From the Publisher

I have to start out with a nod to people who are selling their homes. They are raking in the bucks! Whatís happening in the real estate market these days is either a dream come true or a nightmare.Itís a system where the homeowner is in charge; the wealthy buyers are the drivers; and the rest of the buyers are often just plain out of luck.I have a friend who told me a story about her niece and her husband. Her niece is a native Coloradan and her husband ended up here because his dad was in the military. They are in their 40s and have a daughter in elementary school. They both have worked for years in skilled blue collar jobs; and, after renting for most of their lives, they have finally been able to save enough money to purchase their first home.Their experience looking for homes to buy in Colorado Springs and El Paso County has been draining and discouraging.Hereís how their house hunting went. A well-cared-for three-bedroom; two-bath home with a fenced in yard in a good neighborhood is on the market for $350,000. The coupleís real estate agent sets up a showing. They like the house and decide within a day to put in an offer at full price. The real estate agent calls and tells them the sellers have had numerous offers, some as high as $450,000. Their offer is, of course, rejected.So, the next time they find a house they liked, they put in a higher bid than the asking price right away. But others jacked up the offers, and they lost out again. This couple went through about 50 houses; put bids in on at least 10 ó and the same thing happened on all of those bids.It seems like itís one big poker game.So, we wondered how many other homebuyers have had the same experiences, and would you be willing to share your stories with us?Many of these jacked-up prices are well over the houseís appraisal value. The high-end buyers can afford to pay the difference to the bank.Some buyers are offering ìbribes.î

• ìIím working with a hop salesman who is offering beer tasting to the sellers.î ñ Ellen Hudson in Portland, OR
• ìI researched the seller and found out heís a former professional athlete. I fine-tuned the offer so that his jersey number ñ- 64 ñ- was included in the offer amount ($964,000 Canadian dollars) and the deposit amount ($64,000 Canadian dollars). We ended up beating out a higher, all-cash offer.î ñ Michael Craigmyle in Vancouver, B.C.

Itís all legal. But is it ethical? If sellers want to get the most they can out of their house, then why not start out with a higher price? That way, those buyers who have a lower budget wonít compete in that market. Let those who can afford a higher price negotiate with the owner ó lower or higher, right?I guess I dread seeing Colorado become a California housing market. But progress is what it is, and change is inevitable.Anyway, if any of you have some stories to share with us or just want to comment on the market, email them to me or Marylou.By the way, the aforementioned couple closes on their new home in mid-August. And they stuck to their budget.We would like to welcome Timothy Page to ìThe New Falcon Herald.î Timothy has a degree in journalism, and is a great addition to our team.We have many interesting articles this month, from the history of the Purple Heart to major broadband expansions.Good luck to the parents and kids as they start school. We hope things get back to normal as quickly as possible.Enjoy the dog days of summer, and like the song says, ìSee you in September.î (Itís an old song, I know.)– Michelle