Want to know what's happening to local home values?
Colorado Springs-area homeowners have grown accustomed to rising home
prices from one year to the next. That changed last year.
Against the backdrop of the nation's housing slump and foreclosure
crisis, and a worsening U.S. economy, the region's
more-than-a-decade-long streak of yearly price increases came to a halt
in 2007.
Click on the links below to read what the newspaper found and stories
about housing trends in 2007.
This interactive version of The Gazette's special report allows users to find your neighborhood and see dynamic charts about each area. Each neighborhood has a profile including the median price of homes that sold in the neighborhood, the typical size of the homes that sold and how home values have changed year-over-year.
Local Real Estate Headlines
CHILL FACTOR: Colorado Springs market takes rare hit
By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE
Colorado Springs-area homeowners have grown accustomed to rising home prices from one year to the next. That changed last year. Against the backdrop of the nation's housing slump and foreclosure crisis, and a worsening U.S. economy, the region's more-than-a-decade-long streak of yearly price increases came to a halt in 2007. In its third annual analysis of the area's housing market and appreciation rates, The Gazette found that the median price of all single-family homes that sold last year in Colorado Springs and El Paso County fell to $225,900, a 0.5 percent drop from $227,000 in 2006.
Experts differ on price effect of foreclosures
There's little disputing El Paso County's dramatic rise in foreclosures. More than 3,500 foreclosures - a legal action in which a lender acts to reclaim property for nonpayment of a loan - were filed in the county last year, which broke a 19-year-old record.
THE SHORT SALE: Lender takes lower payoff, owner forestalls foreclosure
By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE
Stetson Hills homeowner Eric Saunders admits he wasn't very smart when he took out a pair of 125 percent mortgages on his home in 2000 and 2007. He used the money to refinance his original mortgage, consolidate debt, buy a central air conditioning system and pay for new carpeting, among other expenses. Now he says he owes about $260,000, and probably will pay for getting in over his head with the loss of his house. Thousands of homeowners in the Colorado Springs area and millions around the country face similar situations because of financial troubles or bad loans that have led to foreclosure.
SIX-MONTH WAIT: Disappointed couple accepts reduced price
By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE
Sheena and Bob Binder felt their home on Colorado Springs' northeast side was ready to sell when they put it on the market around June. The Binders, who were moving to Castle Rock to be closer to Bob's architectural business in Denver, had purchased the newly built home five years earlier. Despite the home's extra touches, the Binders found themselves in the same position as thousands of other sellers - waiting for the right buyer.
BUYER'S MARKET: Good deals abound amid glut of homes for sale
By RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE
Gary Gilley has a background in car sales and says he knows how to bargain. That's just what he did last year when he and his wife, Lunell, bought a house outside of Colorado Springs. He paid $375,000 - about $40,000 less than the asking price.
ADVICE: DO'S AND DON'TS WHEN SELLING OR BUYING
As buyers prepare to shop, and sellers contemplate putting up a for-sale sign, here's some advice - do's and don'ts - from several local real estate experts.
NOW HEAR THIS: A round table with local real estate professionals
There's not much good news on the housing front, and the Pikes Peak region is wrestling with the same problems found in many areas of the country. Four members of the local housing industry recently discussed issues of the day, and saw some rays of light amid the doom and gloom.
