After analyzing the 2019’s El Paso County, Co land sales; I felt encouraged. People were still out looking at land and buying land despite the wintry weather that we had in January and February. In this area, we rely on snow to provide the all important moisture that our pastures and trees need. In the Calhan area, where I live and work, last year was extremely dry. We didn’t have hardly any snow or rain. So this year, I am thrilled that we’ve had snow. After three years of waiting for a good snow, I was finally able to sell my snow blower. Yeah!!! That said and taking into account that I still have a South Texas mentality when it comes to snow, I wasn’t expecting to see too many land sales.
After all, who wants to be out looking at raw land when it a windy 19 degree out? Or 9 degrees? Granted, we have had a few nice days when it was 45 degrees. Unlike Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge or the other popular ski areas; this side of the front range is flat. People don’t ski in El Paso County. When it does snow, the snow melts quickly. As much as I love being outdoors and looking at land; I did not spend much time outdoors. Yet, apparently some buyer prospects interested in land in El Paso County did.
Please remember, when you look at my real estate market reports that I choose to only discuss properties that are at least five acres in size. I pull my date from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtor’s (PPAR) multiple listing service. That means that if at least one side of the transaction was not handled by a Realtor whose data is included in PPAR records, the sale in not included in these figures.
2019 Sales of Acreage in El Paso County, Co
(also known as the Colorado Springs area)
As of January 6, 2019 – there had been 158 lots, that were at least 5 acres available for sale. Please remember, when you look at my real estate market reports that I choose to only discuss properties that are at least five acres in size. I pull my date from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtor’s multiple listing service.
As of March 10, 2019:
- There were 164 lots available for sale.
- 31 properties have contracts pending. The asking prices ranged from $19,500 up to $6.7 million for a ranch on highway 94, just east of Colorado Springs. At that price, someone wants it for its development potential.
- 18 lots sold in the first two months of 2019. 8 lots in January. 10 lots in February
Now, when I want to summarize the sales – this is where the “accountant” side of me finds myself wanting to show numbers that show what I want to say. ha, ha. For example, when looking at last year’s results, I thought that average sales figures and numbers better represented what was going on than the median numbers did.
Yet, the median results were a bit more “accurate” of the actual picture for the first two months of this year. Ultimately, I decided that 18 land sales, during the winter months of January and February, 2019 is really too small of a number of transactions to determine if this is going to be an awesome year for people selling land or if it is going to be a bit more favorable for buyers.
Days on Market Down
Looking at the both the average and median days on market (DOM) before a lots sold; I predict this is going to be another great year for people that are wanting to sell land.
Out of the 18 sales, 3 of the properties had been on the market for over a year. In one case, a 5 acre lot had been available for sale for 4, 251 days. I suppose the great news is that those lots actually sold. Thus, out of the 18 sales, the numbers of days that a lot was available for sale was 360 days.
Yet, the median number of days that a lot was available for sale was 39 days. In other words, half of the lots that did sale were on the market for less than 39 days. Half were on the market for over 39 days.
So, despite the weather, the median days on median DOM is significantly lower than 2018’s median days on market.
2019 YTD (year to date) median days on market: 39 days.
2018 Median Days on Market for Lots 5 acres and up: 75 days.
2017 Median Days on Market for Lots 5 acres and up: 81 days.
5-6 Acre Lots
8 lots sold in January/February
6 of those lots were in the Black Forest or Tri Lakes area. Those sold for $14,706 – $67,000 an acre.
1 five acre lots sold in Calhan area for $15,230 an acre. It should be noted that lot had electric, two water wells, septic and two run down trailers.
1 lots sold Peyton for $9,804 per acre.
10 – 20 Acre Lots
3 lots sold in this size group.
Peyton area – $14,026 per acre
Black Forest area – $23,416 acre
Tri Lakes area – $30,694 per acre
35-40 Acre Lots
6 lots sold in this size group. The price per acre was in close correlation with how close into town it was.
2 lots closest to Falcon – $3,685 to $4,663 per acre
2 lots on north side of 94 – $2,500 – $3,100 an acre
2 lots south of 94 – $1,250 to $1,875 per acre.
160 Acre Lot
Only one 160 acre lot, which was located on South Calhan Hwy, sold. After being on the market for 224 days, it sold for $152,500. That works out to $953 per acre.
To Summarize
Despite the weather, buyers seem to be very interested in purchasing land. The median number of days on market is the biggest indicator. It is still a bit too early to know if 2019 will be another year of increasing land prices or if prices will stabilize a bit.
On the residential rural side, prices seem to be stabilizing. Yet, I see no indication that they are going to start going down. Furthermore, it is important to be careful when “generalizing land and property values.” The existence of water wells, sheds and barns, plus a lot of extra junk or old singlewides play a role in the value. As does area.
If you would like more information about your specific property, please do not hesitate to call or email me.
Sincerely,
Sondra Meyer
719-761-6272
sondra@starviewre.com
Note: Data was pulled from the PPAR MLS for properties on 5 acres and up by Sondra Meyer. While every attempt was made to be accurate, I can not guarantee accuracy. I have made typos or read numbers wrong in the past. This market report should be used as a general overview of real estate trend for properties 5 acres and up in El Paso County.
