October Events

Chelsea's Client Appreciation Party!

This year's client appreciation party will take place at Ska Brewing on Sunday October 22nd from 11:00 to 1:00. Come rain, snow or shine! We will have the upstairs reserved and hopefully its nice enough for yard games!I'll provide food and beers! (Vegetarian and Paleo options)Bring the kids--- in Halloween costumes if they want!

Hope to see you there!

The Peanuts Great Pumpkin Patch Express

This special train will run three weekends in October. During the ride, kids will receive a trick-or-treat bag to collect goodies during their time at the Pumpkin Patch. Snoopy and Charlie Brown will be available for photos as kids enjoy an assortment of fun activities during their adventure at The Great Pumpkin Patch! There is also a straw bale maze with a pumpkin for every child to take home.

Three Springs Fall Festival

Three Springs Fall Festival on Saturday, October 28th from 11AM-2PM at Three Springs Plaza. Bring your kids in costumes and let them explore the festival, fun games, contests, and of course trick or treating.

Murder & Mayhem Tour

An adult option or possibly older children option. These tours start at El Moro and focus on the secrets of Main St from the wild west days of Durango. "The tour focuses on North Main Avenue. It starts at the El Moro Restaurant and ends at Durango Craft Spirits. This tour will take you to notorious saloons and past the sites of legendary gunfights. Durango in the late 1800's and early 1900's was truly the Wild West."

Wells Group 17th Annual Real Estate Forecast

This month The Wells Group hosted the 17th annual real estate forecast event. This event allows the public to see previous years predictions of the real estate market and how it matched up to what actually happened in the market. If you were unable to make the event this month I have recapped some of the main points as well as linked to the Durango Heralds article about the event as well as the link to the full presentaiton located on The Wells Group website.

Looking at 2017 these are the major predictions for 2017 from the Wells Group Forecast Event.

• Inventory Challenges. They predict this will be an issue in the under $500,000 market county wide.
• Increase in median price in all homes of La Plata County.
• Increased number of homes for sale in Forest Lakes.
• Interest rates will not impact the market unless raised above 5% for residential mortgages.
• Tourism will increase again
• There will be a higher number of baby boomers from the Front Range who migrate to La Plata County. They will sell their homes with substantial equity due to appreciation and look for a lifestyle change.
• There will be a higher number of luxury home sales.
• More recreational ranch sales in Southwest Colorado.

Durango Herald Article

Wells Group Forecast Event

Does It Make Sense to Move Up?

A vast majority of real estate articles are focused on first-time buyers. There is actually a segment of the real estate market called the “move-up market,” which, as its name implies, fits buyers who want to move into a larger home. This market describes homeowners who need a larger home or would like more land and property. For several reasons, the local La Plata County market is currently ripe for move-up buyers.

There is a real opportunity for homeowners to sell their homes in the more median price ranges of the market and “move up” to a home of their dreams. The values have increased for the low and mid-priced homes, yet the higher priced homes are still lagging. This makes it the perfect time to capitalize on the advantages of the impacted median-range home prices, and buy in the softer market of the higher-priced homes.

At this time, buyers may get more home for smaller differences in payment. In the past, the leap to move up would have been larger; now, buyers will have a smaller difference in house payment. This is a huge factor—why pay more in the future when the best value may be now?

Additionally, low interest rates make it easy now, but that may change in the future. As we have noted in the past, we are still sitting at historically low interest rates. Last week, we saw mortgage rates at a 4 month high, and a recent Wall Street Journal article states that it is likely the Federal Reserve will initiate an interest rate increase in December (http://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-task-next-week-signal-december-rate-rise-1477351253).

In La Plata County, there is an excellent selection of homes for buyers in the higher-priced range. If you are considering a move-up scenario, the inventory is strong now in this market segment, allowing choices and variety in home selection.

Finally, the property taxes are still low in La Plata County. Take advantage of lower taxes, lower interest rates, and a variety of home options available. For a strong visual, take a look at the median price change in the last two years in each market price range (below). As you can see, in all homes over $500,000, values have decreased in the last two years. In the under-$500,000 range, values have increased. If you would like to move to a larger home, now is a prime time. As always, please let us know if you have any questions, or would like to discuss the market further.

La Plata County (All Residential Units)

Median Price / Two Year Change:

Price Range: 10/25/13 thru 10/25/14 10/25/15 thru 10/25/16

0- $500,000 $287,500 $307,875 +7.1 %

$500,000-$750,000 $580,000 $570,000 -1.7 %

$750,000-$1 Million $855,000 $827,450 -3.2 %

$1Million-$2 Million $1,265,000 $1,231,250 -2.7 %

5 Best Springtime Activities in Durango

If you have lived in Colorado for more than a year, you already know that the spring weather changes daily. One day it's sunny with a high of 75, and the next day we're getting 2 feet of snow! Despite the crazy weather, the best part of spring in Durango are the events! Check out my favorite 5 springtime activities to put on your calendar this spring!

