Home sales in the Pikes Peak region increased 95 percent from June 2012 to June 2016, according to an article written by Tatiana Bailey and posted on the ìColorado Springs Business Journalísî website Sept. 9. Bailey is the executive director for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Economic Forum.The article states that various statistical determinants like relative home affordability and lower median age make it likely that home sales will remain strong in the region into 2017. While the strong housing market is music to real estate agentsí ears, it is also cause for concern about the potential for another housing bubble.ìThis isnít likely, however,î Bailey wrote. ìThe much more stringent credit criteria for essentially all types of mortgage lending makes this improbable on the consumer side. On the producer side, lending criteria for development-based loans is also stringent ñ- making overbuilding less likely.îJason Lyman, a real estate agent with ReMax Real Estate Group, said he went through the 2007 and 2008 housing market crash, and the current lending climate feels different. Lenders are no longer offering loans with estimated or non-verified income requirements, he said. ìBack then, banks and mortgage companies were putting people into homes they could not afford, based on speculation,î Lyman said.As a Falcon resident and real estate agent, Lyman said he knows the local market. ìThere are builders that are still building quite a bit out here,î he said. ìBut builders are not just building homes. They are building shops or things you would normally see in Colorado Springs, like the Shops at Meridian Ranch retail area.îCommercial developers are not going to build unless they are going to get a good return for their money, Lyman said. When housing developers follow the lead of the commercial developers, the market seems to be more sustainable, he said.Kevin Hart, president of the Colorado division of Aspen View Homes, said, ìDriving east to Falcon, you can save $10,000 to $20,000 on a house; and that is a big draw,î he said. Local amenities not previously available to homeowners in the area are another plus, Hart said. ìMost of our marketing is our location; we are right there across from Meridian Ranch and the new shopping center there,î he said.Aspen View Homes is currently building in the Paint Brush Hills subdivision, just south of Falcon Middle School, along Stapleton Road. The proximity to FMS and the other local schools also attracts buyers to the area, Hart said.Although the market is hot right now, Hart said his company is using responsible building practices. ìWe build at about a 50ñto-50 ratio,î he said. ìHalf of what I build is not sold yet and the other half is.îThe area where he is currently building has 90 lots total, and they are usually going under contract within 30 days, Hart said.Lyman said that much of the Falcon areaís inventory is not moving as quickly, in part because agents are often not comfortable taking their clients so far east from Colorado Springs. ìIt is an area people are not familiar with, and a lot of agents will not even take their clients out here because they do not know the area very well,î he said.The majority of people buying in Falcon are younger and family-oriented, Lyman said. ìWe have people with growing families that want a bigger house, and they feel like they can get that out here; but they can also get a bigger lot out here as well,î he said.Hart agreed and said first-time home buyers seem to be the most frequent customers in the Paint Brush Hills area. However, he said seniors are down sizing and moving from larger homes to smaller ones.Lyman said the percentage of military families moving to Falcon is higher than Colorado Springs. ìFalcon is a great community of people, sort of a tight-knit little community,î he said. ìI think that might have to do with the higher military ratio. But there are also a lot of big community events out here as well and they are always well-attended.îìPeople are feeling really good about things right now,î Hart said. ìWe have not seen any indicators that would alert us to a slow-down.î
