Happy Snow Day from Crested Butte,

If the real estate market momentum we realized in 2011 is any indication of what we can expect this year, 2012 will be a good year for the Crested Butte real estate market.

Consider the following:

In 2011, the single, highest residential real estate sale we realized in Crested Butte was $3.125 million. This sale marked the first time since June 2007 the $3 million threshold was cracked for a home purchase at this end of the Upper East River Valley.

Also in 2011, we realized over 220 sales of homes and condos from Crested Butte South to Mt. Crested Butte. This is a jump from 143 total sales in 2010. We passed $105 million in total sales volume – the first time we’ve done that since 2008. And, we hit this mark with mostly all cash investments!

During 2011, the average days on market for sold homes and condos sold went down and average sold prices and average sold prices per square foot went up in all areas including Crested Butte South, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. See my newsletter 2011 Issue #9 for details.

Already in 2012, we have realized a $4 million sale of a Sotheby’s listed home in the Prospect ski-in ski-out subdivision. Its been over 6 years since somebody has purchased a house in our market for $4 million or more. (2005 sale: $4.3 million Skyland home). This is momentum!

Teocalli Park and CBMR’s New Master Plan

The North Face lift with chairs? Two new ski lifts rising a total of 8000 feet to the top of something called Teocalli Park? CBMR has submitted a new master plan to the US Forest Service and its quite a departure from the Snodgrass Mountain expansion plan that was denied a few years back. Read the article at the Crested Butte News

Did You Know – “The Crested Buttes”

The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by Ute Native Americans. The Utes were quickly displaced when white explorers – beaver trappers and surveyors – first entered the valley. Captain John Gunnison, Gunnison County’s namesake, was one of the first explorers to find the valley. Crested Butte got it’s name from a geologist named Ferdinand Hayden who was on 1873 expedition surveying the Elk Mountains. From the top of what is now known as Teocalli Peak, Hayden referred to present day Crested Butte Mountain and Gothic Mountain as “the crested buttes.” 

Crested Butte In The Media

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a recent article about our little town. …“where every view seems to contain a snow-capped peak and ranchers still herd cattle on city streets – the American frontier is alive and well.” View Article

2011-2012 Air Service to Gunnison and Crested Butte

View Flight Schedule (PDF)

Thanks for reading today! We hope to see you in Crested Butte very soon!

Channing Boucher
Broker Associate
Benson Sotheby’s International Realty

A Brief History of Crested Butte Colorado
A former coal mining town now called The Last Great Colorado Ski Town, Crested Butte was named because in 1873 a geologist named Ferdinand Hayden was on expedition surveying the Elk Mountains and from the top of what is today known as Teocalli Peak referred to present day Crested Butte Mountain and Gothic Mountain as “the crested buttes.”  Howard F. Smith, considered the founding father of Crested Butte, laid out the Town by 1878.  While Smith was originally attracted to the area because of the extensive coal deposits, he first built a smelter and saw mill to service the hard rock mining camps located in the surrounding areas.  This established Crested Butte as a major supply center prior to becoming a long-term coal producer. Crested Butte sits at an elevation of 8,885 feet and is located 28 miles north of the City of Gunnison in the County of Gunnison.

The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by Ute Native Americans. However, they were quickly displaced when white explorers first entered the area. The first people to explore the valley were beaver trappers, followed by surveyors. Captain John Gunnison, after whom Gunnison County is named, was one of the early explorers to enter the area.

In addition, around 1000 miners resided in the surrounding areas.  Smith served as the first mayor of Crested Butte and sold half of his interest in the Town and 1000 acres of coal land to the owner of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in an effort to persuade the extension of the railroad from Gunnison to Crested Butte.  Smith’s tactics proved successful and the railroad arrived in Crested Butte on November 21, 1881.  The arrival of the railroad ended Crested Butte’s isolation and facilitated the expansion of the coal industry and the simultaneous expansion of the Town.  By 1882 Crested Butte was home to 1000 people and had five hotels, a bank, several saloons and restaurants, three livery stables, sawmills, doctors, lawyers and the Union Congregational Church, which still stands today and is Crested Butte’s oldest building.  Residents got their water from a two-million gallon reservoir located above the Town and in 1882 a telephone line connected Crested Butte and Gunnison.  In the early 1880’s Smith sold 320 acres of his coal land to Colorado Coal and Iron, which later became Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I), and by the mid-1880’s he departed.

Coal mining emerged in earnest in Crested Butte during the 1880’s and 1890’s.  The early coal miners, and the majority of Crested Butte residents preceding 1895, were Anglo-Saxon from Wales, Scotland, Germany, Ireland and Cornwall.  These immigrants were followed by Greeks, Italians and Southern Europeans from Slavic countries.  By 1893 all of the silver mines in the area closed and while many other communities failed, Crested Butte survived because of coal mining and coke production.  CF&I owned the Town’s coke ovens, where coal was burned to remove impurities producing a product called coke.  The coke was shipped to Pueblo, Colorado where it was used in steel production. Crested Butte was a company town through and through, with CF&I as the Town’s largest employer and providing company housing.

