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Colorado has some great First Time Home buyer programs but what if your not a First Time Home Buyer well let me just say in Colorado Springs it's a buyers market. The bottom line is it's a great time to buy. Builders are knocking thousands off the prices of their homes and offering great incentives. Sellers are lowering the prices of their homes to get them sold. You can get more home for your money these days. Now is the time to buy. You know that old saying buy low and sell high. Now is the time to buy low and we would like to help.

 

Happy Holidays to everyone!  

Ken Asher

Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions.

Lets talk! Ken Asher (719) 930-7817  or  Visit our First Time Home Buyer Page 

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   Home prices fell nearly 2 percent last month in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region, the first decline in a little more than three years.
   Sales also were down sharply last month. Supplies of homes on the market, meanwhile, were way up.
   “That’s why we’re lagging downward,” Benjamin Day, manager of ERA Shields Real Estate’s northern Colorado Springs office, said of prices. “There’s just too many options out there.”
   Industry experts were unsure whether the price drop is the start of a trend or a onemonth blip.
   The median price of homes sold in March fell to $208,000, a 1.9 percent drop from $212,000 in the same month last year, according to figures released Thursday by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors.
   It was the first year-overyear decline since median prices dipped 0.2 percent in January 2004.
   The median is the midpoint of all prices, with half the homes sold in March going for more than $208,000 and the other half selling for less. Real estate industry experts consider the median more reliable because average prices can be skewed by a few very expensive or inexpensive sales. In March, the area’s average price rose 1.4 percent, to $254,809.
   Last month, the supply of homes for sale swelled to nearly 5,700, a 26.1 percent increase over March 2006 and the first time March listings have topped 5,000, according to Realtors Association figures that go back to late 1995. March home sales fell to less than 900 from the same time last year, a 14.1 percent decline.
   Falling prices and sales and rising inventories aren’t the only bad news for the area’s housing industry; new-home construction during the first quarter of 2007 is down nearly 45 percent compared with the same time last year.
   A one-month drop in prices, however, doesn’t indicate a downward spiral, some real estate experts and one local economist said.
   “I’d be very leery of drawing a dramatic conclusion on month-to-month changes in median prices,” said Springs economist Dave Bamberger. “I’d wait several months to get a better fix on what the trend is.”
   Some home sales completed in March reflect contracts and prices that were negotiated a few months ago, when weather was bad and sales were particularly slow, said Kevin Patterson of the Patterson Group, a Springs real estate firm.
   “I don’t think the sky is falling,” he said. “I think the year started slowly and with the 30-to 60-day cycle between contract writing and closing, we’re still seeing the effects of January and February.”
   The market’s strengths and weaknesses vary neighborhood to neighborhood, said Day of ERA Shields Real Estate.
   For instance, the Tri-Lakes communities of Monument, Palmer Lake and Woodmoor — where many people live in large homes in scenic areas and drive to jobs in the Springs — are among the hardest-hit.
   In March, Tri-Lakes homes typically sold for slightly less than sellers’ asking prices, Day said. So far this year, homes listed for sale in the area have spent an average 110.7 days on the market, he said.
   Based on the pace of sales up to this point, and with the number of homes for sale in the area, Day estimated that there’s a whopping 10.6-month supply of homes for sale in the Tri-Lakes area.
   But Briargate, the sprawling suburban subdivision on the Springs’ north side, is in better shape.
   Briargate homes sold in March for slightly more than sellers’ asking prices, Day said. So far this year, Briargate homes have sat on the market an average 90 days. And while it will take 10.6 months to exhaust the Tri-Lakes’ supply of homes, Briargate’s supply is a little less than six months’ worth.
   “Where a person lives matters,” Day said. “The dirt that your house occupies is really critical.”
   Home prices might remain flat for several months before rising later in the year, when sales activity typically picks up, Day said.
   “I’m not optimistic we’ll be seeing that before June, and we may not see it through much of the year,” Day said of price hikes. “There’s just so much to sell through.”
   Still, plenty of people are looking to buy, and fixed-rate mortgages in the neighborhood of 6 percent remain affordable for many people, Patterson said.
   But with many homes for sale, buyers are taking time to make sure they don’t miss a good deal, Patterson said. In the past, some buyers looked at 10 to 20 homes before making an offer; now, some are sifting through 30 or 40 homes, he said.
   Homes that are competitively priced, in good condition and attractively displayed to buyers when they walk in the door will draw a crowd and offers, Patterson added.
   “If they see a good value,” he said, “they rally toward it. I’ve seen some homes sell in a week.”
   
