Friday 14th

• High Altitude Blues at the Balcony Bar & Grill at 11:00 am

• Weekly Beer Tasting at Star Liquors from 3:00pm – 6:00pm

• Bicycle A One Night Show at 1021 Main Ave. from 5:00pm – 9:00pm

Saturday 15th -

• Dandelion Festival at 15th and Main ( The park with the gazebo behind VFW) from 9:00am – 4:00pm

• Rylee Mac’s Famous Patio Opens for Lunch & Dinner at Rylee Macs from 11:00am – 4:00pm

• Lisa Blue Trio at the Diamond Belle Saloon at 5:00pm

• Yoga Workshop in Moab with Barbara Benagh at the Moab Arts & Recreation Center from 9:00am – 1:00pm

Sunday 16th -

• Taste of Durango on Downtown Main Street from 11:00am – 3:00pm

• Traditional Irish Jam Session at the Irish Embassy Pub from 12:30pm – 4:00pm

• Sunday Artmarkets Courtyard at the Artisans of the Southwest Gallery & Winery in Pagosa Springs from 12:00pm – 3:00pm

It’s that time of year again, Daylight Savings!

When? This Sunday, March 14th at 2:00 am Spring forward, Fall back…

so be sure to turn your clocks forward 1 hour on Sunday night.

Does this mean it’s finally Spring? Could someone please inform the weather man it’s Spring now and to start reporting signs of warmth on the horizion!

Have a great weekend!

–
Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

As most of you might know, Durango is a snowy mountain town and some people deal with tons of snow in different ways.  Some love it, others get what’s known as “cabin fever”.  This is an overwhelming feeling of needing to get out of the house! 

Well, Snowdown was created as a way to deal with the cabin fever.  It’s basically a week long celebration, where there are fun events hosted all week long throughout the town.  Even if you don’t want to participate in the events themselves they are all entertaining to watch! So get out of your snow surrounded house and come have a good time downtown!!!

This year’s theme…Surf’s up, life’s a beach!!!

Check out the website to see all the events click here to see Snowdown website

Here are some of the events I will personally be attending or competing in…

* The polar BEER plunge – where people jump into a giant pool of beer that has been sitting outside in the cold for days!!!

* The high-five competition

* The follies – a live performance with tons of local humor and funny skits!

* The do’s and don’t fashion show, showing off Durango’s horrible sense of fashion.

* The beard growing competition - to see who can grow the best beard in town.

* The Friday big parade down Main!

* The arm-wrestling competition at the Wild Horse

…And much, much, more!

Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

—
In a recent interview with a top agent in Massachusetts, I asked how things were going in his local area. “Our market is really a tale of two markets,” he said. “Eighty percent of the homes are overpriced and twenty percent are well-priced.  The well-priced properties are getting multiple offers.  The overpriced properties are getting none”.

I immediately realized that in every market, in every time, there are two markets – one where properties are priced to sell and another where properties are priced to sit.  A seller is either in the market or out of it.  And unlike a sellers’ market where time on the market can pull overpriced homes back into the market, after a downshift, every day just pushes the overprices homes farther and farther out of the market.
—

There are two markets in every market, Durango is no different.  Which market are you in?

If you are trying to sell your home and are frustrated with the current market, don’t worry you are not alone. We need to remember to adjust to our surroundings constantly.  If we do not change and whats around us does, where does that leave us?  In the past and stagnant.

Now is the time to get creative, strike your progressive thinking and put it to action!

There will always be changes in markets, clothing styles, environmental changes, technology advances etc.  Stay up to date, do your homework and make adjustments to what will work for your lifestyle.

If you are looking for up to date information on what’s happening in the local Colorado market, give us a call, we can help.  We can discuss creative marketing strategies and we are happy to provide you with a free market analysis at any time.

With the turning of the new year just around the corner, this is the prefect time to point yourself in the direction of progression!  Stay motivated be positive!

Happy Holidays!

–
Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

Busy Busy Busy…the holiday weekend last week was a little quiet but ever since we’ve come back to the office, it’s been double the work load!

