The real estate market in Salida and overall in the 5-county area served by the Chaffee County Board of Realtors shows big gains. While sales are still way off from the high point of 2007, they have steadily gained over the summer. The most dismal month was May, when 5 homes were sold in Salida. Sales crept up from 8 in June and July to 11 in August and now 20 in September. Nevertheless, sales are still slow when compared year to date January to September: 95 in 2009, 132 in 2008, 181 in 2007 and 179 in 2006.
The median sales price in Salida bounces around, for September it was up to $277,500. By using the median as the measure, it removes the extreme low and high sales, and, as expected, half of the sales are under $260,000 and half are over $260,000. There were even three sales over $500,000 .
Year to date sales in the five-county area for all types of properties totaled 419. This includes residential, homes with acreage, commercial, land, farm and ranches. The area covered is Chaffee, Park, Lake, Saguache and Fremont counties. For the same period in 2008, sales were 581, in 2007, sales were 867 and in 2006, sales were 810. There’s lots of catching up to do!
Good news! Inventory is down. In September, 1952 properties were for sale, compared to 2096 in August and 2226 in July.
Few people comment about these real estate reports. Are they of interest? Are there other topics you’d like to know about. For example: What is the MLS? How does the assessor determine the value for a property? Is it accurate? Is it current? When are sales the highest? Lowest? When is a good time to buy? Sell? Who is buying property in Chaffee County? Where are they moving from?
Let me know what subjects are of interest to you.
Leslie…Thank you for taking the time to post this valuable information. It is encouraging to know that while we still have a way to go, the trends are moving in a positive direction. I always enjoyed your e-mail newsletters, and really like reading this on The Citizen. Please keep it up. I know many feel the same way.
Blue skies…Lee
It is good to see that things are turning around out west as well. Thank you for the update. What a great venue for keeping people updated on what is going on in Salida.
In Charleston, SC we have finally seen the inventory “bottom out” and number of sales have picked up. We anticipate a continued drop in prices until some of the inventory is cleared but it appears that the semi-truck is turning the corner. With the interest rates as low as they are, and expected to rise as the economy improves, people are stepping into the market.
Chris…Good to hear from you, and the improving news from Charleston. Susan and I will be there for the month of Nov and hope to see you. I have an amazing waterfront lot in Darrell Creek I would love to sell so I can move on something here in Salida. If you have anyone looking for .8 ac. pristine maritime forest, very private, short dock, let me know. Best wishes to you and Bruce.
Lee
Leslie,
I’d like to know where people are moving from, what type of new business development might be underway in the valley and the average age of new Salida transplants.
Eli.
Informative article, thanks Leslie. It’s always interesting to hear another realtor’s point of view. I agree, the market is improving and I believe it will continue in a positive direction. We’ve (hopefully) seen the worst and am ever grateful that the market never sunk very far.