Hot market: Fire serves to reignite Westside construction, home buying

This home is just one example of how Mountain Shadows is rebounding from the Waldo Canyon fire, with Realtors able to sell homes and lots quickly, and customers happy about joining the neighborhood despite the still-visible fire scars.

The Colorado Springs Business Journal said last week that the Waldo Canyon fire has "reignited" westside construction.

"“This is the first time in a lot of years that people have been able to have new construction on the Westside,” said Dean Weissman, a Realtor with The Platinum Group. “The market over there — it’s extremely hot.”

The west side of Interstate 25 has been built out for at least 10 years, Weissman said. And most of the real estate nestled into the hillsides is more than 20 years old.

The fire destroyed a wide variety of homes in Mountain Shadows, but the average price of the burned houses was above $350,000. Some homeowners have decided to rebuild with their insurance money and stay.

Others, for emotional or financial reasons, opted to sell their lots and move on, Patterson said."

Read more: http://csbj.com/2013/05/10/hot-market-fire-serves-to-reignite-westside-construction-home-buying/