life and real estate in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

From the Pagosa Trails website - Plumtaw Road

Adventurous, athletic types check out this new website featuring trails near Pagosa Springs, pagosatrails.net

It’s creator is one of my most athletic friends, Tom Steen.  It’s a work in progress, but it’s already a very informative site that provides multi-sport trail descriptions, routes and maps.  The main headings are Mountain Bike Trails, Cross Bike Trails, Cross-Country Ski Trails, Running Trails and Road Bike Routes.

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January unit sales and $Volume in Millions

Only 7 homes and condos closed during January, with a total market value of $$2.52 million.  The average sale price was $360,429 and the median $187,000.

January sales volume was very bleak indeed but on a considerably brighter note, the six units that have closed to date in February already match the 6 sales for all of February, 2009, at higher prices.  February 2009 volume was $1.3 million and this years it’s already $2.1 million with half the month yet to go.  The median sale price last February was $219,050 and month-to-date this year it’s $374,000.  The upshot is that the middle-market is  beginning to thaw, even as the ground outside is still frozen solid, and sales are no longer restricted to the very low end of the market.

More encouraging still, there are currently 31 homes and condos pending sale.  These are under contract and actual sales prices won’t be public until they close, but the average list price is $290,328 and the median is $239,900.  It looks like buyers are finally taking action to capitalize on the opportunity of very low interest rates and some really great bargains being offered in this current Pagosa Springs market.

Vacant land sales are typically very slow at this time of year.  Inspecting land parcels is pretty much limited to snowshoes or snowmobile, and it’s not a great idea to buy land covered over with a heavy blanket of snow unless you already know what the terrain looks like underneath.  That said, 5 parcels of residential land under 50 acres closed in January, up from only 3 last year.  Prices of those few sales are also showing a lift, with the average sale price of $82,000 up from $25,333 last year and an increase in median price from $14,000 to $30,000.   There are also 9 parcels pending sale at an average list price of $198,977;  median is $115,000.   The vacant land market has been extremely hard hit during this recession, so it’s encouraging to see an uptick in sales so early in the new year.

Data is from the Pagosa Springs Area MLS – deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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photo from the Wolf Creek Ski Area website

Pagosa is encased in snow after this last storm and there are few people shopping for real estate.  So, while the skiers and boarders are enjoying the powder, I’m taking this opportunity to drive cross country to visit my failing parents in Indianapolis.

When I return early February, I’ll take a look at some real estate stats for Pagosa Springs during January.

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Savvy helping me strap on snowshoes

Dick and I recently watched “Marley and Me”: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog.   It’s a very touching account about the life of an incorrigible and neurotic yellow Lab in relationship with his very patient and enduring human family, as they grow together from his puppyhood on. Since then we’ve been smiling a lot and calling our cat “Marley” when he pulls one of his frequent antics, like finishing a high speed charge through the house with a leap onto the counter and a practiced slide across my piles of paperwork – sending paper flying like confetti to the floor.  Savvy is less destructive than Marley, but he’s nearly as undisciplined, and I’m so glad he doesn’t weigh 100 pounds.  Though I worked with cats professionally for many years, I’ve never been good at training them to do my bidding.  So life with Savvy is pretty much on his terms.  As with Marley, he’s a companion through life and has embedded himself into our daily routines and activities.

One of the activities we enjoy here in Pagosa Country is frequent outings literally ‘out the back door’.  In winter, With Savvy’s help, I strap on snowshoes or skis and we just GO.  Our property adjoins a 300+ acre portion of Timber Ridge that is still undeveloped and while that lasts, it’s a heavenly place for ultra convenient summer hiking and winter sport.  Even when there are someday homes on that pristine parcel, the ‘out the back door’ convenience is still a go.  Timber Ridge has over 100 acres of open space platted for property owners’ use.

Savvy prefers hiking to snowshoeing, but he has become an adept snow cat.

Savvy, the snow cat

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data from the Pagosa Springs Area MLS - deemed reliable and not guaranteed

‘Stabilized at lower prices’ seems an appropriate summary phrase for 2009 sales activity in the Pagosa Springs area compared to 2008.  The market segment graphed in red, residences selling at $500,000 – $750,000 suffered an alarming 54% drop in sales, but overall sales of homes and condos / townhomes were down only 11% from 2008 levels.

Buyers enjoyed lower housing prices, with the average purchase price down 15% from 2008 and the median price down 8%. 

An 11% drop in sales is hardly good, but check out this lower graph for some brightening signs heading into the new year.  As with land sales, there was a positive shift in the 4th quarter with sales gaining significant relative strength especially in November and December 2009. 

data from Pagosa Springs Area MLS - deemed reliable and not guaranteed

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2009 was a bleak year for residential land sales in the Pagosa Springs area, with the number of sales down 17% from 2008 and the $ volume down 30%.   Good for buyers, both average and median sales prices declined significantly.  There is a possible glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel – check out the graph below that counts sales month by month.  There was a shift to the upside in the 4th quarter of 2009 over 2008 sales.  Too soon to call a TURN, but that 4th quarter rise in sales, especially in December 2009, may bode well for sales activity in 2010.

data for Pagosa Springs Area MLS - deemed reliable and not guaranteed

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