I recently made an agreement with Pagosa Daily Post, an online news source that is among the top in our part of Colorado, to write for them on a regular basis. I will be providing them with a weekly "Real Estate Related" article. Click here to see my first article, The Rich Idiot Real Estate Investor , and check back at the beginning of each week to view new articles. Be sure to pass it on to anyone who might be interested! 08/28/2007

If you know me at all you know I am a Googlepheene. I use Google in my Real Estate Business and my personal life. Especially the mapping attributes that Google is doing so well.For instance. I am planning a bow hunting trip into the San Juan's at the end of September. The duration will be 6 days, and we will be camping several hours from anything. So a few days ago as I am trying to explain the strategic location of my proposed camp, (I would normally include a link here to the area, but if I told you....then I would have to kill you.) I said in an impatient tone "I'll just Google (Earth) it and send you a link". My friends in amazement could see every detail of terrain, trails, Forest Service roads, lake , stream and meadow of a place that they had never visited. They have become educa... 08/27/2007

Here is a quick snapshot of the activity in the Pagosa Lakes area for July 2007.All statistics are pulled from our CREN MLS system and are pertinant to residential single family and multi-family homes.  QuantityMedian PriceAverage Days On MarketSold11$255,000118Are On Market38$314,000NAWent Under Contract26$297,250191Are In Inventory375$339,900NA  I Serve as a REALTOR with the Pagosa Springs Area Association of Realtors. I would be happy to help with any  Real Estate issues that you may be dealing with. Visit my website www.chrisliverett.com for contact information. 08/13/2007

Pagosa Springs- San Juan Health District announced Tuesday August 7th, that they are ahead of schedule by 2 months, and will be opening early.The Critical Access 13 bed hospital is a long awaited dream for many Pagosan's. I guess we could say that it is our Christmas present this year. A grand opening of Jan 5th, and official opening of Jan 7th was announced by Pagosa Mountain Hospital's new Chief Executive Officer, Daniel W. Boatman.Read more about the exciting news here. 08/09/2007

July 07 Pagosa Area Market ReportMonthly Real Estate Market ReportJuly 2007Quick Links Website   Listings   Localism-Area Info  In my last quarterly newsletter I conducted a survey in which  92% of you that responded asked for more frequent updates. Your wish is my command! This is the first addition of a monthly market report. Thank you for your responses and I hope this helps your understanding of our ever changing market.   My goal is to be a resource for your Pagosa Springs area real estate. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Chris Liverett    July Market Report    Number SoldMedian Sold PriceCurrent InventorySingle Family Homes 15$277,000452Condo3$255,900134Vacnt Land < .5 Acres 12$44,200474Vacant Land .51 to 2.99 Acres 7$115,000231Vacant Land 3 to 9.... 08/07/2007

From time to time in our business of providing real estate services, we come across a situation that truly changes our perspective on life. That happened to me yesterday  I have been working with a couple for over a year via e-mail and phone. Yesterday I was able to meet them face to face and help them find a second home in our resort town. We had established early on that they are ALSO Christians, and so we have had a good time building our relationship over mutual likeness.  I did not know until yesterday that they had a son. As our day started and we began to drive around to look at condos, I was observing the interaction of the family. I thought to myself "there is something different about their relationship". It seemed that they were treating the 6 year old boy just a little diffe... 08/01/2007

   I assist people in the buying and selling of real estate...for a living, not a hobby. I do this in a small Colorado mountain town that has primarily for years been monetarily propagated by a few southern and western states. (Of which I will pick on only one for this post). Please forgive me all of you "Big Star State" people, but the slogan around here (with the exception of a few oil bust years in the 80's) is "Texas keeps Colorado green"   Now, all of my REALTOR colleagues understand the Listing battle in a flat or declining market such as we are experiencing currently. Taking listings in 07 at 05 prices does not always pay the bills. I have recently come across a few potential clients that have the idea they can ask whatever they want for their property, and soon enough someone wi... 07/29/2007

Google...They never cease to amaze me! As a Realtor coming from a semi-tech background I am always on theprowl for better ways to use technology. I know by very virtue of you reading this blog that you are too. I subscribe to Pat Kitano's "TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE so when his RSS feed relating to Google Maps came across my screen this week I read with great anticipation. Eureka! I had actually started playing around with this a few weeks ago, but like most of my life, I over-complicated my mission and soon it fell by the wayside.  Pat gave me new inspiration for a more simplified approach, and a new focus of purpose for such tools. As Real Estate professionals we should be the first to recognize changing trends in the market. I for one stay on top of these changing tides and am always se... 07/21/2007

Pat Parelli and Parelli Natural Horse•Man•Ship are looking at completion of the International Coorperate Headquarters here in Pagosa Springs in the latter part of 2007. The Parelli center, internationally known in part for the training of the  "Savvy System", has been at home here since 1982 providing world reknown horse specialist training.    The new International Coorperate Headquarters will be over 36,000 sq. ft.at full build out residing as a cornerstone in the Aspen Village commercial subdivision. The expansion of the new building promises 25 additional full time jobs to the already 56 local full time employees. It will be the location of the main warehouse for Parelli's retail equipment, IT support, and phone answering headquarters among other things. 07/09/2007

We are seeing the pendulum pointing at a Buyer's Maket, but is it starting to swing the other way? Unfortunatly I can not predict the future but I can look at a few indicators.UNITS SOLD2cd Qtr 062cd Qtr 07Unit % Gain/LossResidential Homes3929DOWN -25.64%Vacant Land Lots (< 1acre)7151DOWN -28.17%Vacant Land 35 acre tracts2015DOWN -25.00%MEDIAN SOLD PRICE2cd Qtr 062cd Qtr 07Median Price % Gain/LossResidential Homes$290,000$310,000UP 6.90%Vacant Land Lots (< 1acre)$52,900$40,000DOWN -24.39%Vacant Land 35 acre tracts$249,000$285,000UP 14.46%.It's obvious that we have seen a weaker spring this year than we did in 06. While individual unit sale are down , pricing structure remains relativly high. Looking at this one might think that there are worse days ahead, but there is one factor that po... 07/09/2007

Pagosa Springs June of 07 Residential Real Estate Statistics. All numbers were compiled using the local area MLS database. This includes all residences, Single Family, Multifamily, Condo and Manufactured on less than 1 and 1/2 acre in the Pagosa Springs area.June Residential 2007# HomesMedianLowestHighestNEW LISTINGS69$295,000.00$50,000.00$884,900.00PENDING CONTRACTS28$260,000.00$49,900.00$795,000.00SOLD26$304,000.00$84,900.00$525,000.00DAYS ON MARKET17631410June has been hot and dry here in Pagosa with a relativly "normal" flow of vacationers and tourists. July starts our busy season, peaking out in the fall. We are seeing a higher than normal inventory on all residential and vacant land. This is still a Buyers's Market to some degree. My advice to Sellers trying to move their property... 07/06/2007

Buyer Question-Chris, how can I protect my potential purchase contract if my lender drags his feet and we miss Loan Conditions Deadline. This happened to us in Phoenix and we missed out on a tremendous investment opportunity.Chris' Answer-  Don't use a slug for a lender!...OK. This happens more often than we would like it to. As your advocate in this process, I make it a point to watch out for situations like this by keeping in good contact with Lenders and Appraisers. Unfortunatly that does not always do the trick. So- I always write in with any purchase contract containing loan conditions an "Addendum A".  Here in Pagosa Springs we have a standard pre-written addendum (drafted by the lawyers at JSRE, thanks Jimmy).Section 4  of this addendum states "...If performance is delayed by Buy... 07/05/2007