I was pleasantly surprised to see an upsurge in real estate activity, beginning in April.  I thought it might be just a fluke, but I'm happy to report, since then, we've been experiencing a steady flow and increase in activity, by which I mean more buyers are looking, more buyers are buying, and more sellers are listing.  I will admit, some of those listings have also been a result of an increase in foreclosures.  Of course, lending continues to be a big challenge, making it harder and longer to close deals, sometimes causing a transaction to fall out completely (as I experienced just last week).  Ah, sigh!  We will get through this!  So, buyers, don't get discouraged, and sellers, please be patient.  Basically, the financial institutions are dictating the closing date.  In general, I'm encouraged by what appears to be a combo of continued low interest rates, buyer incentives (i.e., the first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit), a boost in consumer confidence, and just the usual high, summer selling season. 

So, to give you a feel for our market, here are the following MLS residential sold statistics for May and 2009 year-to-date (as I obtained from our regional CREN MLS):

No. of Listings           Avg. Price          Median Price          Avg. Days on Market

YEAR-TO-DATE

MONTROSE COUNTY

146                         $210,516            $190,050               148

DELTA COUNTY

90                          $175,334           $165,000                 226

OURAY COUNTY

7                            $421,571           $272,000                 238

MAY 2009

MONTROSE COUNTY

39                          $205,463           $202,000                 152

DELTA COUNTY

27                          $174,070           $160,000                  209

OURAY COUNTY

2                            $277,000           $277,000                 319

Overall, we're down anywhere between 40-50% in sales volume over last year, but then we were down about the same last year relative to 2007.  However, values have remained fairly level, down in some sectors, and up in others.  County Assesors are scambling to explain why assessed values are up while recent real estate markets are down (see my earlier post on valuations).  In general, we're blessed on the Colorado Western Slope not to have experienced the huge pendulum swing downward as in other areas of the country.  What hasn't changed are our fantastic quality of life and beautiful climate and scenery.  Now is a great time for anyone to buy here, whether a first time homebuyer, retiree, second/vacation home buyer, or investor.

~Ninah