Tag Archives: Real Estate

Food for thought, From the inbox

Can I Move in Before Closing?

Great question! In Colorado Springs, it’s not the norm to move in or take possession of the property prior to closing. It does happen but it’s not the norm.

Why is that?

There are a few primary reasons:

  1. The transaction might not close. There’s a greater than zero chance a given transaction will not close. If the home sale were not to close and the seller has allowed a buyer to occupy a property, things can get messy.
  2. The seller is at risk of increased liability. If something happens to or around the home, it’s likely the seller’s insurance policy which will have to cover it.
  3. Home improvements can cause issues. If a seller allows a buyer to move in ahead of closing and the buyer starts making improvements and the property doesn’t close, who bears the cost of those improvements?

These are a few reasons it’s not likely and often not recommended for sellers to allow buyers to move in or occupy a property before closing.

If you are looking to buy or sell residential real estate in Colorado Springs, please give me – Rob Thompson, Realtor® – a call at 719-440-6626!

Colorado Springs, Economy, Food for thought

Survivorship Bias in the Housing Market

In the real estate industry, agents and lenders speak often of average days on the market, closed to list price ratios and other metrics.

There’s something we need to really consider to gain perspective on the overall market conditions, though. That concept is survivorship bias.

This form of bias results when one mistakes one part of the data for all the data. In the case of housing, if I share the following stats with you:

The closed to original list price ratio for the last 30 days for Single Family Homes in El Paso County is 98.56%.

I am sharing that homes are selling for 2.52% below their list price on average in the last 30 days.

Contrast that with this same time last year, in which homes were selling for a median of 98.51%

One might infer from this that the market hasn’t shifted much.

However, the homes that did not sell in the last 30 days increased by a factor of over 70%.

Looking only at one set of the data – the homes that sold – would blind an observer to the fact that quite a few more homes have fallen out of the market in these last 30 days.

Here’s a bit more technical analysis via my GrokTheMarket blog.

Home Inspections, Homeowner's Insurance

What is a sewer scope and why do you want it?

A sewer scope is when an inspector or plumber sends a video camera down your sewer line. This is done either through a clean out access point in the sewer line or in some cases the toilet access point.

The inspector / plumber usually records this and they are looking for roots, intrusions, blockages or cracks or ruptures in the sewer line. These can cause backups in the sewer line and leads to very costly repairs.

If you are buying a house, you want one of these done because homeowner’s insurance may not cover the repair to the line. It also may not cover damages to the home from the backup of sewage, etc.

The TLDR; get the line scoped to avoid several thousands or more in repair and damages down the road.

Colorado Springs, Mortgages, State of The Market

CoS: State of the Market / Terms of Sale

Conventional is dominating the market in volume of sales month to date, accounting for 46% of sales. Here is the distribution of those sales (and cash, VA and FHA) across the market for the month in $50K incremements.

Colorado Springs, Economy, From the inbox

Is cash king in Colorado Springs?

There’s a common perception that, “Cash is King.” By this, it’s meant that cash tends to command a large discount.

Is that true in Colorado Springs?

Statistically not in December 2016.

There were 1,309 MLS listed sales for the month in the Pikes Peak Multiple Listing System (PPMLS) last month. Of those, 146 were cash. Of those 146, the average closing price to list price ratio was 98.3%.

Contrast that with VA loans for the same month, where the ratio was 100%.

Cash in December 2016 commanded a 1.7% discount.