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Should I buy a house or not? Should I sell my property or not? These are the questions being asked and fairly so. In Buena Vista, the real estate market is slow and if picking up…not doing it very quickly. Everyone is waiting for the bounce back and I’m not sure there is going to be one.
I think we are where we are. This is it for now. Certainly sales will continue and even increase as the economy strengthens, but for now we need to think of current conditions as the new norm. Decisions that are made regarding real estate or any other matter should be made on the basis of how conditions are today…not what we expect. We are not going back to the old times or to any times…we are fundamentally changing the the way business works and the way customers and businesses interact.
It is universally time for change and here it is. That means we need to learn the new ways of doing business and it has started by a jump from the Internet, which worked well and we got used to , to the social media ideas of direct contact with minimal middle persons. The social media now is in the state home computers were in the late 70s. It will be a few years before we see the full impact of SM, but I’m betting it will take us to a place we have not thought of yet!
Far from the glistening shores a wave has broken in our valley. It is a wave of folks that have come here to play and enjoy what we in the Upper Arkansas experience daily. The Collegiate Peaks bike race was yesterday with some mountain biking today. The river is full of rafters and kayakers getting ready for Paddle Fest next weekend…a big kickoff for the white-water season. There are already campers along North Cottonwood Creek and Cottonwood Pass will open this week, allowing easier access to the very high country. Daytime temperatures are hitting the 70s, lows in the 30s, the trees and flowers are out, the sky is blue and there is still snow in the mountains.
For those of us in real estate, we know that mixed in with the weekend warriors are buyers, deciding that they might as well live where they play…or at least have a second home here. There are many places in the country I have not visited, but I have never been anywhere that offers a bigger variety of outdoor adventures on a year around basis. If you are done with adventure, this is also a great place to sit, so if you can’t live here, at least pay us a visit. If you decide to check us out, I’d be happy to assist!
Now that the weather is warming and the Arkansas River flowing fuller, I have noticed more activity along and in the river. I see kayakers and fisherfolk as usual, but this spring I have noticed gold prospectors. There are a number of them around here and it is largely a hobby. I’m thinking that some folks with time on their hands and a pan in their hands could turn a few flakes into a few bucks.
While panning for gold in the Arkansas may deliver some glitter, there are a lot of old mines around here that turned out gold for years and I have to think that there are at least a few nuggets left. Many of the mines may not be safe to enter, but I would not be surprised to see an increase in the interest of mining claims as the economy decides what to do. There are never a lot of mining claims on the market, but there are some and I’ll bet there are some willing sellers. There is still time to strike it rich!
Real estate chatter in Buena Vista over the last few months has been about how far will property values drop as a result of the nation-wide real estate upheaval. Well some results just arrived in the mail from the county assessor and from all the folks I have talked to the county values are up and quite noticeably…in some cases 30% or so.
I recall the last time the valuations came out they seemed a bit high, but the market soon caught up with them. Will that be the case this time? Are property values really up that much here? None of us in the business thought there would be much of a drop, if any. Time will tell how this will pan out and once property sales pick up, we’ll have an idea of what the market is thinking…for now we know what the assessor is thinking.
Buena Vista is a great outdoor play area…anytime of year. I try to get out as much as I can, so yesterday I decided to do my 3-mile hike above the Arkansas River. As soon as I had climbed the first hill and was breathing heavily, my cell phone rang. Now, there are certainly many views about cell phones disturbing the quietness of the trail. I happen to consider the great open spaces out here my extended office. So I sat on a nearby rock and talked to the caller about mining claims and what she would be able to do with hers. With some follow-through, this conversation may lead to a listing or a sale. It was on this same hillside about six years ago that I negotiated a purchase of a house, and two years ago I had a contract-defining conversation with a client as I topped a 13,000 foot peak.
Certainly I “get” the idea about being quiet on the trail and I abide by trail etiquette. But, when you live in this part of the Colorado Rockies, it is an easy decision when deciding whether to spend even more time in the office.
If you want to discuss real estate with me, feel free to call anytime, but if I sound out of breath you will know why.
Buena Vista is certainly unique because of its climate, the stunning size and beauty of the Rockies on one side of town, the hum of the Arkansas River on the other side and the endless outdoor activities that are available.
