These buyers were scrambling to take advantage of the expiring First Time Homebuyer Credit which expired April 30.  The majority of loan activity is refinancing; nearly 74% of all mortgage applicants right now are seeking refi’s. The move-up market is pretty much at a standstill for the foreseeable future.  The market over $417,000 market is at a standstill with buyers few and far between.  The silver lining to this is that the remainder of 2010 and 2011 will continue to be a good time to buy a home if the buyer is in a solid financial position.  As stimulus funds which artificially propped the market expire, we will be seeing some uncomfortable bumping along for the remainder of the year as the free market forces find equilibrium.

Just the facts, please…Our readers know that the foreclosure activity has impacted home values.  Compounded by tight credit, home values across the Pikes Peak region have followed a crazy roller coaster ride but generally demonstrated a decline.  For the majority of areas, 2009 was the lowest of the troughs with a slight gain 2010 bringing values back to 2008 levels.  Mirroring this pattern is the number of homes sold.  As of May 30, 3,439 homes were sold according to the PPMLS.  This is a gain of 14% over the same period in 2009 and virtually flat compared to 2008 which saw 3,424 homes sold.  What is uncertain is if this gain will be lost over the remainder of 2010; this loss would be the result of the housing market slumping into a feared double dip.  Local chatter in the real estate community indicates that June and July numbers are coming in lower than what it would take to sustain the double digit gain seen so far this year.  We hope to see a slight bounce in August but can’t bet on it yet! Locally, real estate related companies such as title are beginning to shed jobs because upcoming closing activity is quickly slowing down.  Industry analysts are nervous about openly stating the second dip of the real estate recession has begun, but, are whispering it.

If considering the sale of your home, understanding how long it takes for listings to generally sell is gained through a study of days on market.  Days on market calculates the difference between the list date and closing date.  This number, across our community, continues to decline.  At its peak, the average DOM was over 100 days.  At present, the average DOM is 81 days.  This number is truly an average because most homes take substantially less or more to sell.  The key points for success include pricing, condition and location.  Often, if a house doesn’t receive a contract within the first thirty days of listings, it will take much longer to sell.  Old Colorado City posts the lowest days on market hovering in the 45 days or less category.  Northgate is the slowest moving area at 137 days.  Listing discount across the area hovers around 2%; a huge improvement off the near 4% seen in the most downward days of the recession.  Listing discount is the difference between list price and final closing price.  As buyers and sellers have come closer in their expectations of the market, we have seen an expected decline in average listing discount.