The 2008 CSAP Results Are In

As a Realtor, on a regular basis, I'm asked about how well certain schools are performing. This is a tough question to answer as every school has good and bad points. However, there is a state-wide test (CSAP) and the results were recently released. I will include a link to the results below along with a link to the school accountability report. Please note that private school results aren't included.

2008 School District #51, Mesa County, CSAP results - Broken down by school and subject

School Accountability Report for School District #51, Mesa County

Charter School Exceeds State Averages - This charter school isn't part of school district #51, but is sponsored by the state.

What is Happening In Grand Junction Area Real Estate - 07/20/08-7/26/08

Market Statistics for July 20, 2008 - July 26, 2008-

According to our local MLS, there are currently 1,748 active residential listings in Grand Junction, 356 homes are under contract, and 59 homes sold last week. They are broken into areas below-

• City Area - 194 active / 6 sold
• North Area - 278 active / 8 sold
• Northeast Area - 184 active / 7 sold
• Southeast Area - 168 active / 10 sold
• Clifton Area - 95 active / 7 sold
• Orchard Mesa Area - 179 active / 9 sold
• Redlands Area - 226 active / 2 sold
• Fruita Area - 282 active / 9 sold
• Palisade/East Orchard Mesa Area - 64 active / 1 sold
• Northwest Area - 31 active / 0 sold
• West Area - 47 active / 0 sold
• Whitewater - 38 active / 0 sold
• Mesa/Collbran - 41 active / 1 sold

The Different Neighborhoods in Mesa County - This is a general guide to the different areas

New Home Building Down From Last Year in Mesa County

In my last post I mentioned building permits were down and a brief reason as to why. A huge reason is the lenders have more stringent lending practices. There was an article in the local paper that goes into more detail and explains how and why the smaller builders are struggling. One of the reasons for higher lot prices has to do with the cost of subdividing, development, and the amount of time it takes to do both of these in Mesa County. Also, notice that the statistics at the end of the article aren't for our local market except for one concerning foreclosures and I am questioning how accurate that statistic is. If you go to my previous post on foreclosures you will find a link that will take you to a list of current foreclosures.

Loans Hard To Get For Some Grand Valley Developers- This is the article from the local paper.

Real Estate Softens

That was the headline of The Daily Sentinel, one of our local newspapers on Sunday. The first question just about everyone asked me the next couple of days was "Did you see the article in the paper on Sunday?" and that question was followed by "So what is your take?" My response was and still is - "Home sales are down, but homes are still appreciating and earning equity. We've had a couple of remarkable years (one year homes appreciated over 20%), but there was a need for a correction." I would then explain that young people just starting out were starting to have trouble finding a starter home they could afford. If you look at the graphs in some of my previous posts you will see there aren't a lot of homes priced under $200,000.

You can read the article here - The Daily Sentinel article


Some of the key points from the article:

• Residential & Commercial real estate is down 28%
• Decline is due to higher lending standards
• Inventory is up
• New construction is down 50% (The higher lending standards are, also, affecting the builders and their construction loans. Some builders are unable to build more than one house at a time.)
• Poor weather contributed to the decline (We had a long, cold winter)
• Median house price is $229,000 (down 0.4%)
• House values are up 3.7% in the past 12 months
• Residential home sales will increase, indicated by an upward trend for the month of June
• This just means that we are undergoing a transition from a record-breaking market to a
  “normal” market.

What is a “Normal” Market?

Well in a "normal" market -
It takes years to build equity in a home, not months. Buyers have to have a good credit score in order to qualify for a mortgage. The lending practices have definitely tightened.

I think it is important to remember that things have slowed down, but our homes are still earning equity. Also, it is getting increasingly difficult to find a place to rent, especially for a family. Therefore the individuals and families, that are either continuing to have trouble finding a place to rent or are improving their credit, will soon be deciding to buy a home.

