La Bellezza Italian-inspired homes win more awards from National Association of Home Builders

The world has certainly taken notice of Keller Homes' La Bellezza villages of Italian-inspired courtyard villas in Peregrine and Pine Creek.

The 2006 Pacific Coast Builders' Conference awarded the community three Gold Nugget awards including "Detached Residential Project of the Year."

La Bellezza at Peregrine and La Bellezza at Pine Creek consist of 50 homes, created by a team of nationally-recognized design and landscape architects and interior designers. Pam Keller, company vice president, attributes Keller's national recognition and local embrace of La Bellezza to this high-powered collaboration.

Both communities feature indoor/outdoor living, enclosed courtyards, recessed niches and lush landscaping - complete with water features and fountains in addition to open interior living spaces.

Prices for the award-winning homes begin in the $600s.

Springs housing a bargain

In its 2006 Home Price Comparison Index, Coldwell Banker found that a 2,200-square-foot, four bedroom, 2.5 bath, two-car garage home in Colorado Springs sells for an average price of $217,000.

That's $319,000 less than a comparable residence in Boulder ($536,000) and more than $1.5 million less than the same home in Beverly Hills ($1.8 million).

Colorado Springs also fell within the 29 percent of markets in which average prices were below the National Association of Realtors' median single family home price of $225,700.

In other words, life in the Pikes Peak region remains a bargain.

The national average for all U.S. markets was $423,950, a 6 percent increase compared to $401,767 in 2005 and well above the 2001 HPCI of $269,241.

The index evaluated home prices in 384 markets, including, for the first time, 42 international markets outside North America.

Colorado Springs parallels globally with cities such as Montreal, Ontario and Jakarta, Indonesia. The Pikes Peak region also compares closely to U.S. cities such as Shreveport, La. ($218,641), Rochester, Minn. ($218,084) and Cheyenne, Wyo. ($213,166).

And for politicians running for Congress, take note: average home prices in Washington, D.C., run $791,750 - or $805,000 in Alexandria, Va. It may take major fundraising to afford to live close to the Capitol.

New homes hot on market

In his Sept. 28 report, Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Northaft noted that the average time new homes remained on the market in August was 6.3 months, down from 6.6 months in July.

In the current real estate climate, even small changes provide reason for optimism.

In related news, the government lender said mortgage rates dropped to their lowest point since March 2006, and family incomes are projected to continue to rise.

Homewood leased up

Less than three months after completion, the Homewood Point Apartments on the east side of downtown Colorado Springs are almost 100 percent leased, said Diane Miller of Shaw Construction.

The $13.5 million project consists of five buildings and a clubhouse on land that formerly served as a parking lot for the old St. Francis Hospital. The development covers 4.14 acres on the southeast corner of Pikes Peak Avenue and Institute Street.

Although much of the property's natural slope was removed during construction, a retaining wall kept the ground intact around Historic Fire Station No. 4, which is on the south west corner of the block.

Hendricks Communities of Denver is the project developer.

Built as affordable housing, the complex includes 104 one- and two-bedroom apartments which feature nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows. This represents the first in a series of collaborative projects undertaken by the builder and the developer.

28 West site under contract

Ron Butlin, vice president of Classic Cos., said that his company has sold 28 W. Monument St. to Eric Hemmingway. The site is under contract, and is going through a due diligence review.

While he wasn't ready to reveal specific elevations or floorplans for the residential community prior to neighborhood meetings later this month, Hemmingway did say that care had been taken by architects at Davis Partners to integrate a park-like feel into the initial concepts.

"We want to bring the park to the building rather than bring a building to the park," he said, adding that his plans include use of building materials prevalent or associated with Monument Valley Park.

"Ours is a very different concept from the prior community [28 West]," Hem-mingway said. "We want to hit a target market that is looking for something different - more integrated with the neighborhood. Units will be situated to take advantage of west- facing views."

Colarelli Construction has been selected as general contractor on the project.