The most significant mine in the 1880’s was called the Jokerville Mine.  The CF&I owned Jokerville mine contained bituminous coal and directly below the mine lay coke ovens.  On January 24, 1884 an explosion at the Jokerville mine occurred and the mine never re-opened.  Some accounts say that 59 miners were killed in the Jokerville Mine disaster, while others say that 69 miners were killed.  Later that same year, CF&I opened the Big Mine and by 1902 it was the third largest coal mine in Colorado and produced the highest quality coal in the state.  Four hundred miners produced 1000 tons of coal daily.  With improved machinery and electrification, production increased after 1930.  The Big Mine operated for 58 years and not surprisingly, Crested Butte relied heavily on the Big Mine as a source of income.  Other mines operated on and off in the surrounding areas, including Buckley, Robinson, Pueblo, Horace, Pershing and Peanut.

As is often the case in a company town, tension existed between the often-exploited miners and the Town’s employer.  In 1891 the first major strike occurred over a cut in wages.  A second major strike began in 1913 and lasted for 18 months, causing the mines to close until 1915.  This strike finely ended, but with few concessions made to the miners.  The final major strike occurred in 1927 over a 20% pay reduction.  Again, this strike ended without the miners achieving their demands.  With the closing of the Big Mine in 1952 the era of coal came to an end in Crested Butte.  Three major factors contributed to the closing of the Big Mine: Railroads were converting to diesel fuel; the CF&I steel mills in Pueblo found a closer and thus less expensive source of coke; and coal began being replaced by gas and electricity.

In 1955 the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad removed their tracks and Crested Butte’s population and economy declined.

Then, in 1960 Dick Eflin and Fred Rick from Kansas purchased a ranch northeast of the Town of Crested Butte and by the winter of 1962-63 had opened a ski area on Crested Butte Mountain with Colorado’s first gondola.  This area grew into the present day resort town of Mt. Crested Butte, home to the Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

Wintertime in Crested Butte Colorado

Crested Butte has received some very nice attention from the popular media in recent weeks. If anything, its fun to read how the rest of the world perceives our community and our lifestyle.

Enjoy.

MySanAntonio.com published this article about Crested Butte’s lifestyle and the winter recreation scene. View Article

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent just ran a piece about the 20-year dream of Hjalmar “Hal” Sundin. His dream finally came true with the publication of his first (and probably only) book, “Law and Disorder in Crested Butte.” View Article

The Chicago Tribune published a recent article about Crested Butte that began with the following: “If long lift lines, copycat resort villages and spiking prices have muted the joy of your recent ski trips, the ski doctor prescribes a few days in Crested Butte to refresh your senses.” View Article

MSN.com published a piece titled the The West’s Top 10 Dream Towns. Crested Butte ranked 3rd. View Article

SkiMag.com seems to be in love with Crested Butte. “Crested Butte rubs off on you. The same way you pick up a drawl after spending time with Southerners, you can’t help but take on a CB affect, with endless gratitude and perhaps a dash of smug satisfaction for having been lucky and/or smart enough to land here.” View Article

The Houston Chronicle recently dubbed Crested Butte, “….close to perfection….A tidy clump of picturesque Victorian blocks laid out beneath Mount Crested Butte – the 12,000-foot mass of craggy rock and pine that engulfs the horizon – the town is equal parts cushy ski resort and ecofriendly hippie haven.” View Article

Channing Boucher
View the Crested Butte Real Estate Guide

Borrowed from Kate Siber and Budget Travel article about Crested Butte.
See complete article at their website  here.

Cruising Through The Colorado Rockies

You won’t get shot if you order an appletini at Kochevar’s, but you won’t make many friends, either.
Kochevar’s is a hardscrabble beer-and-whiskey joint in Crested Butte, Colo., and it has been since it opened in 1886 (127 
Elk Ave., 970/349-6745, shot of Jim Beam $2).

Back then, the saloon served mostly outlaws, cowboys, and miners (more than a few minors, too). Today, the customers belly up to that same (now antique) bar, underneath the original tin ceilings and the occasional stuffed bison head. Some of the old-timers still sport handlebar mustaches and sip their hooch out of plain glass tumblers. Tony, one of the regulars, claims he’s witnessed barroom fights here since the 1970s. “The skewed boy-girl ratio here brings out a lot of innovation,” he says. “Always has.” With a smirk, he nods toward a large group of young guys who walk in the door wearing 1980s prom attire, trailing a couple of wary women. This is the kind of dive bar where everyone winds up at the end of the night, to gawk at-and drink with-the ghosts of the past. In the corner, a three-piece, classic rock band plays on.

View 360 Virtual Tour

Hello from Crested Butte

Interestingly, in the town of Crested Butte a high inventory of available homes for sale has not created the same kind of buyer’s market. If you want to own a home in town, brace yourself. The average list price of a single family home is $1,055,000 or $445 per square foot.