WHAT IT MEANS    

A housing slowdown is good news for buyers, but tough on sellers.
   Large numbers of homes for sale and softer demand means buyers have plenty of choices, can negotiate lower prices and maybe even wrangle concessions out of sellers — such as getting them to pay closing costs.
   Sellers, however, must price their homes to reflect the fierce competition in today’s market. They don’t have to lose money, but an overpriced home means a long wait as buyers keep on looking. Sellers also must get their homes in top shape — cleaned, painted and repaired.

By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE

 

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   Colorado Springs tied with Portland, Ore., for third place in Earth Day Network’s environmental ranking of 72 U.S. cities based on more than 200 environmental, health and quality of life indicators.
   The Springs ranked first among mid-sized cities, those with populations of 250,000 to 500,000.
   First overall went to Fargo, N.D. Second was Burlington, Vt. Denver ranked 13th. Detroit finished last.
   The report, released Thursday, evaluated toxic and waste issues, air quality, drinking and surface water, quality of life, parks and recreation opportunities, human and public health and global warming and climate change.
   Colorado Springs scored highest for human and public health, air quality and quality of life and lowest for drinking and surface water and parks and recreation opportunities.
   “It’s a reflection of what a great place we have to live in Colorado Springs,” Mayor Lionel Rivera said.
   He noted the city’s water supply comes from mountain reservoirs, local governments have successfully secured federal funding to reduce traffic jams and the pleasant climate encourages people to hike, run and bicycle.
   The 72 cities in the Urban Environment Report are the 50 largest in the U.S., plus the largest cities in each state.
   Earth Day Network said in a release the analysis is the first of its kind to analyze so much data and to use new components to define environment.
   The Springs’ ranking comes on the heels of Money Magazine listing Colorado Springs last year as the best big city in America — a designation worth a million dollars in publicity and a draw for investors considering the Springs.
   Mike Kazmierski, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp., said the environmental recognition will be used to promote the Springs.
   “Obviously, one of our selling points for our community is we have a great quality of life,” he said. “It just reinforces other survey results that indicates that Colorado Springs is very high nationally in those areas.”

By PAM ZUBECK THE GAZETTE 
   To read the report, go to

 

   A slumping national real estate market, competition from neighboring subdivisions and a severe winter have caused a major setback for development of the 23,000-acre Banning-Lewis Ranch in eastern Colorado Springs.
   John Cassiani, who oversees project operations for the Banning Lewis Ranch Management Co., told the City Council this week to delay building a wastewater plant for the subdivision until at least 2014. Plans had called for completion in 2012.
   “We don’t think we’re going to need the plant for a few years,” Cassiani told council members sitting as the Colorado Springs Utility Board. “2012 is a very, very aggressive schedule. We don’t need it for two to three years later than that.”
   Mayor Lionel Rivera warned Cassiani, saying, “You run the risk of development picking up, and we delay construction till 2014, then we don’t grant any water taps, and you’re stuck.”
   “We realize that,” Cassiani said.
   Cassiani later told The Gazette the original projection to have 3,000 homes built by 2012 has been cut in half.
   Extreme cold weather has frozen the ground too deep to dig trenches for utility lines, he said. Slower home sales and competition from surrounding subdivisions also put a damper on the developer’s plans, he said.
   Progress on the ranch, expected to be home to 175,000 more residents by 2050, stalled after the owners, Capital Pacific Holdings of California, bought the land in 2001 and created the Banning Lewis company as a holding company to develop it.
   The ranch was assembled by Raymond “Pinky” Lewis in the early part of the 20th century and was known for hosting political gatherings.
   It was sold in the early 1960s to Arizona investors who lost it in foreclosure. The property eventually ended up in the hands of of a Mobil Oil subsidiary. Frank Aries, a flamboyant Arizona developer, bought the ranch in 1985 and got it annexed into the city in 1988. He later deeded it back to a failed Arizona savings and loan.
   It was the largest property owned by a savings and loan during the government bailout and was sold to a relative of the Saudi royal family. He, in turn, sold it to Californiabased Capital Pacific in 2001.
   Meantime, growth has skirted the development to the north and south and on its eastern rim.
   After Capital Pacific bought the land, it appeared the ranch would be developed, prompting the city to begin designing the sewage plant.
   The plant will process 8 million gallons a day to start, with expansion to 30 million gallons a day. It will be east of Interstate 25 on Clear Spring Ranch, a conglomeration of Springs Utilities’ facilities south of the city.
   The annexation agreement called for the developer to pay for the plant, estimated at $100 million, but Cassiani balked when he learned the city is looking at using a new processing method.
   Called membrane bioreactor technology, the process would make the plant smaller and reduce odor.
   Cassiani said if the new technology costs more than a traditional approach, the city should pay the difference.
   Rivera disagreed. “I don’t think we’re in the business of sharing the cost,” he said. “The annexation agreement says the developer will pay for it.”
   He also said, “We want that effluent as clean as it can be going down the creek.”
   Cassiani responded, “I know how important Fountain Creek is in the whole game plan for the Southern Delivery System and the structure with Pueblo. But we all agreed the Chevy plan would be the mindset, not a Cadillac.”
   Fountain Creek has been a lightning rod in negotiations between Colorado Springs and Pueblo for the SDS, a pipeline that will transport Pueblo Reservoir water to the Springs’ east side and the Banning-Lewis Ranch. Pueblo opposes the project in part because of Colorado Springs’ repeated illegal sewage discharges into the creek, which flows into the Arkansas River east of Pueblo.
   The city is negotiating with Banning Lewis to buy land for an east-side reservoir serving the planned development.

