would have thought that the snow would have made more of an impact on the market than it did, seeing as we were "snowed in" for several days at a time... (title companies were closed, no one was driving around to show or list homes...) But, it seems as though the market is stronger than the weather. I pulled the MLS data for Colorado Springs and surrounding areas (Manitou Springs, Fountain, Monument/ TriLakes area and Falcon) for the month of December 2006, and this is what I found. *Please note that this does not include many new home sales nor FSBO's (which are not prominant enough to really skew the numbers, anyway).The Average Days on Market (DOM) for December 2006 were 92 (same as November!). The highest ... 01/07/2007

I am sure that most of you have been aware that the Active Rainers ... or should I say "Snowers" that reside in the front range of the Rocky Mountains (Denver and Colorado Springs) have been hit with quite the snow storms over the past few weeks. Kristal Kraft has some great posts about the weather. I have even done a few posts myself. (See below for a few good reads...)What does all of this snow this mean to Colorado? Well, nothing good. According to a local news article, despite all the snow that we have been getting, "much of the states snow-pack is below average." This is not good because we need snow-pack in the right places (mountains) for our water supply. Proper snow-pack alleviates the problems associated with living in a high desert like watering restrictions and, more importa... 01/07/2007

Here is the 5th in a series of posts dedicated to Understanding the Realtor® Code of Ethics. These posts are designed to explain the Ethics that Realtors® are bound to. For the full Code of Ethics, please visit the National Association of Realtors®.Before I delve into Articles 6 & 7, I would like to take a moment to bring up a few relevant posts that I have read recently that touched on the Code of Ethics, as well as provide links to the previous Code of Ethics posts that I have written. Please take a moment to check these out, if you haven't already..."I Promise" :: Those Are Some Strong Words -A very tought-provoking post by Jeff Turner.Does Our Code of Ethics make us LIARS??? -Written by a NAR Instructor Monika McGillicuddy Many Agents Need a Lesson in Etiquette -A great companion to... 01/01/2007

I guess my prediction for "no snow on new years" from my last SNOW post has been proven wrong. Over the past couple days we have had more snow, here in Colorado Springs. Depending on where you live, snow has fallen anywhere from 7" to a foot, between Thursday and Friday.Again, we knew it was coming. Only THIS time more people decided to prepare ... But no one knew how difficult it was going to be to "prepare" - as many of the stores did not have regular deliveries because of the last snow storm and the Christmas holiday. Derek and I went to several stores, in search of "comfort food" to prepare and share with our friends and neighbors. What did we find? Well, we sure did not find BREAD! Have you EVER seen a major grocery store with shelves THIS EMPTY?!? And the bread aisle was not the o... 12/30/2006

Today we spent the morning "dealing" with the snow that started visiting us yesterday (12/20). I prefer to call it "playing" ... It started yesterday morning - the wind... wild, wild wind- whipping snow all over our city, Colorado Springs.  By 10am, yesterday the whole city knew that it was time to stock up and bunker down for a storm. (However, not everyone actually stocked up and bunkered down...) **Kristal Kraft, our neighbor to the North -Denver posted 2 great blogs ... HERE and HERE.** Thanks Kristal!Businesses (like our title company) told us that they planned on being closed for the remaining of the day, and tomorrow (well, today). Our office was closed and other stores started following suit. Midday proved to be white out conditions, such that I could not see my front porch ... ... 12/21/2006

In a recent post, I commented on the healthy housing market, here in Colorado Springs. (here) I thought that I would check in on the November 2005 - November 2006 housing market has changed, and we have seen some slowing and some pick up. This data was taken from the existing single family home statistics from our local Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. I have not included new home sales in this research.The average sales price rose 8.7% -from $223,624 in Nov.2005 to $243,064 in Nov.2006.New listings have dropped from 1,151 in Nov. 2005 to 1,085 in Nov. 2006.(down 5.7%)The median sales price rose from $195,800 (Nov.2005) to $197,750 (Nov.2006)Overall Sales have dropped 14.5%- from 795 transactions in Nov. 2005 to 680 transactions in Nov.2006These numbers are not staggering, by any mea... 12/01/2006

My scariest real estate story just happened to take place last week.I was sitting an Open House in a new subdivision, and I appeared the only agent in the sub that day. I had had fairly steady traffic most of the day, mostly young families looking for "oh my gosh, we need a  bigger house" style homes. The home I had open was a perfect example  of the style, and built by one of the name builders in town. I  remember early in the afternoon, I was answering questions for a  really nice couple with two kids in tow. It was early enough in the  day that the kids weren't bored to unruliness yet, and we were all  getting along pretty good. They didn't have a REALTOR working for  them yet, so I was working hard for the job. You know what I mean,  we've all had that scene.A gentleman came in by h... 11/29/2006

