Colorado Springs Real Estate Facts & Fun

Working with customers reminds me that sometimes Colorado Springs does not have an abundance of certain types of homes.  Ultra contemporary homes are not often found and when they come on the market do not stay for long.  Yesterday I walked into one in Mantiou that reminded me of a tour to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

 The angles, walls of windows, circular staircase, combination of concrete and light along with a completely unobstructed view of the mountains in Manitou Springs.  

The house has 3 bedrooms, 5 baths and a Great Room concept with a beautiful kitchen and living area overlooking Mantou Springs.  Outdoor patios (wired & ready for a hot tub) and decks offer outdoor living potential on multiple sides of the house.  Priced at $529,900. 

One of the "disadvantages" of living in a state with so much outdoor recreation & a year-round climate that makes it conducive to exploring all types of recreation (almost on a year-round basis) are the aches & pains that come from exercise ~ or shall we say, "playing outside".  Whether it is snow skiing in the winter (although Arapahoe Basin is always the challenge with skiing on July 4th in the Basin), bike riding (mountain or road), running, rock climbing, mountain climbing, hiking, water skiing in the summer, golf, tennis, soccer, baseball/softball, swimming and all the water sports that go with that.  I am sure I am forgetting a few but you get the drift.

What do we do the next day after playing with any of the above?  One answer is a great little find in Manitou Springs called Salus.  Salus is a boutique store offering natural and organic bath and body care products.  Their real find, in my opinion, is their muscle relaxing cream.  I have to admit I snubbed this more than once after running for a couple of weeks (and not stretching) gave me a lower back spasm that took me out.  I could not bend over to pick up a paper clip much less anything else.  After physical therapy, multiple massage (they did help but did not cure it), and someone actually leaving me a tube of this muscle relaxing gel I finally tried it out of desperation.  To my complete shock it worked beautifully, no weird smell and no unusual texture.  Ask my family and they will tell that I am now a spokesperson for this little gem and the all look for it in their stockings every Christmas.

Salus can be found in Manitou Springs at 906 Manitou Avenue.  Heres to a happy healthy holiday weekend & the successfully elimination of aches & pains.  

Tucked away at the base of Pikes Peak is the town of Manitou Springs. Incredibly popular because of the terrain, access to mountain trails and national forest.  In addition to the outdoor recreation,  the Manitou lifestyle offers coffee shops, restaurants and shopping in walking distance as well. Within Manitou you will find a wide variety of real estate: condos, lofts, town homes, single family homes, mountain homes/ cabins and vacant land. In May 2011 there were 90 properties found. Of those:

• 74 are active on the market
• 8 are under contract
• 2 are pending and
• 5 sold

The list price ranges from $130,000 to $1,950,000. The average listing is $388,752. The average under contract is $292.925 and the sold property was $230,940.

Buy of the week in Manitou ~ 175 Clarksley Road - open house this weekend (June 11-12th)

3 bedroom, 3 bath beauty updated & remodeled.  Seller said sell and priced the house at $259,000

Call for availability/status update as this is a great buy in the Crystal Park neighborhood of Manitou Springs

Stunning and a work of art starts as you drive up to 25 Crystal Park Road.  The premiere beauty where every inch has been meticulously planned & custom built throughout the house and grounds.  If beauty, attention to detail and the best available is important take note.  $584,900 with 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, rooftop deck with built in bbq and hot tub. Luxury touches throughout.

Click here for a beautiful townhome for sale in Manitou Springs

History comes alive with every foot of elevation gain as you ride the Cog Railway up to the top of Pikes Peak. If 9 miles of hiking to the top of Pikes Peak sounds daunting, and the thought of driving on a gravel and dirt road with sheer cliff drop offs has you white knuckling your steering wheel, then the Cog train is for you!

