2011 Real Estate Forecast for Colorado Springs

The Institute for Real Estate Management Economic Forecast breakfast was held yesterday in Colorado Springs. Several speakers addressed the real estate market in Colorado Springs and overall economic conditions.

Here is summary of what many of the speakers had to say about real estate market in Colorado Springs:

The market is steady, but not strong. We are holding our own, but not improving as of yet. We are predicted to match last year's stats in the housing market where sales dropped, but prices rose. This means we sold less homes, but of those that were sold, prices rose slightly.

These are the factors that were discussed that could possibly be holding back the real estate market:

High unemployment ( 9,4%)

Possible rising interest rates

Difficulties obtaining a mortgage

Overall consumer confidence

Possible "Shadow Inventory" of distressed homes.These are homes that the bank  took back and have in inventory and are not deciding to release to the market. These homes compete with our regular inventory.

Betts also stated that  we still have a strong buyer's market in homes above $400,000. Homes below this are moving at a faster rate.

Another notable statistic is that vacancy rates in apartments and rentals have improved. We have the lowest vacancy rates that we have seen in the past 9 years. Rents are also on the rise.

The region of Pikes Peak Home Sales for January 2011

The number of homes sold in January 2011 was 460 which is down .09 percent from last January. The median sales price saw a 1 percent rise in January of 2011 to $180,000

The good news from all of this is that the market seems to be holding steady. We may be selling less inventory in Colorado Springs, but prices are slightly increasing.