Pueblo real estate businesses hit hard by housing market slowdown

A home sits for sale at 3017 Prairie Hawk Lane in Pueblo on Monday.

Pueblo’s real estate market is continuing to slow down, and the fallout is impacting businesses industrywide. It’s not just Realtors feeling the impacts — it’s home builders, mortgage lenders and title companies too.  

“Overall, the housing slowdown is having a ripple effect across the industry as we see more title companies, mortgage companies and builders reducing staff,” said Dave Anderson, Pueblo Association of Realtors communications chair. 

“There’s layoffs coming, I am sure,” said Randy Nobiensky, self-employed contractor with RH Builders who is seeing the impact on builders and Realtors. “We are all connected, all in the same boat, and with the interest rates where they are. People are not buying, they are buckling down.” 

Nobiensky, who is vice president of the Pueblo Area Home Builders Association, said the cost of materials, supply chain issues, rising interest rates and inflation have all made the industry challenging for builders. The big bright spot of his year was being named builder of the year by his peers, but he said he is seeing some longtime builders opt for retirement.

A home is under construction by RH Builders.

New building permits are slowing

Just 16 new building permits were issued in Pueblo County in November. 

“Looking at the first 11 months of the year, we’re down 202 permits compared to the same period in 2021,” Anderson said. 

The impact has led builders, especially spec home builders who don’t have a buyer lined up in advance of the build, to halt construction on new homes, sell down their inventory and “wait it out,” Nobiensky said.