 

By PAM ZUBECK THE GAZETTE

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What a difference a year makes.

In 2005, home construction in Colorado Springs and El Paso County soared to a second straight record-setting year.

In 2006, the pace of home building fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, a reduction triggered, in part, by shaky consumer confidence, a smaller pool of buyers and rising numbers of foreclosures.

This year, however, builders are spreading optimism the way bricklayers spread mortar.

They’re not saying they’ll build more homes this year, and activity might remain slow for the first six months. But by the second half of 2007, builders expect
the pace to pick up as more troops come to Fort Carson. One local economist also says consumer confidence should improve as gasoline prices remain stable and mortgage rates stay relatively affordable.

“Everybody is fairly optimistic about this year,” said George Hess, president of Springs-based Vantage Homes and board president of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs. “The last six months have not been easy.”

Hess said record numbers of homes constructed or started in 2004 and 2005 reflected rock-bottom mortgage rates, and the housing industry shouldn’t have expected that pace to continue.

Rhonda McDonald, president of Springs-based Creek-Stone Homes and former HBA president, said a lot of what happens this year will be tied to the comings and goings of soldiers at Fort Carson.

“We really think the first half of the year is still going to be a bit of a struggle, but the last half of the year, we expect things to settle in a little bit,” she said.

Builders say they’re already seeing some positive signs.

The number of quality buyers — those who easily qualify for mortgages or who already own homes — coming to look at homes has picked up, Hess said. And the numbers of buyers canceling their purchases has dropped, he said.

Pulte Homes, a Michiganbased builder that serves entry-level buyers, also is seeing fewer numbers of cancellations, said Randy Carpenter, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte Homes of Colorado Springs.

“It won’t be as good as 2004 and 2005, but we’re starting to see some good signs that the market is picking back up,” Carpenter said.

In 2006, single-family building permits totaled a little less than 3,500 in El Paso County, plunging 35.2 percent from the previous year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

It was the fewest number of permits since about 3,200 were issued in 1995, and far below the 5,000-plus permits issued in the back-to-back record years of 2004 and 2005.

Many buyers who might not have bought homes during those two years jumped into the market to take advantage of super-low mortgage rates — which left fewer buyers available in 2006, economists have said.

In addition, rising gasoline prices last year probably hurt consumer confidence and took money out of buyers’ pockets, while some buyers opted for more inexpensive townhomes, said Fred Crowley, an economist at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

More foreclosures in 2006 also resulted in cheaper homes being put back on the market, providing competition for the new home market, Crowley said.

The 2006 slowdown delivered a blow to the construction industry, which employs thousands of carpenters, framers, painters and other workers.

Several builders — from local firms Vantage and Classic Cos. to national companies such as Pulte — said they laid off workers when production sagged. The slowdown also was felt among plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors.