1. Hiking Trails
   Durango has so many incredible hiking trails. Take advantage of one of these warm, sunny days and get hiking! Check out this website for different trails and their conditions. Always good to check the conditions before heading out! 

2. Durango Bluegrass Meltdown
   April 15th-17th  10:00 AM - 10:00 PM @ Downtown Durango
   Come downtown and enjoy live bluegrass music for three days at various venues downtown. There will be over 20 different bands performing throughout the three days. Some bands choose to play at a few of the bars later with no cover charge! There will also be various indoor and outdoor locations for informal jam sessions. Go to this website for more information and an updated lineup.

3. Durango Farmer's Market
   Saturdays May 14th-October 29th 8:00 AM - Noon @ First National Bank Parking Lot
   Great venue full of local farmers, value-added vendors, artisans, live music, and more! All goods are grown/made by their seller. Fantastic weekly event that supports Durango locals and our community!

4. The Taste of Durango
   Sunday May 15th 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM @ Downtown Durango
   All of downtown Main closes for this epic Durango event! Many local restaurants and breweries have a booths set up where you can sample dishes and beer with tokens. Do not miss out on all the fun, live music and dancing!

5. Iron Horse Bicycle Classic
   May 28th-30th 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM from Durango to Silverton
   One of Durango's most popular events. Every year thousands of cyclists come down to Durango to race the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton. The first race was back in 1972 with only 36 riders!

Do you have any favorite springtime activities in Durango? Let me know in the comments! 

Harvest Party

In case you weren't able to make last Sunday's Harvest Party, here are some pictures! We had an absolute blast. The morning was a little worrisome with the downpour, but it cleared out and turned into a beautiful fall day! We had family activities including punching balloons, corn hole and real goats! 

  Big thanks to James Ranch for such a breathtaking fall location and not to mention the DELICIOUS burgers and hot dogs they cooked up for us. Grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community and to have such amazing clients!

See you all next year! 

Sutherland Farms Pumpkin Festival

   Sutherland Farms in Aztec, New Mexico is a family owned retail and wholesale market and farm. The owners, Allen & D'rese Sutherland, have been in the farming business for 35 years, and you are likely to see three generations at work when you visit!
   Not only does Sutherland Farms sell delicious food at the Purple Cow Cafe on site (think freshly roasted green chilies atop your burger, smoked brisket, and seasonal veggies--say whaat), the farm ALSO has what Chelsea would call "the best family fall event."
   Every weekend in October from 10 am to 5 pm is Sutherland Farm's "Pumpkin Festival." If you can't picture what that looks like, check out the Krueger Fam photo from last fall below! CUTE!

     What does the Pumpkin Festival entail you ask? For just $5 admission (kids under 12 get in free) you get to enjoy the corn maze, corn pit, hay ride, and duck races! There are also packages you can purchase for your kids. A $5 package includes face paint and a train ride or pumpkin shooter.
     There are also a ton of pumpkins to choose from! Roam around with the family and find the perfect pumpkin for each of you to carve! Click here to visit their website for more info. You can also watch a video of the festival from a few years ago, here.
    

Until next time!

- Sydney

The 2nd Annual Appreciation & Harvest Party

Last Saturday marked my 2nd Annual Appreciation & Harvest Party. This is my way of thanking my clients for their support and friendship over the years, and celebrating my favorite season. Fall is a short season in Durango but offers the most amazing hot sun, crisp air and beautiful colors. We got lucky this year and had beautiful weather, so the kids could play in the grass. 

The kids had a blast- we had about 15 of them! They pet the two resident goats, tossed bean bags, played with punching balloons and chased each other around the ranch. 

Speaking of kids, everyone got to meet the newest addition to our family, Reese. She's two months old now! She spent most of the time strapped to my chest, sleeping and peaceful as always. I can't wait to watch her play with the other kids next year, probably just learning how to walk! 

Every year, Cynthia and Robert at the James Ranch Harvest Grill, cook up some delicious, local, organic eats for us!  This year we had harvest burgers and Durango Dawgs, fresh local veggies with home made ranch, local potato chips and home baked cookies. The hard cider was also a hit!

If you haven't been to James Ranch, the setting is magical. Cows graze in the pasture and bright yellow fall leaves contrast against the dark red cliffs of the Animas Valley. James Ranch also has a store that is open most days, selling cheeses, beef, ice cream and veggies! They offer an annual CSA, beef shares and eggs too. They are an organization worth supporting because they are the sweetest local families with a great mission.  

If you didn't make it this year, I hope to see you next October!  

Happy Fall!!