Conventional railroads use the friction of wheels upon the rails, called “adhesion”, to provide locomotive power. A cog, or rack, railroad uses a gear, “cog wheel”, meshing into a special rack rail (mounted in the middle between the outer rails) to climb much steeper grades than those possible with a standard adhesion railroad. An adhesion railroad can only climb grades of 4 to 6%, with very short sections of up to 9%. A “rack” railroad can climb grades of up to 48%, depending upon the type of rack system employed. Some Swiss trains use a combination of “rack” and “adhesion”. This enables the trains to reach much higher speeds on the adhesion sections (rack railroads can not go much faster than 25 miles per hour or they run the risk of dislodgement from the rack rail- M & PP Ry.’s top speed is about 9 MPH).

The first cog (or “rack”) railway was built in New Hampshire in 1869, but the Swiss were quick to make use of this technology, and numerous rack railways were built there. Indeed, Switzerland is still the country where most rack railways are located. The Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway is, however, the highest rack railway in the world as well as the highest railway in North America and the Northern Hemisphere. The M&PP Ry. has a perfect safety record!

Workers come aboard and give history lessons as the train ascends to the clouds. As the train approaches tree-line, you will be rewarded with amazing views. At the top of Pikes Peak you can see for hundreds of miles, and another state – Kansas. If you’ve forgotten the words to the song, America the Beautiful, a placard is placed in honor of this song at the top so you may sing it and feel equally inspired. A gift shop sits atop, and passengers are alloted 20-30 minutes to peruse the shop, take pictures, and enjoy the view. Pikes Peak is 14,115, and altitude sickness is common. Drink water on the ride up to help alleviate headaches and stomach upset.

For times, tickets and reservation information (highly recommended!) visit:http://www.cograilway.com/

ShareThis

Tucked away at the base of Pikes Peak is the town of Manitou Springs.  Incredibly popular because of the location, natural beauty and access to mountain trails, national forest and yet walking distance to coffee and restaurants.  Within Manitou Springs itself, you will find a wide variety of real estate:  condos, lofts, town homes, single family homes, mountain homes and cabins.  In February 2010 there were 18 properties found.  Of those:

18 are active on the market  

2 are first right of refusal

1 is under contract 

3 are pending

1 is temporarily withdrawn

1 is cancelled and 

4 are sold 

The list price ranges from $159,000 to $475,000.  The average listing is $288,843.  The average under contract is $225,000 and the sold property was $251,750.  

Tucked away at the base of Pikes Peak is the town of Manitou Springs.  Incredibly popular because of the terrain and access to mountain trails, national forest and yet walking distance to coffee and restaurants.  Within Manitou you will find a wide variety of real estate:  condos, lofts, town homes, single family homes, mountain homes and cabins.  In January 2010 there were 18 properties found.  Of those:

• 14 are active on the market 
• 2 are under contract
• 1 is pending and
• 1 sold

The list price ranges from $124,000 to $550,000.  The average listing is $310,821.  The average under contract is $205,750 and the sold property was $310,000.  

Click here for a quick look at a new condo near hiking trails for sale in Manitou Springs

Click here for a beautiful home for sale in Manitou Springs

Click here for Contemporary Urban Living Condo for sale in Manitou Springs

Manitou Springs, located at the base of Pikes Peak is known for great family activities all year round.  Tomorrow, Saturday, February 13th is the 18th Annual Manitou Carnivale Parade.  With the theme, "Happy Days are Here Again" the line up is a sure bet for a day of fun.   A brief look at the day includes:

10:00 am with a crown and costume making workshop for all ages ~ supplies and materials will be provided and the event is FREE.  

11:00 be sure to head over to Soda Springs park for he Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo Cook Off sponsored by the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce.  $1 samples are available until they are sold out.  Note:  the supply always runs out before the 1 pm parade.

1:00 Carnivale Parade starts ~ with a continued growth each year the 2010 parade is expected to last 1.5 hours.  Note:  there is a free shuttle from parking lots and motels all through town. 

Manitou real estate includes condos, lofts, homes in town and mountain living.  For a quick look and update on what's available click here.