We are here and ready for action.  Seems like the phones are ringing and buyers are looking.

* What has sold?

13 Homes have sold in Durango in the past 2 weeks.  Homes were priced from $299k-$879k.

-The average sold price: $401.   Median $350K
-Average Days on market: 256
-Average sold price per square foot from these homes: $188.00/sf
- 9 homes were in rural Durango locations the other 4 were in town.

Click Here to View sold homes

* How many homes are under contract?

There are currently 73 homes in Durango with pending sales.  Listed prices range from $16K to $2.9 mil.

38 of these homes are in town.
35 are in rural areas of Durango.

* Anything New Available?

There are 23 new listings on the market in the last 15 days prices range from $174k-$3.2 mil.

Here are the new listings: Click here to see new listings

——————-

Everyone is asking.  How’s the market? It’s improving!  But most likely what you really want to know is…

….how’s the market for selling MY home or what has sold in my neighborhood.  Or how’s the market for buying a great deal?

We can help, just call or email with specific questions and we would be more than happy to give you the exact answers you have been looking for.

As always, thanks for reading!  Happy Holidays!

Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

You will notice is that none of them are very far off the asking price. If you are looking for the screaming deals, it’s not that easy to find a seller in Durango to come way off their price… You’ll need to be flexible in what you take and be willing to write lots of offers. We can help with that.

We have electronic signing capabilities, read the post on docusign here, making writing offers super easy for you.

We have experience with bank owned and foreclosure properties, read that blog post here.

Things are looking up in real estate, see today’s Herald article: Home Prices increase across the US.

And last week’s article “Bargains attract local homebuyers”, with graphs on Durango real estate prices and more info.

* Keep checking back for real estate information and screaming deals in Durango, Colorado. Thanks for reading our blog.

–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com
Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

Visitors touched by help from local man

My wife, Leslie, and I recently were on vacation in Southwest Colorado. We hiked 80 miles on the COlorado Trail and had an amazing vacation in your beautiful state. The morning after we finished hiking, we had a scare we will never forget.
We were eating breakfast in Durango at the Brickhouse Cafe, and my wife started to feel ill (not from the food, but form an allergic reaction to medicine). Within seconds, she passed out and was convulsing.
Panicking, I asked if anyone know of the closest hospital; a young, college-aged man stepped forward and said he could take us. He grabbed our belongings and rode with us to the Urgent Care facility. Once there, he parked our car and helped explain what happened to the nurses while Leslie still was unconscious.
When the ambulance arrived, I said thank you to him, no knowing his name or how to express my feelings of gratitude any more clearly at the time. We parted ways, and I later learned he actually had returned to the restaurant to pay our bill.

As it turns out, Leslie made a full recovery within a couple of hours. The deeds of this man always will be remembered by me and my wife. His selfless actions gave us much needed support in a bad situation. This young man’s heroic act should be a lesson for everyone to emulate.

So, to whoever you are, the man who took time to help two strangers in distress, thank you.

Benjamin Jenkins, Christiansburg,  VA

And:

Tourists thankful for help from woman

We just returned from an extended trip to Colorado. While in Durango, we hiked up one trail, got lost and came back down on the other side of mountain.

 While wandering around lost, a nice lady stopped her car and tried to tell us how to back to our car. She then volunteered to drive us back to where we started. It saved our day.

She has just returned from a trip to Lander, Wyo, and had plenty of things to get done without hauling disoriented tourists around.

This act of kindness wat the nicest thing to happen to us in tree weeks of travel. Durango certainly has some nice people.

Phil and Gail Acuff, Leawood, Kan

Are you ready to move to Durango now? Call us for real estate info. 970 247 8388. Now’s the time to buy.
–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com

Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

# 1.

“Do I really need a Realtor?” 

#2.

 “I want to buy a foreclosure!”

# 3.

“Do I really need to get an inspection?  The house looks fine.”

