PART TWO:
2011 REAL ESTATE MARKET SUMMARY
Results for 2011 improved in most categories. 507 closings totaling $114 million in sales were recorded for the year. During 2010 there were 400 closings for a total of $87 million. The total number of transactions increased 27% during 2011. Total dollar volume was up 31% from the prior year. We saw an increase in the number of homes sold and a decline in the number of units on the market at year-end. The negative impact of foreclosure properties is beginning to lessen as well as the number of foreclosure notices filed declined from 231 to 157. The number of loan modifications recorded was only down slightly from last year, at 71. This is significantly below the 177 loan modifications recorded in 2007 at the beginning of the downturn. Land continues to experience weak demand and an oversupply of inventory.
Residential- All Types
For all residential property categories, (stick- built detached, condos, townhomes, duplexes, mobile and modular homes,) there were 329 units sold for the year, versus a total of 251units for 2010, an increase of 31%.
Total dollar volume for residential sales was up 24% over the prior year, ($82.8 million versus $66.8 million for 2010). Year- end inventory count for 2011 was reduced by 31.5%, with 400 Active Listings on 12/31/2011 as compared to 526 at the end of 2010.
Residential- Single Family Detached
A total of 252 single family homes (stick built) were sold during 2011, versus 206 units during 2010, an increase of 22.3%. Total dollar volume was $74.6 million for the year as compared to $61.5 million for 2010, an increase of 21.3%. At year-end the number of unsold homes remaining on the market declined by 27% over the prior year, (298 units vs. 378 units at the end of 2010).
Residential High-End
The upper-end of the residential market remains significantly over-supplied. There were 31 properties priced above $1 million remaining on the market at year-end. During 2010 there were 3 sales recorded above the $1 million mark. For all of 2011 there were 8 residential sales recorded above $1 million, indicating we have about 46 month supply of high-end homes going into 2012.
Residential-Multi-Family
There were 40 condo/townhome sales closed during 2011, an increase of nearly 43% over the 28 sales recorded for 2010. The total dollar volume of $5.3 million for 2011 was up 36% for 2011 over 2010 total dollar volume of $3.9 million.
Commercial
For 2011, the downtown properties formerly owned by David Brown made up the largest portion of the sales closing during the year.
As mentioned above, our firm handled the bulk sale of the BJM Property Portfolio to a Nevada company, as well as the breakup and remarketing of 22 of the 24 properties. Sold properties included the two acre site at the base of Reservoir Hill, the former Kleckner home and adjacent vacant land on 1st Street, the three lots of the former Ampride site at the northeast corner of Pagosa Street and 1st Street, the former Bolt property next to the Pinewood Inn, the Alley House Building (home to the Alley House Grill) and adjacent vacant tracts, the vacant sites approved for the Three Lanterns Boutique Hotel just east of Handcrafted Interiors, the Poma property next to the county courthouse, the San Juan Plaza, the Sielstad Building (new home to Pedal and Powder) and the two vacant tracts above the river on east of 6th Street.
For the year ended 12/31/2011 there was a total of 23 commercial property closings, with total dollar volume of $5.3 million, down 40% from $8.8 million in commercial property sales closed during 2010. There were a total of 23 commercial sales reported to the MLS for 2011 as compared to 21 reported in 2010.
During 2010, three major lodging properties changed hands. Pueblo Bank and Trust sold the San Juan Motel, listed at $1.9 million and selling for $1,275,000. The Pagosa Lodge, with a Listing Price of $4 million was sold for $2 million by the Nightingale family to Pagosa Lodging, LLC. Another noteworthy sale during 2010 was the Wolf Creek Run R.V. Park, developed by the late John E. and Phyllis Brown. It was sold for $1.2 million to MTTD, LLC of Eugene, Oregon. These three sales comprised $4.5 of the commercial sales total volume of $8.9 million closed during 2010. It is interesting to note that each of the sales involved financing provided by the Sellers, a sign of the continuing difficulty within the commercial lending environment.
Land
Land sales declined during 2011. Though the total number of parcels sold remained unchanged at 120, total dollar volume was down by 25% for the year, $7.3 million during 2011, as compared to $9.8 million in 2010. The inventory of land offerings at the end of 2011 increased from 871 to 936 Active Listings.
Land-35 Acre Tracts
For the year there were 9 sales recorded totaling $1.7 million. During 2010 there were 16 sales for a total of $3.7 million. At year end 91 listings remained on the market representing a 10 year supply.
Land-3-10 Acre Parcels
27 sales totaling $1.9 million were recorded for the year as compared to 22 sales totaling $2.5 million recorded during 2010. There were 183 parcels on the market at the end of the year, an 81 month supply.
Land- Small Lots (.15-2.99 Acre Home Sites)
The number of sales closed for the year remained unchanged from the prior year at 77 with $2.6 million in total sales. During 2010 sales totaled $2.7 million. 504 lots remained on the market at year-end. This represents a 78 month supply of home sites.
Conclusion
While it is true we are far from being out of the woods, the statistics indicate we are heading in a positive direction with a defined path out in front of us. A decline in available inventory, an increase in total sales, a slowdown in new foreclosures and change in ownership of a large number of downtown properties are all positive factors. In order for us to realize further improvements, we need more middle income Americans returning to our area and investing in our real estate. This requires a higher level of consumer confidence, which is today, largely a function of job creation and growth in household income. These factors will likely be slow in coming, regardless of the shape the national political landscape takes in the months ahead. In the meantime, as a community we can focus on harnessing more of the exceptional creative and intellectual capacity of our members to address the challenges that lie ahead.
If you have questions about any of the information presented, give me a call at 970 264-7000, or email me at:
MikeHeraty@frontier.net. You can access additional information within our website: www.pagosasource.com and on our blog site: www.southwestcoloradonews.com.
Thank you to all our clients and customers for your support during 2011.
Mike
Note: Information presented above was obtained for the CREN MLS for the Pagosa Springs Area Association of Realtors and internal data from Pagosa Source Real Estate Advisors. These sources are deemed reliable, but author does not guarantee the accuracy of the data. Some figures have been rounded.
