We're going to be looking at the entire year of the Colorado Springs real estate market and how it’s changed us and affected us in 2021. Those who bought homes in Colorado Springs this year have gained equity and if you “overpaid” for homes last year, you might have a good chunk of equity already in just one year of owning your home. As more and more people are discovering Colorado Springs and moving here, the more housing has become difficult in our area. Let’s talk about some of the challenges and effects of living in Colorado Springs.
If you like learning about the city and how you can make pretty good money just living out your basic survival need of housing, then I would love to help you make your move. I’ll leave my info in the description box under this video as well as right here on the screen to show you how convenient it is to work with me. Colorado is one of the top cities to live in. Not only do we have plenty of outdoor activities, restaurants and other fun things to do underneath 300 days of sunshine, but we have UCCS, which is home to over 12,000 students and 800 staff. It’s a decent sized college. But we also have an Amazon facility established in Colorado Springs as well as another warehouse being built on the south side of Colorado Springs as well. So no wonder people are moving here fast and furious. There’s so much opportunity in the beautiful city of Millionaires. Let’s start with housing.
Housing Affordability in Colorado Springs
Single family homes in Colorado Springs have shot up 15.7% for the average home price in Colorado Springs as well as 18.4% for the median home price. The average home price in the very last month of 2021 was $505,852 which is down from November. So that means the average home price last year in December was $437,365 compared to this year gives the homeowner just over $68,000 in equity in just once year! Now these results are obviously not typical. A more typical equity amount gained in one year in Colorado Springs is more like when I started back in 2014. The average home price was $238,273 for December of 2013 and in 2014 it was $255,652 with 2600 homes on the market instead of just under 700 in 221. It’s still good equity gained at $18,379 which is a 7.3% increase. And look how much younger and thinner I was!
Condos and Townhomes in Colorado Springs
The average price for condos and townhomes in December 2021 was $351,825 which is up 19.2% from the previous year which was $295,153. This is up 4.6% from November and I imagine it will continue to rise as the average home price for single family homes gets higher and higher. People are being priced out of the market but looking more towards condos and townhomes for affordability purposes. And this is not a bad idea. The rate that condos and townhomes are appreciating might help you in a few years to use that equity to buy bigger. That’s what we did. And I could have stayed in that townhouse longer, but we just needed space. The kids were sharing rooms and we felt cramped. Our boys had a triple bunk bed. Those were fun times, but we’re grateful we’re passed that. We’re so grateful each kid has their own rooms now. But that townhouse was truly a blessing.
Big Moves for Colorado Springs
So this year has been full of interesting things in real estate for Colorado Springs. Do you guys remember in August how Colorado Springs made realtor.com’s hottest zip code in America? The hottest zip code in 2021 in the entire country was 80916. The median home price was significantly lower than most of the other parts of the city which made it more affordable for those moving to Colorado Springs, skyrocketing prices nearly 20% over the last year. It’s an ideal location in the southeast part of Colorado Springs. And, since it’s close to Peterson Air Force Base, large companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and of course Fort Carson, it made for a great opportunity for people moving to the area.
Amazon
The next thing was that Amazon opened up a 300,000 square foot, 5 story fulfillment center on the southeast end of town as well. This offers a huge opportunity for new growth and new transplants to Colorado Springs. They are also building in another area in the south part of Colorado Springs which will open up plenty of jobs for us. This will generate thousands of jobs for Colorado Springs residents. Between the military and these huge companies coming here, finding a job shouldn’t be extremely difficult. There was a time, however, jobs were not easy to get because so many people were moving here and transferring jobs. But lately, so many people are hiring. It’s much easier to find a job now.
Interest Rates
Interest Rates were historically low. The feds took preemptive action to make rates very low dipping as low as 2.8% in 2020. This both helped and hurt the housing affordability efforts. If you were able to get into a home at 2.8%, you were blessed. Those that could not were stuck writing offer after offer and getting rejected due to the inability to compete financially. If the average home was going 4% over the list price, that would mean you would have had to write an offer guaranteeing the appraisal difference of up to $20,000 or more over the for sale price. That’s not couch money. That’s serious money. This makes the gap wider for the wealthy vs the middle class and the opportunity to build wealth through homeownership just slips further away. But there’s still hope! Homes on the market are sitting longer and I’m seeing price drops which was unheard of at one point. I mean who other than Zillow can feel the pain on this one?
Zillow in Colorado Springs
Zillow wanted to get into the ibuyer game and started buying houses, making minimum repairs, then relisting on the market at a much higher price. Well turns out they were a little bit too late to the game. Because if this was last year or the year before, I’m sure those homes would have sold quicker. Now they are on the market for up to 72 days with several price drops. I’m not sure if it’s the Zillow stigma now or these homes are just greatly overpriced. What do you guys think? Do you have a negative emotion towards Zillow houses because of these recent events? Let me know in the comments!
Colorado Springs Real Estate Year in Review
January we started the year with 460 active sales which is not much at all. And today on the 7th of January, we only had 19 new listings come on the market which is extremely low, especially for a weekend. So as long as supply is low, we will continue to see this type of market of high prices, and with inflation and rates going up, affordability will continue to be a challenge in Colorado Springs. We started with an average home price of $433,581 this year and ended the year at $505,852. That’s a huge jump! People are really starting to get more creative to get affordable housing. Tiny homes hopefully will be coming here soon to help offset. We have modular living on the south side. At this point it might be a good idea to buy yourself some land and put a tiny home on it until you can save up and build something bigger. Then you can turn the tiny home into an Airbnb or temporary housing. Listen, we’re not going to cry about missed opportunities. Get creative, increase your income, lower your spending habits and make things happen. They’re not making land anymore. Land is so valuable and people aren’t realizing it. Start preparing now. Watch this video next on getting your budget together and I’ll see you next week! Thanks for hanging out with me today.
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