What is Happening In Grand Junction Area Real Estate - 07/13/08-7/19/08

Market Statistics for July 13, 2008 - July 19, 2008-

According to our local MLS, there are currently 1,759 active residential listings in Grand Junction, 365 homes are under contract, and 55 homes sold last week. They are broken into areas below-

• City Area - 199 active/7 sold
• North Area - 281 active/ 7 sold
• Northeast Area - 176 active/4 sold
• Southeast Area - 172 active/ 11 sold
• Clifton Area - 87 active / 4 sold
• Orchard Mesa Area - 183 active / 6 sold
• Redlands Area - 232 active / 5 sold
• Fruita Area - 287 active / 10 sold
• Palisade/East Orchard Mesa Area - 66 active / 1 sold
• Northwest Area - 32 active / 0 sold
• West Area - 44 active / 0 sold
• Whitewater - 41 active / 0 sold

The Different Neighborhoods in Mesa County - This is a general guide to the different areas

What is Happening In Grand Junction Area Real Estate - 07/06/08-7/12/08

Market Statistics for July 6, 2008 - July 12, 2008-

According to our local MLS, there are currently 1,755 active residential listings in Grand Junction, 355 homes are under contract, and 57 homes sold last week. They are broken into areas below-

• City Area - 198 active/6 sold
• North Area - 277 active/ 4 sold
• Northeast Area - 176 active/8 sold
• Southeast Area - 172 active/ 7 sold
• Clifton Area - 96 active / 6 sold
• Orchard Mesa Area - 182 active / 3 sold
• Redlands Area - 230 active / 11 sold
• Fruita Area - 286 active / 11 sold
• Palisade/East Orchard Mesa Area - 48 active / 1 sold
• Northwest Area - 31 active / 0 sold
• West Area - 43 active / 0 sold

The Different Neighborhoods in Mesa County - This is a general guide to the different areas

What is Happening In Grand Junction Area Real Estate - 6/30/08-7/01/08

Market Statistics for June 30, 2008 - July 01, 2008 -

According to our local MLS, there are currently 1,734 active residential home listings in Grand Junction, 378 homes are under contract, and 68 homes sold last week. They are broken into areas below-

City Area - 199 active/ 4 sold
North Area - 267 active/ 7 sold
Northeast Area - 176 active/ 10 sold
Southeast Area - 171 active/ 6 sold
Clifton Area - 94 active / 6 sold
Orchard Mesa Area - 178 active / 13 sold
Redlands Area - 223 active / 6 sold
Fruita Area - 287 active / 11 sold
Palisade/East Orchard Mesa Area - 64 active / 4 sold
Northwest Area - 32 active / 0 sold
West Area - 43 active / 1 sold

The Different Neighborhoods in Mesa County - This is a general guide to the different areas

Grand Junction Real Estate Statistics For June 2008

This is a summary of June's Real Estate Market Statistics, for more detailed statistics check out the following graphs.

• The Summary for June 2008 looks like this - 1336 active listings(homes for sale), 282 homes sold, and the average days on the market(DOM) is 120.


• There was a slight decrease in sales last month. Although, in the $500,000-$750,000 price range there was a notable increase in sold homes.


• There was a slight decrease in the number of transactions(homes sold) this month. This month was similar to April's as fas as transactions.
  
• The median price of homes sold this month went up by$18,889. Part of this is due to the increase of sales in the $500,000-$750,000 price range.

Graphs - Grand Junction Real Estate Statistics For June 2008

What is Happening In Grand Junction Area Real Estate - 6/22/08-6/29/08

Market Statistics for June 22, 2008 - June 29, 2008 -

According to our local MLS, there are currently 1,701 active residential home listings in Grand Junction, 379 homes are under contract, 62 homes sold last week, and 56 expired. They are broken into areas below-

• City Area - 197 active/ 10 sold
• North Area - 241 active/ 9 sold
• Northeast Area - 174 active/ 11 sold
• Southeast Area - 161 active/ 8 sold
• Clifton Area - 88 active / 3 sold
• Orchard Mesa Area - 182 active / 4 sold
• Redlands Area - 218 active / 5 sold
• Fruita Area - 301 active / 8 sold
• Palisade/East Orchard Mesa Area - 67 active / 3 sold
• Northwest Area - 30 active / 0 sold
• West Area - 41 active / 1 sold

The Different Neighborhoods in Mesa County - This is a general guide to the different areas