Here are the Pueblo West real estate statistics for 4th Quarter 2011 (10/1/2011-12/31/2011). The figures in parenthesis are from the same time period in 2010. The properties on market figures do NOT include properties under contract.
|
1st Quarter 2011 |
2nd Quarter 2011 |
3rd Quarter 2011 |
4th Quarter 2011 |
|
| Single Family Sold |
81 (91) |
118 (176) |
116 (96) |
94 (95) |
| Single Family on Market |
255 |
300 |
257 |
209 |
| Single Family Pending Sale |
80 |
67 |
67 |
56 |
| Multi-Family Sold |
1 (4) |
8 (4) |
1 (4) |
3 (1) |
| Multi-Family on Market |
13 |
10 |
10 |
4 |
| Vacant Lots Sold |
17 (18) |
14 (15) |
15 (15) |
12 (8) |
| Vacant Lots on Market |
715 |
732 |
733 |
647 |
SINGLE FAMILY
All of the 94 Single Family Sold were single family homes, no townhomes or condos.
Residential homes sold 4th quarter by price:
16 < $100K
37 between $100-150K
24 between $150-200K
10 between $200-250K
7 over $250K
Residential homes sold 4th quarter by Pueblo West MLS location:
[To describe the Multiple List Service area breakdown, Pueblo West Acreage includes those lots on one acre (+) on the south side of Highway 50, not including the Golf Course area (which has smaller lot sizes and is on the sewer system), Liberty Point (the areas adjacent to Pueblo Lake boundaries) or Pueblo West East (generally areas east of the first McCulloch with smaller lot sizes and on the sewer system). There are two designated manufactured home park areas which are on smaller lots, one on the north side and one on the south side of Highway 50.]
20 – Pueblo West Acreage
24 – Pueblo West East
12 – Pueblo West Golf Course
2 – Pueblo West Liberty Point
8 – Pueblo West Manufactured Homes
28 – Pueblo West N of Highway 50
Home sales in Pueblo West remained steady trended slightly downward this quarter. 82% of the homes sold in Pueblo West this quarter were under $200K showing affordability for buyers but unfortunately long wait times for sellers with prices over $200K. Of the 209 active listings 121 are under $200K and 88 are $200K or over. Based on this supply information coupled with the sales information, it is still a buyer’s market if your house is priced above $200K. This will drive prices up on the lower end and hopefully push more people into the over-$200K range. Of the 56 residential properties pending sale, 9 are awaiting short sale approval from lender, indicating that Pueblo West is still dealing with distressed properties.
I wanted to add this additional information about the financing options for the homes that have sold this quarter:
29 – Conventional financing
34 – FHA
13 – VA
16 – Cash
2 – Owner carry
More than 50% of the buyers are using government backed financing (FHA & VA). Government backed loans require little (3.5% for FHA) or no (VA financing) money down and allow a buyer to get into a property without a large down payment. When a buyer uses a government financing option, the seller is required, by law, to pay for some of the buyer’s costs. However, this amount is minimal. I’m seeing a lot of listings in Pueblo West that don’t include the availability of VA/FHA financing options. This tells me a couple of things: either the property has issues that a VA/FHA appraiser will find objectionable (e.g., broken/cracked windows, peeling paint, missing stair rails) and the seller doesn’t want to (or can’t) fix the issues; the property was previously listed as VA, an offer was received but the VA appraiser appraised the property lower than the seller wanted killing the deal (a VA appraisal stays with the house for 6 months); or the seller hasn’t been advised by their agent of the higher percentage of buyers using government-backed financing. So for sellers, my advice is to make sure your house is offered out to VA/FHA buyers to increase your chance of a sale.
Interest rates are at an incredible all time low. The interest rate on my last closing was 3.75% on a VA loan for a first-time homebuyer. On top of that, the lender paid some of the buyer’s closing costs! If you are in a position to buy a home, this is just an incredible time to do it!
MULTI-FAMILY
Three multi-family homes sold this quarter. If you can get a loan (or are able to pay cash), it’s still a great time to purchase investment properties although the number of multi-family homes on the market has dropped.
VACANT LOTS
Vacant lots sold 4th quarter by Pueblo West MLS location:
5 Pueblo West Acreage
3 Pueblo West East
0 Pueblo West Golf Course
1 Pueblo West Liberty Point
1 Pueblo West Manufactured Homes
2 Pueblo West N of Highway 50
Lot sales continue to reflect the depressed building situation with prices trending downward – half of the lots sold were under $10,000. Three of the lots sold were small commercial lots, so there only 9 single family home lots sold. The number of lots on the market have decreased as sellers have decided to wait until “better times”. If you live in Pueblo West or are a local builder and if you are interested in a particular lot because it is adjacent to your property or you want to build, give me a call. I’ve talked to many lot owners who want to sell but have decided not to place their lot on the market at this time.
REMINDER TO FALL BACK FOR AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP THIS WEEKEND!
For the best book sale in Southern Colorado, visit Books Again on 622 S. Union Avenue in Pueblo for their Books by the Bag Sale. For just $7 you can fill a plastic grocery bag from the 20,000 books available.
