Catherine Swain, a local real estate agent, has lived in the Falcon area since the 1980s.†Back then, Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch were nothing but sprawling acres of open ranchland.ìThere used to not be any residential areas or homes on lots out here,î Swain said.The Falcon area was what Erik Galloway, Colorado Springs-based EXP real estate agent, referred to as a ìbedroom community,î which Merriam Webster defines as ìa small community that has no major industries and that is lived in by people who go to another town or city to work.î†That type of community, with an inconvenient distance to amenities and a lack of nearby opportunities, made it cheaper for people to purchase property in the area.ìPeople moved out east because they could afford a house ó and usually a lot more house ó which they couldn’t do in Colorado Springs,î Galloway said. ìThey got a lot more house simply because it was so far east, and they knew they had to prepare to commute into town for almost everything.î†However, that concept is starting to shift.†ìPeople still have this idea that housing is cheaper out there, and at one time it was,î Galloway said. ìBut thatís the old mindset ó that you moved out there when you couldnít afford something in Colorado Springs. Thatís no longer the case.îAnd the numbers agree.†Galloway said over the last six months, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan together had a higher median sales price than the Colorado Springs area, according to his research from the Pikes Peak MLS (multi-listing service) in early June, which showed that the median sales price in Falcon, Peyton and Calhan was about $530,000, while the median sales price in the Colorado Springs area was about $470,000.††Both Swain and Galloway noted it is important to keep in mind that comparing the Colorado Springs market and the eastern plains market is tricky. Colorado Springs is a much larger market to pull from, Galloway said. ìYou have condos and townhomes that are selling for like 200s (200,000) and then million-dollar homes and everything in between, so itís a really large pool in Colorado Springs,î he said. In Colorado Springs in the last six months, there were over 5,000 home sales; in Falcon, about 544 homes sold.”Our market out here (Falcon), it is not like comparing apples to apples. Itís a different market,î Swain said.Galloway said there are currently about 917 homes under contract in the Springs; In the greater Falcon area about 146 homes are under contract. However, he added, ìWhen you break it all down and put it together, medians and averages donít lie.With cheaper housing prices no longer a motivator to move east of Colorado Springs, other attractive qualities have drawn folks to that neck of the woods more recently and Swain attributes part of that to the COVID-19 pandemic. ìOur market has gradually gotten better over time, but it really exploded over COVID,î Swain said. ìI think people wanted to be outside of the city, and weíre still close enough to have amenities now and not be out in the middle of nowhere. I think, too, with the Springs developing more and more and things coming farther east, I think people felt like they werenít so far out of town.î†That mindset could be key to the continued growth and property price increases in the area.†ìFalcon, Peyton, Calhan ó theyíre all set up to be the next areas where weíll see crazy booming growth,î Galloway said. In Colorado Springs, itís difficult to find new homes in the middle of the city because there is no more land, he said. So all of the building is happening out east. ìItís why you see Meridian Ranch expanding; itís why you see even Banning Lewis expanding into what is Falcon,î he said. ìThereís no space other than east and south where we can grow as a city.î†This means good things for homeowners in Falcon and beyond.†ìMy opinion is if you are living out in that area right now, you are sitting in a great position because the next wave of growth is coming your way and that means higher land value for you,î Galloway said. However, he said what could ìmake or breakî the growth is the availability of commercial space. Housing wonít be enough, he said. With skyrocketing prices, there will need to be additional amenities that make the location desirable. Galloway added, ìThatís where commercial, business, industry, all of that is going to matter as time goes on.î