Heidi and Greg Smith, who own Affordable Plumbing and Heat Inc. in Colorado Springs, said they were hit by a one-two punch in 2006.

First, prices for copper and other materials skyrocketed. When the company hoped to offset those higher costs by doing more work, home builders cut back on construction. The result: Affordable Plumbing laid off 26 of 47 employees.

“Instead of the subs being able to recoup the losses, building is down by 25 percent,” Heidi Smith said. “So now it’s a fight to get the work, and you have to bid as low as you possibly can to undercut everybody else to get the work.”

Governments also feel the pinch when construction slows. Sales taxes on lumber, drywall and other building materials pump millions of dollars into the coffers of Colorado Springs, El Paso County and the state, which use the money to build parks, fill potholes and provide other services.

Crowley said he expects single-family building permits will total about 3,500 in 2007, slightly lower than what he suggested in October.

Still, Crowley said, consumer confidence has rebounded, household incomes are climbing somewhat and mortgage rates — still around 6 percent for 30-year, fixed-rate loans — should remain stable this year.

Meanwhile, El Paso County foreclosures totaled 2,570 last year, the most since 2,937 in 1989, according to the County Trustee’s office. The record for foreclosures was 3,476 in 1988.

While the county saw a whopping foreclosure total last year, the number should be kept in context.

When foreclosures hit a record in the late 1980s, about 150,000 fewer people lived in the county and foreclosures were spread out over a smaller number of households. As a result, the area’s foreclosure rate — or the number of foreclosures per household — was about five times worse in 1988 than today.

Crowley said he expects foreclosures to fall to about 2,200 this year. Variable rate mortgages that climbed last year and pushed some homeowners into foreclosure should stabilize, while lower gas prices “won’t run rampant” and should leave more money in the pockets of consumers, he said. 

By Rich Laden The Gazette 

Home sales continued their slump last month, another sign that a national housing slowdown has reached the Pikes Peak region.

Single-family home sales fell nearly 20 percent in October when compared with the same month a year ago, according to the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. It was the fifth straight month that home sales fell.

The inventory of homes listed for sale during October increased by almost one-third over the same time a year ago.

“It’s dead,” said Jesse Chadwick, a broker associate with Re/Max Partners in Colorado Springs. “Unfortunately, the market is saturated with new homes, which hurts the resale market. And an overwhelming amount of resales and the lack of buyers compounds the problems even further.”

With so many homes for sale, “the phones should be ringing,” Chadwick said. “But the activity is so slow. The qualified buyers we’re looking for, the inventory is way low on them.”

Even with a swollen supply and a reduction in demand, the median price for homes sold in October rose to $213,500, a 3.8 percent increase over the same month in 2005.

Whether prices will continue to climb is hard to forecast. Nationwide, some cities already have begun to see a price dip, although that trend hasn’t taken hold yet in the Springs area.

Because supply is up and demand is down, sellers should be prepared to lower their asking prices, said Harry Salzman, a veteran real estate agent and owner of Salzman Real Estate Services Ltd. in Colorado Springs. But many aren’t, and their homes are sitting.

Salzman blames inexperienced real estate agents who are afraid to shoot straight with their clients and tell them they need to lower their expectations.

“They haven’t experienced when there’s a change in market conditions,” Salzman said of less-experienced agents. “It’s been kind of a gravy train. You list the house today, and it’s sold in a matter of days and weeks. Well, it’s not like that right now.”

Salzman said sellers need to understand that if they put a price tag on their home that’s 5 percent to 10 percent less than they might have sought a few years ago, they’ll make up the difference if they buy a house from somebody else who’s also lowered their asking price.

“It’s hard for younger Realtors to understand and explain that,” Salzman said.

Then again, some sellers can’t afford to lower their asking prices, Chadwick said.

Many sellers refinanced their homes to pay off credit cards and other consumer debt, Chadwick said. As a result, they don’t have enough equity built up in their homes, and can’t afford to lower their asking price because they need to make enough profit on the sale to cover thousands of dollars in closing costs, he said.

In general, real estate industry experts blame the housing slowdown on not enough new jobs being created; foreclosed homes being put on the market, which add to the supply; and 40-year-low mortgage rates that pulled many renters and apartment dwellers into the market over the past few years, but which dried up the pool of buyers this year.

The Realtors Association figures reflect the sale of mostly existing homes that were handled by real estate agents during the month of October. Homes that were sold by owners weren’t included.

