Blog entry 4/2/2008 

I had to wait till April 2, so no one would think this is an April fool’s joke. The market is still very good here in Montrose Colorado.  The foreclosure rate is about normal  and we are not seeing people living under bridges or walking away from their homes.A nice community to live in will always be in demand and my favorite saying is “they are still making more people”.  So these people will need some place to live, either rent or buy.  So for the investor a great time and a big news flash….FHA/VA has raised the purchase price limits to $275K.  That is a huge improvement and with 97% financing available, this will open the door to many first time and other home buyers.   PLUS, if you get the seller to contribute up to 3% of the purchase price the buyer gets 100% financing.  

Ok, let’s review, purchase limits $275k, 97% financing, what is wrong with this?  Absolutely nothing.. 

Give us a call and we can clarify how the seller contribution of 3% works. 

In addition to all that good news.. We are rolling out Mountain Shores Village and Estate lots this month.  April 17^th at 5:30 at the Bridges at Black Canyon,  a nice evening get together with food and drink and a huge opportunity to be part of this great development.  One half ac. estate lots, a new urban  village, it is indicative of the Real Estate climate here in Montrose.  We will have pre-release pricing  on these lots for one night only.  RSVP me directly. 

I find it a bit hard to sit down and do this blog, due to the activity in Real Estate; however I promise to be more diligent in getting out the “real” story about Montrose Colorado Real Estate. 

BTW, go to www.resortdestinationproperties.com for a bit of an insight on how we are attracting buyers to this area. 

GREAT FOR 08

Great for 08, could this be the new slogan, with the exception of all the current and proposed commercials for candidates, yes this will be a great year.

Finally after too many years to count we thought it time to take a family vacation and we did and it turned out to be a high point.  Where to go in the middle of a reasonably cold and snowy January?  Mexico, and Port of Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta to be exact.  Excellent location for a winter vacation.  Of those of you who have not travelled to this area, give it a shot it is really nice.  Throw in a great condo, Villa del Palmar Flamingos, a bit of whale watching (Princes Vallarta), great food, great beach also, some zip line activity on the jungle canopy (La Vista canopy adventures) www.lavistaadventures.com  dinner at a restaurant precariously balanced on the top of a mountain, this is getting better all the time.  Take a short walk on the beautiful beach to the small fishing village of Bucerias to bargain with the vendors and you start to feel like you are really on vacation.  BUT the big item was the people, friendly, helpful and thoroughly trained in “customer service”.  I hope I can retain what I learned from them and apply it to you our customers.

So what about Real Estate for 08? Local vs. Regional will again come into play.  Each local micro Real Estate economy (LMREE) will be unto itself, so study that and understand what is going on in your market vs. what you hear on the national news.  As far as Montrose goes, I see up to 8-10 new listings just about every day and closed sales running about half or less, so buyers should have a good choice when searching.  Based on list price of these properties, it seems prices have not fallen or moved into the fire sale category.  BTW the internet is so handy and even on a great vacation; one can spend a bit of time each day keeping up with the market. 

A couple of very exciting projects coming up this first quarter.

Mountain Shores Development will be going to the City of Montrose for Sketch plan review.  This is the time the City looks at the proposed development as to overall design and infrastructure.  After Feb. we hope to start allowing reservations on lots. How to make money on new developments?  Reserve a lot a pre-release pricing; this is before the final plat.  When final plat occurs and we can transfer deeds and by then prices have usually escalated.  You have now some built in equity for a construction loan or you may want to resell and take the profit.  Keep this in mind and you will be updated on the progress of this project.

If you are a seller, read this carefully.  After a year or so of studying the market and understanding where buyers are coming from or not coming from, it was decided that to get Montrose on the map and get the buyers here we must take the preverbal bull by the horns and go get the buyers.  To that end we have developed and are implementing one of the most aggressive advertising campaigns I have seen or been part of.  We will target markets in Phoenix, Southern California and Nevada.  The target market will have the resources for second and third homes, vacation homes, commercial property or investment property.  A combination of consistent and enticing direct mail, major magazine print, major web site presence will be some of the methods used.  Again, I will keep you posted on the progress.

So yes, 08 looks to be a good one.