In analyzing the October 2006 data from some of the MLS areas of Colorado Springs, I found that our average Sale Price vs. List Price was 98.85%. What I found to be of particular interest was that the areas that had the fewest "sales" all had SP vs. LP over 100%.Why would that happen? My guess is that we have run into the issue of "Unintentional Range Pricing."  Range pricing is not something that our area Realtors® practice, but there is always a "price range" that a house falls within. (What is Range Pricing?)   So, let's consider the following scenario (based on our local economy):Cast:Sella Notherhouse ~ Buyer's AgentAnita Housenow ~ BuyerLiz Twithmee ~ Listing AgentIma Muvinsoon ~ SellerMs. Twithmee lists Mrs. Muvinsoon's house and puts it in the MLS for $200,000. Although the mark... 11/27/2006

Here in Colorado Springs, Colorado ... we are not running with the Big Boys. Nope, we aren't. Sorry Nevada. Sorry Arizona. Sorry Florida. Sorry California. You are on your own. These once "Booming" areas have experienced sales declines anywhere from 28.6% (California) to 38% (Nevada) over the past year - with the real pain felt this past summer. In fact, 38 states experienced a dip in sales and "9 states had sales declines of 20% or more" in the summer of 2006, according to an article in our local paper. Not only that, but median home prices (existing homes) in many metropolitan areas have dropped about 1.2%, as well.... woah.What about Colroado? We never really experienced the (sonic) BOOM in the housing market that places like Nevada and California did. So, I guess our reward for bein... 11/27/2006

Colorado Springs... No we are not a big metropolis, but we love to adorn our streets with art. What does our art say about us, the "locals"...? Let's take a tour...When you drive down, or up I-25 (the only Interstate in our city) there is only one exit to our downtown - Bijou (say: BEE-Jhoo) Street. Exit the highway and head east, into our downtown. Here you will be greeted by a humongous lime green question mark.  It is about 12 feet high and dominates the corner of Cascade and Kiowa (Say: KYE-o-wah). What does it say about Colorado Springs? I guess you won't know until you come visit, and form your own opinion!The heart of our Downtown encompasses about 20 blocks (depending on where you want to draw the line...). One of the main streets is Bijou (I already told you how to pronounce it... 11/22/2006

       The Pikes Peak Region is home to many natural and entertainment attractions- (Check this out ... Colorado Springs Info). One of my favorite places is Garden of the Gods. Today I took a personal field trip to the "Garden"- a beautiful collection of enormous red rock formations nestled in the foothills of of Pikes Peak. I took some pictures (shown here) and basked in the Serenity of the Awe of Mother Nature.What IS the Garden of the Gods?About One Thousand Million Years ago, the Ancestral Rocky Mountains (Rockies I) began to form. Then, about 180 million years ago, they erode and become buried in their own debris. (No more mountains!) The dinosaurs become extinct and another "uprising" of the Rockies begin-  and the "sedimentary formations of the Garden of the Gods" begin tilting u... 11/17/2006

That was the title of an article, written in our local paper, a couple of days ago. It states (in not so many words), that due to the decreased demand for homes, Builders are now trying just about anything, to sell current and planned inventory. That includes offering things like landscaping, sprinkler systems and special financing, combined with a huge marketing effort. All to attract that elusive Buyer.According to this article, the number of permits for single family homes (188) has fallen below the previous low  of 244 permits, which was in December of 2001. Quite a drop, considering that a  year ago 345 Single Family Home Permits were pulled, to be surpased in March, with a total of 419 SFH permits.What does this mean for Buyers? It means that NOW is a great time to buy that brand ... 11/09/2006

Located at the (almost) Geographic Center of the United States, and at an altitude of 6,200 feet, the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport provides convenient access to the Pikes Peak Region from anywhere in the world.  Panoramic Pikes Peak and Front Range views welcome you as you disembark- and ticket counters and baggage carousels are no more than 1,000 feet away from the farthest gate! The airport also boasts a variety of artwork from some of the areas best local artists- creating a beautiful setting for wary travelers. Whats more? There is free wireless internet access available for anyone looking to pass the time with a game, checking emails or keeping up on business. This clean and modern facility offers something for any traveler! The airport has about 110 arrivals and departures ... 11/06/2006