Most of the home sales take place in El Paso and Teller counties, with a few in other Front Range counties.

OCTOBER HOUSING AT A GLANCE*

Home sales: 903, down 19.7 percent.

Home listings: 5,750, up 32.5 percent.

Median price: $213,500, up 3.8 percent.

Average price: $263,811, up 9.1 percent.

*Figures are compared with the same month a year ago.

SOURCE: Pikes Peak Association of Realtors

By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE

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Inventories pile up in El Paso, Teller counties

   The Pikes Peak region’s cooling housing market is starting to feel downright frigid.
   September single-family home sales plunged nearly 28 percent when compared with the same month a year ago, the largest decline measured on a percentage basis since December 1994, according to figures released by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors.
   Inventories, meanwhile, were bulging. Homes listed for sale in September were up by one-third over the same month a year ago.
   Most of the Realtors Association figures are for resales, and reflect mostly home sales in El Paso and Teller counties.
   The group’s September numbers come on the heels of a slowdown in new home construction; single-family building permits last month were down 45 percent from the same time last year.
   Doug Barber, president of the Rawhide Co. in Colorado Springs and former Realtors Association board chairman, said Tuesday that sellers are partly to blame for rising supplies and slowing sales.
   “A lot of sellers are refusing to reduce their prices and that’s why the inventories are so high,” Barber said. “Sales have slowed down and the sellers are slow to respond to the market change.”
   Sellers must put a price tag on their homes for what the market will bear, not necessarily for what they think they should get based on their purchase price years earlier, Barber said.
   Rising numbers of foreclosed homes that are put back on the market don’t help, he added. Year to date, foreclosures are running nearly 15 percent ahead of the same period last year, and El Paso County remains on pace to have its worst year for foreclosures since 1989, according to figures released this week by the El Paso County Public Trustee’s Office.
   Some buyers have stayed on the sidelines, in part, because of skittishness over the economy, said Nancy Rusinak of Rusinak Real Estate in the Springs. Rising gas prices and mortgage rates scared some buyers, she said.
   The media are to blame, too, said Rosalinda Chaney, a broker associate with Keller Williams Premier Realty and new Realtors Association board chairwoman. Even if they’re reading about a national housing slowdown, some buyers decide to hold off on their local purchase, she said.
   “There are some slowdowns and the the bubble is bursting in some areas,” Chaney said. “But Colorado Springs is a whole different market. And I think seeing the news, when you constantly see what’s happening on the news, it’s constantly negative.”
   If there’s good news for owners, it’s that prices continue to rise. The median price for homes sold in September rose to $215,000, a 3.2 percent increase over that month a year ago.
   Gloomy housing news doesn’t automatically make it a buyers’ market, the experts said. Sure, there are plenty of choices. Yet if some sellers refuse to lower prices to match the market, then it’s unrealistic to say buyers have the upper hand, Barber said. Chaney said some sellers will take their homes off the market for a while rather than drop prices.
   For homes that are priced right and in good condition, however, competition will be stiff and buyers shouldn’t wait, Rusinak said.
   “Sellers who are smart have priced their homes accordingly,” she said. “They have priced them below the market to sell them. They’re clean, they’re in good shape and they are good buys and they are good values.”
   
BY THE NUMBERS

A look at September housing statistics and how they compare with the same month last year: Sales: 888, down 27.9 percent. Listings: 5,929, up 33.8 percent. Median price: $215,000, up 3.2 percent. Foreclosures: 193, down 4.5 percent.
Single-family building permits: 219, down 45 percent.
SOURCES: Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, El Paso County Public
   Trustee’s Office, Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

 

By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE

A house in El Paso County under $200,000 is getting harder to find — at least according to new data the U.S. Census Bureau released today.

The median value of local homes has increased about 30 percent in the past five years, from $147,100 in 2000 to $191,200 in 2005, the American Community Survey reports. Nationwide, median home values increased by 32 percent.

But these and other housing numbers in the survey carry a big qualifier. The annual American Community Survey is not like the U.S. Census survey that compiles information gathered by census takers. The 2005 American Community Survey results were based on responses from 4,800 El Paso County residents who are required by law to fill in the mailed questionnaire.

Residents determine the value of their homes and answers to other questions that in this go around included housing characteristics such as heating fuel source, occupancy and mortgage status.