# 4.

“I want my property value to grow, how can I gain equity in my new home”

# 5.

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

“A new study published this month in Pediatrics reports that 7 out of 10 children in the U.S. are not getting enough Vitamin D. The study found that kids who spend an average of 4 hours a day watching TV or playing video games have a 60% higher risk of being deficient in Vitamin D (which is necessary to maintain healthy organs and bones).
A lack of Vitamin D has been linked to heart disease, autoimmune disease, hypertension, chronic pain and fatigue, and a host of other ailments. One way to ensure that your kids aren’t at risk is to feed them foods rich in Vitamin D, such as beef liver and sardines. If liver and sardines sound like a hard sell, how about snowboarding or mountain biking? Natural sunlight is an excellent source of Vitamin D, so outdoor play on a sunny day just might keep the doctor away.
With more than 300 days of sunshine a year and endless ways to have fun in the sun, Durango, Colorado is one of the top three cities in the nation in which to raise an outdoor kid, according to the August 2009 issue of Backpacker magazine.  Click here. 

To determine the rankings, the magazine’s editors considered 38 different metrics, from the distance to the nearest national park to the number of subscribers to Boy’s Life, as well as obesity rates, climate statistics, and outdoor education opportunities.
Durango Mountain Resort offers year-round recreation opportunities for the whole family, from mountain biking and the Alpine Slide, to skiing and snowboarding – all with a healthy dose of Vitamin D.  For more info visit Durango mountain resort’s website at www.durangomountainresort.com.”

 
–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com

Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

by Bob

At 10 a.m. Friday is the grand opening of the city’s new Transit Center located downtown at Eighth Street and Camino del Rio next to the post office. Consider yourself invited to come down and enjoy the opening ceremony.

You can join a walking procession leaving City Hall at 9:30 a.m., or a bicycle parade leaving at 9:30 a.m. from Buckley Park. Speeches, ribbon cutting and refreshments begin at 10 a.m. And oh yes, wear red … any questions?

“Yes…What’s a Transit Center, and why do we need one?”

Maybe it’s best if I start at the beginning.

Soon after hairy caveperson invented the wheel, everyone had to have their own Flintstone-mobile. That’s when traffic started to snarl and road rage set in. Now, fast-forward to the 2009 version of Durango.

First, consider the research. Population trend studies indicate we are, and will continue to, experience regional growth. (Translation: A lot more hairy people will live among us.) Second, for a lot of very positive reasons, use of public transit is, and will continue to increase. (Hint: Take the hint?) Last year, the Durango “T” carried 365,050 riders and is on pace to carry 430,000 this year.

Then there are issues of reality. We have been getting along with the “commuter-van-driver-drops-off-passengers-in-a-grocery-store-parking-lot” method of transit and transfer. Nice, but not convenient, safe or efficient. Also, consider the growing amount of commuting drivers, over-the-road bus passengers, walkers, bikers and local transit riders all circulating the downtown grid with no single point to converge or connect.

That’s the key point – connectivity. A transit center serves as a single, centrally located facility that provides either an arrival point, a departure point or a transfer point for all modes of transportation, thus the proper name, Durango Regional Intermodal Transit Center.

Imagine a person walking or riding a bike into downtown to catch a bus out to his or her job at Mercy. Or, imagine riding a van into town from a city neighborhood, outlying community, the airport or a Greyhound or Durango Mountain Resort bus to catch the “T” home or to his or her job. The transit facility will provide interconnecting efficiency for cars and trucks, vans and buses, trikes and bikes, scooters and motorcycles, hybrids and electrics and maybe someday a commuter train.

Other benefits? The Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design-certified transit center will provide information services, public restrooms, generous bicycle parking, bus pass and parking permit sales, payment drop-off and house the transit offices and dispatch center. The city parking lot in which the transit center sits is also intended to be the future site of a structured parking garage that will further increase transit efficiencies.

What did it cost? State Senate Bill 1 awarded the city of Durango $4.4 million to construct the transit center and $700,000 to upgrade sidewalks adjacent to the center and those connecting the center to Main Avenue. The city of Durango provided the land that was valued at the required 20 percent value of the entire project. Good job everybody.

Kunkelra@cidurango.co.usBob Kunkel is special events and business coordinator for Durango’s Central Business District.

This is why we love Durango!

See you there.  Claudia
–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com