Park County Real Estate Blog

Don’t Believe Everything You Read: The Truth Many Headlines Overlook

There are a lot of questions right now regarding the real estate market as we head into 2022. The forbearance program is coming to an end and mortgage rates are beginning to rise.

With all of this uncertainty, anyone with a megaphone – from the mainstream media to a lone blogger – has realized that bad news sells. Unfortunately, we’ll continue to see a rash of troublesome headlines over the next few months. To make sure you aren’t paralyzed by a headline, turn to reliable resources for a look at what to expect from the housing market next year.

There are already alarmist headlines starting to appear. Here are two recent topics you may have seen in the news.

1. Foreclosures Are Spiking Today

There are a number of headlines…

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Decluttering Before Your Move, or just to Declutter.

It’s the natural order of life: the longer you live somewhere, the more stuff you accumulate. Most of us don’t notice just how much stuff we’ve collected until the time comes to move it all. That’s when it becomes abundantly clear just how much you’ve got – and how much you don’t use.

Decluttering before your move is the best way to take the pressure off. Not only do you save yourself a lot of packing and unpacking, but you’ll also save some money as well. Local movers charge by the hour so the less you have, the less time it will take to get to your new home.

Packing can feel like a major ordeal, so we recommend taking an organized approach. Going room by room will help break down a big project into manageable steps. In this article we cover…

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Your Perfect Home Is the One You Perfect After You Buy

Don't give up the search just because you haven't found a home that checks every box. Let's connect to see which of your "must haves" can be accomplished after you purchase.

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Two Reasons To Move This Year

Home prices and mortgage rates are forecast to rise. Let's connect so you can sell your house and find your next home before it costs more to move.

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VA Loans: Helping Veterans Achieve Their Homeownership Dreams

The purpose of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loans is to provide a pathway to homeownership for those who have sacrificed so much by serving our nation. As the Veterans Administration says of the program:

“The objective of the VA Home Loan Guaranty program is to help eligible Veterans, active-duty personnel, surviving spouses, and members of the Reserves and National Guard purchase, retain, and adapt homes in recognition of their service. . . .”

For over 75 years, VA home loans have provided millions of veterans and their families the opportunity to purchase their own homes.

2020 Data on VA Home Loans

• 1,246,817 home loans are guaranteed by the Veterans Administration
• The average VA loan amount totals $301,044
• 178,171 of…

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Two Graphs That Show Why You Shouldn’t Be Upset About 3% Mortgage Rates

With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac climbing above 3%, rising rates are one of the topics dominating the discussion in the housing market today. And since experts project rates will rise further in the coming months, that conversation isn’t going away any time soon.

But as a homebuyer, what do rates above 3% really mean?

Today’s Average Mortgage Rate Still Presents Buyers with a Great Opportunity

Buyers don’t want mortgage rates to rise, as any upward movement increases your monthly mortgage payment. But it’s important to put today’s average mortgage rate into perspective. The graph below shows today’s rate in comparison to average rates over the last five years:As the graph shows, even though today’s rate is…

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Why a Wave of Foreclosures Is Not on the Way

With forbearance plans coming to an end, many are concerned the housing market will experience a wave of foreclosures similar to what happened after the housing bubble 15 years ago. Here are a few reasons why that won’t happen.

There are fewer homeowners in trouble this time

After the last housing crash, about 9.3 million households lost their homes to a foreclosure, short sale, or because they simply gave it back to the bank.

As stay-at-home orders were issued early last year, the fear was the pandemic would impact the housing industry in a similar way. Many projected up to 30% of all mortgage holders would enter the forbearance program. In reality, only 8.5% actually did, and that number is now down to 2.2%.

As of last Friday,…

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Market At A Glance Report October 2021

he numbers are in for October!

These figures are from the Summit MLS system, the primary MLS for this part of Park County and shows only information on cabin/home sales in South Park. (Zip codes 80456,80432,80440,80420).

Jefferson Real Estate also utilizes the Front Range MLS system, RE Colorado.  This more than doubles the exposure for your listing.  If you're considering selling your cabin or home and taking advantage of this sellers market then give us a call!

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Renters Missed Out on $51,500 This Past Year

Rents have increased significantly this year. The latest National Rent Report from Apartmentlist.com shows rents are rising at a rate much higher than the three years leading up to the pandemic:

“Since January of this year, the national median rent has increased by a staggering 16.4 percent. To put that in context, rent growth from January to September averaged just 3.4 percent in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”

Looking back, we can see rents rising isn’t new. The median rental price has increased consistently over the past 33 years (see graph below):If you’re thinking of renting for another year, consider that rents will likely be even higher next year. But that alone doesn’t paint the picture of the true cost of renting.

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There Are More Homes Available Now than There Were This Spring

There’s a lot of talk lately about how challenging it can be to find a home to buy. While housing inventory is still low, there are a few important things to understand about the supply of homes for sale as we move into the end of the year.

The Number of Homes for Sale Usually Peaks in the Fall

In the residential real estate market, trends generally follow a predictable and seasonal pattern. Typically, the number of homes available for sale (or active monthly listings) peaks in the fall. But in a chapter where so little feels normal, the question becomes: should we expect a fall peak this year?

If we look at the active monthly listings for 2021 (shown in the chart below), we’ll see that the number of homes on the market has increased…

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