Colorado Springs is one of country’s ‘fastest-moving’ housing markets
A new study released Tuesday said Colorado Springs ranks in the top 10 “fastest-moving markets” in the country.
The study was conducted by Trulia, an online residential real estate site.The study looked at the share of homes still on the market after 30 days in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
Researchers found a significant raise in home sales in Colorado Springs over the last year.After a month on the market in Colorado Springs, 53.3 percent of homes remained for sale over a one-month period in 2016, compared with 62 percent in 2015.
Colorado Springs ranked seventh on the list followed by Denver in the eight spot. The No. 1 market for sellers is San Jose, California.
Natascha Lightfoot listed her home last month. She expected it to take a long time.
“I was thinking 90 days. At least 90 days. I’ve heard horror stories about 90 days,” said Lightfoot.
She was surprised to see how quickly offers poured in. Her house was sold within one week.
“It was like oh my God, this is really really happening,” said Lightfoot.
Charles D’Alessio, the owner of Synergy Realty Group, has seen homes sell even faster than Lightfoot’s.
“Now we are getting offers in minutes. So this property we sold, we listed it on Monday of last week and on Tuesday we were under contract. We had 19 showings and three offers,” said D’Alessio.
He said he’s not surprised to see Colorado Springs claims one of the study’s top spots.
“Prices of houses are going up and so is wages. It’s also a great place to live. It’s a great place to raise a family,” said D’Alessio.
A study released on Monday by Make Room, a national renter’s advocacy group, reported 370,000 working adults in Colorado spent 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities.
D’Alessio said high rent prices are pushing more people to buy.
“A rent rate may be $200 more than just getting a mortgage on the home,” said D’Alessio.
Plus, D’Alessio said, more Denver real estate agents and their buyers are looking at properties in Colorado Springs.
“Their prices are way higher so consumers are finding better deals here so even though are prices are going up, they’re not as high as the Denver market,” said D’Alessio.
The Trulia study reports the median home value in Colorado Springs as of April 2016 is $230,000 compared with $330,000 in Denver.
D’Alessio said the sweet spot in the market is homes in good condition listed between$190,000 to $250,000.
