Unique Homes Blog

Ski markets in Colorado are picking up speed again.

By Jennifer Martin

When the economy was languishing in 2008, Realtors in the Colorado ski markets were caught in the middle of a cold war. Both sellers and buyers in those markets tend to be affluent, and they were hanging onto their money. Buyers didn’t want to make a big investment, and sellers didn’t want to lose their homes at a steep discount.

But in July 2009, the markets began to percolate again. “When the stock market started to pick up, people started looking around again,” said Realtor George Harvey, of The Harvey Team at Telluride Properties, in Telluride. “It’s not as active a market as it was in 2006, but it’s definitely moving in the right direction.”

Most of the sales activity that started this summer is occurring among properties priced at $750,000 or lower, he says. “Probably 60 percent of our transactions are in that market, and people are finding some incredible buys,” he says. “I’d say in my 25 years of business, it’s the best time to be a buyer that I’ve seen. Two years from now, there are going to be people wishing they had taken advantage of this market.”

Harvey says significant price discounts among the most expensive homes in the resort markets — Aspen, Telluride, Breckenridge and Vail, for example — are still hard to find because most top-tier properties have no debt attached to them. “The sellers don’t need to sell,” he said.

But there are a few sellers who are motivated: He mentions one 10,000-square-foot house on 60 acres of land whose price has dropped from $12.5 million to $7.5 million in just two years. “That’s a pretty significant discount,” he noted.

The market for mid-range properties in Aspen is also showing some signs of life, said Realtor Brian Hazen, of Mason Morse. “It’s been a more active fall than usual, and most of the sales activity has been in the $3 million to $6 million range,” he says. “One week last fall, we had six home sales over $4 million.”

The Aspen real estate market was not hit as hard by the recession for many reasons, such as its celebrity cache, high quality of life and strict land controls that limit development. Still, there has been a slight softening in home prices, a rise in inventory and a slower sales pace overall.

Hazen said many prospective buyers come to him knowing exactly the type of property they want and looking for motivated sellers. Smaller in-town properties, such as condos and townhomes with mountain views are particularly getting increased attention, he said. Hazen traces the interest to a trend toward downsizing. “It’s natural in a shaky economy to want to be more efficient,” he said.

Whatever the type of property desired, determined buyers seem to be finding it, and Realtors believe it’s only a matter of time before the market hits peak prices again.

“From the peak of our market in 2006, there’s probably 25 percent more inventory now,” Hazen said. “I think educated and savvy buyers are taking advantage of the amount of inventory there is available.”

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