One of the overlooked features of Buena Vista is the eclectic nature of the housing. There is a property for most tastes. We have always had the old in-town houses that are reminders of the old west. These houses on the west side of town are one-of-a-kind and make up very walkable, well treed neighborhoods. Also, there are the newer, more uniform neighborhoods on the east side of town that offer an easy walk to the schools and Main Street.
Outside of town there are subdivisions with larger, more elegant homes on two or more acres. Most subdivisions are a few miles from the town center and of course, there are the family ranches spreading along the highway to the south and north of Buena Vista.
The newest addition to Buena Vista real estate is South Main. This not everyone’s idea of Colorado living, but it is a unique offering in the real estate market. South Main is a very “green” and eco-friendly neighborhood. Perched along the side of the Arkansas River with its river-trails and in-river play holes, this neo-urbanistic development is a bright and cheery sight to see while walking the hill-side trails.
For the more adventurous, there are off-grid houses in the middle of nowhere with stunning views. For very basic living, there is always a mining claim with a yurt on it.
Whatever your living style, we can probably find you a house to your liking here…and when not in your house, there is plenty to do along the river or in the mountains.
The big spring snowstorm is cranking up and Colorado is going to get dumped on. Buena Vista…somewhat protected on all sides…may get a foot, but the higher mountains are looking for a good three feet.. In Colorado, these March and April storms can bring major amounts of water and Coloradans expect and love these storms. When this was mentioned to a relative back east, the response was why would you love a dump of snow after spring has gotten underway?
The reason is that Colorado depends on the mountain snow pack for its water. At our elevation everything flows away from us, not toward us. Without a big snow pack, we run low on water by summer and when severe, irrigation of crops can be stopped at great loss to growers! Another aspect of Colorado’s problem is that since out rivers run into other states, those states also rely on our water and by agreement we must deliver it…and we get what is left and often that is not enough.
So even though some of the ski areas have closed and spring here…snow delivery is always welcome!
One thing that property buyers have to get used to in Buena Vista is the lack of hustle and bustle. In fact, there are days when I could use a bit more…but it is a great place to live. Those who come from large cities…and I am one… occasionally feel a little isolated here on the east flank of the Continental Divide. After all it is about two hours to Colorado Springs and Denver…that is where we go when we need a fix of culture or city life.
While talking to bankers, brokers and other town folk this week, we all agreed that this mountain-town isolation has served us well over the last two years. We do not have a lot of foreclosures and mortgage problems. The housing market has not been flooded and while sales are way down, values are holding.
Actually, the main connections between Buena Vista and the Front Range cites are the roads. The housing market, the weather and the pace of life are largely independent.
Recent numbers indicate that home values are down and down a lot in some parts of the country. In Denver, the drop is about 5%, certainly not much when compared to some of the cities in the far Southwest where value drops are near 33%. Here in the mountains, it will be a while before we have hard numbers, but colleagues say, and I agree, that the number will not be large. In fact, we have seen no real evidence of value loss, but I suppose there will be some.
Certainly sales are down. Down about 35% in 2008, but of the houses that did sell, the average sale price was up a bit over the 2007 average sale price. This has been a trend in the Colorado mountains over the last couple of years. From north to south along the Rockies, in the high-country, as we call it, values if not soaring upward, seem not to be going down.
We are patiently watching as 2009 unfolds. There are many potential buyers looking at properties in Buena Vista, but most have been slow to make an offer. Meanwhile, the property values are holding and we here in the mountains are quite happy that we are here. Come live where you play!
I was in the weather business for 30 years. I love keeping track of the weather. Here in Colorado, water is always an issue since our water comes from the winter snow pack.
The has been a dry winter and we are behind in mountain snow all across the state. But now it is Spring and today Colorado is getting hammered with a major snow storm and everyone seems to be excited. The mountains will end up with a couple of feet of new snow and the valleys with perhaps a foot. March and April are the months when we do this and we all hope for it. And in a couple of days, snow at lower elevations will melt, the sky will be blue, the high peaks bright white and today a memory. I can not think of a better place to live.
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Welcome! Buena Vista, at 8,000 feet, sits in the Upper Arkansas Valley surrounded by 13,000 and 14,000 foot peaks in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. This area is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and is a second-home or retirement community for those who love the beauty and high-country adventure. I invite you to pay us a visit.
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