We are addicted to web-analytics, we obsess on them daily. We think this is a healthy obsession for a bunch of reasons. It feels like productive snooping because it allows us to spot trends so we can maximize our web content in order to appeal to our users.
This also helps us spot trends in the Colorado Springs real estate market. The latest trend we are observing is the shift from home buyers to home renters. In the last 60 to 90 days we have seen a drastic uptick in the number of website visitors looking for rentals. This is interesting and a little alarming because we are moving into the residential resale market’s busiest time of the year. This is a time we should be seeing sale home searches skyrocketing but instead, rental interest has surged. The attached graphic shows rentals a #5 on our content popularity list. This would normally appear in the #12 to #18 range.
Coincidentally, I received a call this week from a long time client that lost a home a couple of years ago when the economy first took a downturn. He is in his late 50’s and looking for a rental. I asked if he wanted to try to buy again, his response was that a financial advisor had told him that since he was nearly 60, he should spend the rest of his life renting! I personally think this was questionable advice but clients believe what they choose.
This call illustrates the fact that there is a whole new class of renters out there. These are people that previously owned homes but lost them. They never imagined they would rent again. Combine this group with move-up buyers that aren’t eligible for a VA loan, are outside of the FHA loan limit and don’t have the 20% needed to avoid private mortgage insurance and the military people that know they won’t be here long enough to buy and sell, so they rent and you have an overcrowded pool of potential renters.
Situations like this are opportunity rich environments and given the inventory of available homes, this is a great opportunity for investors. If you have cash and are going to stay in the area for a long time, Colorado Springs is a great buy and hold market. Colorado has a cyclical economy, so when the cycle is down (bust) it’s a great time to invest because when the economy is boom, you can liquidate. Most people understand this concept but are either lack the stomach for risk or the resources to take advantage.
If you are interested in capitalizing on the current market, please contact us about where we see the best opportunities in the Colorado Springs Real Estate market.
