Local housing market shows signs of improvement

The Colorado Springs area housing market moved closer to a turnaround in August as sales rose the fastest in nearly four years and prices fell by the smallest amount in more than a year, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Sales last month jumped 14.5 percent from a year ago to 891 houses, the third consecutive monthly increase and the biggest monthly gain since October 2005. Through the first two-thirds of the year, sales are off 3.9 percent from a year ago to 5,732. The number of homes on the market in August was down 20.3 percent from a year earlier to 5,040, the fourth consecutive monthly decline of more than 20 percent and the 16th consecutive month that the supply has dropped.

Homes stayed on the market in August an average of 80 days, about the same as the previous month but 10 days less than what the average was during the first half of the year. The median price of homes sold in August fell just 2.2 percent from a year ago to $199,550, the smallest monthly decline since July 2008. Prices have declined from a year ago every month for more than two years. The median prices is the midpoint of all sales prices.

“We are seeing the makings of a turnaround,” said Jay Gupta, partner and managing broker at Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors and past president of the Realtor association. “Mortgage rates below 5 percent and first-time home buyers getting an $8,000 federal income tax credit are both very good signs for the market. The housing market is improving and hopefully it will continue getting better and bring us to a good market coming into next spring.”

Sales figures include transactions handled by association members, but not homes sold by owners. Most of the sales took place in El Paso and Teller counties. Most of the homes sold through association members are resales. The market for new homes also is improving — new single-family home construction last month jumped 42.3 percent from a year earlier to 111, the third consecutive monthly gain after 3½ years of monthly declines.

One other real estate market indicator isn’t showing signs of improvement — mortgage foreclosures last month were up 75.5 percent from a year ago in the biggest monthly increase in nearly two years. Foreclosure filings so far this year, 3,653, already exceed every other year but last year.