Housing as a commodity???I doubt the concept of fix and flip and investment Real Estate was foremost in the minds of those WWII veterans when they were looking at homes in Levittown PA.  They were looking for shelter, roof, warm in the winter and cool in the summer place to raise a family and enjoy life.Using homes and housing as shelter prevailed for a long time.  Recently the concept of making money with Real Estate has become a buzz word along with a way of life for some people.  Not to say that in the past there have been wise investors that viewed Real Estate as a highway to wealth.  Consider the golf course and subdivision developer; they have  seen the lighted pathway to riches.   The average Joe has recently joined the crowd in trying to make Real Estate a second or in some circumstances a primary vocation.  Well does it work?  In most cases it does not and has this movement led to or contributed the current situation in the housing market?  For the novice fix and flipper or even the developer, as with most vocations hard work, planning and focus are required to be successful, oh yes, don’t forget money.What I wanted to get across is that housing is just that, a home for you and your family and was primarily developed to keep you warm in the winter, cool in the summer and have a place to invite friends and family over for Sunday dinner.  Yes you can make money in Real Estate and you can also lose money.  For the most part most folks break even after some good investments and then some bad ones.  So when your friend of neighbor brags that he made a killing on selling his home, take it with a grain of salt, he may very well lost his shirt on his last deal.

National and Regional Real Estate, there is a big difference!!Yet another day with Real Estate in the news and the news is typically not too glowing.  You have to wonder when the concept of what a home sells for or how many homes sell, becomes a national news topic.  So it may be a slow news year,  or Real Estate is, or has become, a major business.  I hope when listing to the news you don’t compare your local market to those markets all over the country.  Get a map out and pinpoint your community and then pinpoint the community that was on the news this morning.  If there is a difference of several hundred or a couple hundred miles between them, then the news probably doesn’t apply to your community.  Sounds simple and it is simple.I get cornered several times a day by friends, family and sometime strangers asking me how the Real Estate market is doing in Montrose.  Well it is doing great I tell them.  We have had a great November, 6 closings and more importantly 6 families are going to have a new home for the Christmas holidays.  Yesterday we had two offers on the same home.  People are coming to Montrose, why?  Because it is great place to live, work and play.Don’t let the national news frighten you; focus on your local Real Estate goals.

Wow!! November already.  Is everyone ready for the holiday season??  Well lets take Thanksgiving first… I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  We have a good bit to be thankfull for here at MRE.com.  It really has been a great year, for both sales and meeting some really great folks.  So to all our customers and friends a great big THANK YOU!!With all the news about the housing market, here are some facts on what is going on in this area.  We will be comparing this quarter (3^rd quarter) against last years 3^rd quarter.Overall county wide, and please note that county wide means all incorporated and unicorported area’s, i.e. city of Montrose, city of Olathe and all the west end towns.Sales were off by 77 units compared to last year.  So yes, there are signs of a mild downturn in the overall market.  So what do you do now??  If you are seller, you need to learn how to be the top competitor in your market segment. This means making sure your home is priced at market and it is extremely neat and tidy.  If you are a buyer, umm, could be some excellent buys out there.  However, keep in mind this is not a fire sale area, so watch the market, preferably with the Home Buyers Scouting Report to keep track of what is going on.  Let us help you BUY WISE.Montrose is an excellent place to live, work and play and the prognosis is very, very good for continued growth.  We have had some changes in our office at the front desk.  Lois Sackmann has joined us and brings a wealth of knowledge and customer service to our company.  Marilyn and I will be at the National Association of Realtors annual convention next week.  9/12 through 9/16.  Back in the office on the 19^th.  Again thank you for your continued support and business, it is very much appreciated. 

Scott and Marilyn

Weather is really great now, high 70’s beautiful blue sky, mountains are still covered in snow so the contrast is really great. Real Estate market is also really great for BUYERS. If you are moving here, you can expect some exceptional deals on homes. Our inventory is at an all time high and prices are coming down. Buy low, sell high, well now is the time. I looked at a bank repo yesterday. Modular home in fair shape, needs carpet and paint. Located on almost 2 ac. $129k. Someone will make some money on this one.
If you just like to look, we have the home buyers scouting report available. Great tool for buyers and sellers alike. The program searches the multiple listing service and e-mails you info on listings that meet your criteria. This is in conjunction with Countrywide Home Loans. No obligation, no cost.
Those of you who don’t know much about Montrose, it really is growing, Target and Penny’s coming to town plus many other smaller retail shops.
For investment or a second home this is hard to beat. Remember Telluride is only an hour away.

Welcome to Scotts Real Estate blog. 

I’m a bit new to this blogging, so please be patient, but I’m not new to Real Estate and hopefully I can provide all with some really good info on Real Estate.

Montrose Colorado, a very, very nice place to live, work and play.  We really haven’t been discoverd, so that is good if you are looking for property in an emerging market.  Great appreciation along with great living.  Key word today.. Still a buyers market.

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