Northgate of Colorado Springs, Real Estate Report

September was clearly a lack lust month and we are glad it’s behind us. Part of what we do is to try and look at the facts, numbers, evidence, trends and make sense of where the market is heading.

Let’s take a look at the important numbers for September of 2007:

19 New Listings came on the market in the Northgate area of Colorado Springs, their average List Price was $417,968

7 Homes in the Northgate area of Colorado Springs, CO went Under Contract, the Average List price of these homes was $405,128

8 Homes in the Northgate area of Colorado Springs, Colorado Sold, their Average Sales Prices were $412,986

There is a $4,982 delta between the average price of a newly listed home in Northgate and the average price of a home in the same Colorado Springs real estate market area that sold in the month of September. This is a fairly conservative differential, we attribute this narrow margin to the reluctance of builders to negotiate their sales prices.

Of the homes that sold in the Northgate area during the month of September their average number of days on the market was 110

Months supply of available homes for sale in Northgate has dropped from 10.17 months of inventory in August to 8.45 in September.

Upside: When we look at the Northgate area of Colorado Springs, Colorado the numbers aren’t really that impressive but fortunately, the numbers don’t really tell the entire story. Although there isn’t a lot of residential activity in this area, there is a lot of other activity in this area.

When you look at the area, Tri-Lakes, to the north first experienced residential growth followed by commercial development. Northgate on the other hand, has seen limited residential growth but is currently experiencing significant commercial growth.

We think this commercial infrastructure is going to drive the residential in this area over the next couple of years. Projects like, Colorado Crossing, a mixed-use project featuring a 12-theatre complex, Interquest Market Place will feature a Brunswick Zone, Hollywood Theatres and Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center. Additionally, The Club at Flying Horse is completed and can only be described as truly impressive.

Keeping all of this in mind we can’t help but think Northgate is poised for significant residential growth. This area is primarily builder product with a small percentage of resale homes. Additionally, these builders did a really good job of spotting the current market slowdown in advance and put the brakes on their speculative builds. From a supply and demand standpoint we look for builder sales and price increases in the 2^nd. & 3^rd. quarters of 2008.

Downside: If we have a cold winter and progress is slowed on the mixed-use commercial projects, it could push the recovery into the next buying season.

Advice:

Buyers: If you are in the market for a home and you have decent credit as well as money for a down payment….We think the time to buy is now, or at least within the next four months! There are some great opportunities in this area for buyers. If you are planning on waiting until the spring to buy you should also plan on having more competition we also think sellers less likely to make concessions. We think/hope the press is so bad and the market perception right now that it can’t get a lot worse. We are advising our investor clients to buy now, most savvy buyers in this market are thinking like investors.

Sellers: If you can wait until the first quarter of 2008 to sell, do it, we think the market should heat up by then. If you need to sell now, don’t mess around, list with someone that does a good job of pricing and marketing your home, someone that can and will get you exposure on both the Internet and to other Realtors. The chances are good that the person that ultimately buys your home will see it on the Internet first, chances are also good there will be another Realtor involved. At SpringsHomes.com we think we do an exceptional job of getting our listings exposed to both homebuyers and Realtors. If you are considering selling your home now or in the future, you owe it to yourself to take a look at our marketing plan.

In conclusion, we think this is a great time to buy. If you have to sell, please make sure you work with a pro, you’ll be glad you did.