“They’re taking self-reported values of homes, not actual transaction values, so there is some question about how valid the numbers are, especially when you’re trying to make major conclusions," said Dave Bamberger, economic consultant with David Bamberger & Associates.

Still, he said, the numbers point to a housing trend that’s been developing over time.

“Affordable housing is going away, there’s no doubt about that. It’s almost impossible to find an entry-level, single-family detached home for under $200,000,” Bamberger said. “What we’re seeing is a switch to townhomes and condominiums.”

A shrinking inventory of cheaper homes isn’t a surprise to some groups that work to help buyers put a roof over their heads.

“We find more and more people who can’t qualify for a traditional home,” said Paul Johnson, executive director for Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity.

Costs of building materials and land have soared, making it difficult for some families to find a home.

“Affordable homes are disappearing,” Johnson said. “The entry-level homes for people who are not making a lot of money are being priced out of their ability to pay.”

But that doesn’t mean houses are beyond the affordability of buyers, said Fred Crowley, senior economist with the Southern Colorado Economic Forum and professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

“During that same period, 2000 to 2005, interest rates dropped 30.3 percent, so your income now buys more principal and less interest,” he said. "Houses are also going up in value; it isn’t that affordable houses are being removed from the market.”

The inventory of houses worth between $50,000 and $99,999 has dropped by more than half since 2000, to 5,847, while homes valued between $100,000 to $149,000 are down by about one-third, to 27,372.

Affordability is based on several factors, Crowley said, including mortgage rates, income levels and down payments.

“So while the price of housing may have gone up, people may be better able to afford them,” he said.

The county’s median household income rose by 8.3 percent, or $3,870, since 2000, from $46,844 to $50,714, according to the Census Bureau. And per capita income increased 13 percent.

Affordability is a challenge for many homebuyers such as Sheila Wells, an environmental engineer, and her boyfriend, Brian Rygwelski, an electrical engineer.

Rygwelski works in Pueblo, while Wells’ job takes her to southeast Denver. To split their commutes, they’ve looked for a home on Colorado Springs’ southwest side and hope to find one in a mature neighborhood with trees and landscaping.

Their price range initially was $150,000 to $250,000. They decided the higher end might strap their budget, while there wasn’t anything they found at the lower end.

When they fixed their sights around $200,000 and went house hunting last weekend, they found one they liked and hope to make an offer.

“There were 31 or 34 houses for sale in that one small area,” Wells said of an area southeast of Cheyenne Meadows Road and Colorado Highway 115. “I’ve been looking at houses since May. In the past, they were gone in a day. But I think we found some decent homes in the high $100,000s.”

Renters also are seeing higher prices, an increase of nearly $100 a month from 2000 to 2005, to a median monthly payment of $744. More than one-third of the area’s 75,000 renters spent 35 percent or more of their monthly income on rent. Crowley said the standard is that no more than 28 percent of income should be spent on rent or a mortgage payment.

On the other end of the spectrum, the number of homeowners reporting their abode is now worth more than a million dollars has quadrupled from 230 in 2000 to 923 in 2005.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Million dollar babies:

The number of million dollar homes in the area has quadrupled, from 230 in 2000 to 923 in 2005.

Here comes the sun:

514 homes used solar energy as a heating source, more than three times as many in 2000; 1,277 homes used wood, nearly double from five years earlier.

Cell phone power:

About 15,700 homes had no phone service last year, up more than six times the 2,300 homes in 2000.

More renter woes:

More than one-third of the area’s nearly 75,000 renters spent 35 percent or more of their monthly household income on rent.

Not any larger:

Homes had a median of 5.9 rooms, unchanged from 2000.

Crowded driveways:

90,799 homes had two vehicles, compared with 82,530 in 2000; 45,475 homes

had three or more vehicles, up from 38,793 five years earlier.

Renters feeling the pinch:

The median monthly rent has gone up nearly $100, from $657 in 2000 to last year’s $744.

Upward mobility:

Median household income was $50,714 last year, up 8.3 percent from 2000’s $46,844.

More homes:

148,360 single-family, detached homes, an increase of about 19,000 from five years earlier.

More costly:

Median-home values were $191,200, up about 30 percent from $147,100 in 2000.


By DEBBIE KELLEY and RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE

Contact Ken Asher for more details. (719) 930-7817 Toll Free 866-930-7817

Visit: First Time Home Buyer Programs