Colorado Springs Market Information thru November 30, 2011

QUICK FACTS about the Colorado Springs Housing market thru November 30th, 2011
# of Active Listings continues to drop, down 22%
# of Sales for the monty are up 23.9%
# of Sales for the last 3 months are up by 326 units
Sales YTD are now ahead of 2010 by 3.5%
Average Sales Price is down 6.45% from the same period last year
Foreclosure starts are down 26% compared to 2010
As we approach the conclusion of 2011, it is safe to say we are seeing many indicators that bode well for the local residential real estate market in 2012. Perhaps the most exciting number to glean from this month's data is the number of Active Listings. The current number of Active Listings (3668) is the lowest we have seen in almost 7 years! Our other favorite number is the percentage of foreclosure starts dropping by 26% to the lowest number in 5 years.

When you look at all the numbers and compare them to previous years, 2011 is very similar to 2002 with the exception of the number of distresses sales (foreclosures & short sales). Although foreclosure starts have plummeted, they are still high historically (about 3500). In 2002 the number was 1607. In 2002, the local MLS (city-wide listing database) did not have a field to track if a home was a short sale and it is safe to assume it was because short sales were far and few between. In 2011, we have become quite familiar with distressed sales and through November 30th, 1437 homes that have sold have been reported as distressed sales. With over 18% of all sales this year being distressed, the negative impact these have to home prices is real.

Our wish for 2012 is for distressed sales to decrease again another 25% while the number of sales stays on par with 2011. If this occurs, we feel the 2nd half of 2012 as well as 2013 will see the market returns to a place of balance for both buyers and sellers. Be sure to watch for our Annual Review & Forecast which will be out any day now!