Thompson Creek Metals Company Leaves Town
US Energy lost another Mt. Emmons mining partner this past week. Thompson Creek Metals Company walked away from its 3 year relationship with US Energy. This marks the fourth “partner” to leave a potential Mt. Emmons molybdenum mining effort with US Energy (Phelps-Dodge, Amax and Kobex have all come and gone). The Crested Butte community celebrated the news – to say the very least. Read all about this major event at the Crested Butte News.

Snodgrass Mountain Resort Expansion Back on the Table
Talks have resumed between Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) and the U.S. Forest Service regarding the resort’s expansion on Crested Butte and Snodgrass mountains. On March 31, CBMR met with the Forest Service to outline several potential ski area development options, including three scenarios that could bring resort skiing to Snodgrass Mountain. Read all about the renewed effort by CBMR to get resort skiing back on the table.

Upcoming Events in Crested Butte and Gunnison
May 28th – 29th:
Rage in the Sage Weekend including Sage Burner 50k/25k Run, Original Growler Mountain Bike Race, 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory rock climbing & the Gran Fondo bike ride from Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte and back to Gunnison.

June 3rd – 10th:
Crested Butte Restaurant Week

Residents and visitors alike will delight in the second annual Crested Butte Restaurant Week highlighting local eateries and lodging establishments in Crested Butte.

Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher
Broker Associate
Benson Sotheby’s International Realty

Contact Channing at 970-596-3228 or via his website.
Channing’s Blog: The Crested Butte Real Estate Letter

Benson Sotheby’s International Realty | 433 Sixth Street | Crested Butte | CO | 81224

View Channing’s Featured Real Estate:
Homes and Condos for Sale | Land for Sale | Ranches for Sale | Commercial for Sale

Borrowed from Iyna Bort Caruso and Insight’s / Sotheby’s International Realty and the Wall Street Journal

The decision to put your house on the market is often the easy one. The hard part is deciding which, if any, home improvements to make before hanging the For Sale sign. Whether you leave the home “as is” or upgrade for a higher sale price, the answer depends on the category of home.

“In the half-million-dollar category, expectations are lower,” says Tracy Bacigalupi of Harbor Sotheby’s International Realty in Bay Harbor, Mich. “Buyers reason that if the home isn’t fixed up, they’ll do the work.” But in the $1 million-plus range, they “expect the home to be in really good condition, needing only minor cosmetic changes.”

Bacigalupi recalls one home that sat on the market for two years before the owner finally invested in improvements. Immediately after the overhaul, the home sold.

Home improvement expert and host of DIY Network’s “Money Hunters,” Matt Blashaw, says one of the easiest ways to increase the value of a house is to beef up its curb appeal. “This will increase the value of your home as well as your neighborhood.”

Remodeling Magazine’s 2010 Cost vs. Value report supports that suggestion. Something as simple as an entry-door replacement gets a big bang for the buck. In fact, this fix tops the magazine’s list of home improvements, with a 102.1% return in the midrange project category. Replacement projects historically perform better in resale value than remodeling. They are less expensive, for one thing, and contribute to curb appeal, which strongly influences homebuyers.

Big-ticket projects, of course, require both a budget and due diligence. “The kitchen is king,” says Blashaw. “Unless your home is falling down around you, the smartest place to put your hard-earned dough is in the kitchen. That’s where all the magic happens. If you have the means, make sure to place all your new toys into a nice flowing workspace. This will pack a lot more value into your home renovation,” he says.

A major upscale kitchen remodel averages $113,164 according to the Remodeling Magazine survey and returns 59.7%. A midlevel kitchen averages $58,367 with a 68.7% return. Blashaw recommends stylish choices but nothing too lavish. In high-end homes, he suggests quality stainless-steel appliances, gas stove, stone countertops and tile floors. “You don’t have to go with professional-grade appliances or blow your budget on Travertine.”

Bacigalupi agrees on the role a kitchen plays in a home’s salability. “I’ve watched buyers fall in love with the house, but if the kitchen isn’t where it needs to be, they walk away. It’s such an emotional aspect of the home. They want it to be amazing.”

The master bathroom is another important area that can prompt an offer. “A sanctuary, it truly needs to feel special, like a mini spa,” says Bacigalupi.

Sellers should think like buyers and ask themselves, what aspects of the home detract from the experience of living there? Weigh the quality and condition of the countertops, cabinetry, flooring and fixtures against their age and style, recommends architect David Ellison of The D. H. Ellison Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. Old doesn’t always mean less marketable. “A vintage kitchen or bathroom in good condition is often of equal or better value – and more attractive – than a brand-new kitchen. Never replace a high-quality vintage item with a low-quality new item as this degrades value,” he says.

Most remodeling projects with the best returns are practical, such as siding and window replacements. The average cost of fiber-cement siding is more than $13,000, but it returns 80%, second in the Cost vs. Value survey.

Another factor to consider is whether the home is a primary or secondary residence. Vacation homebuyers just want to show up and enjoy. They may be willing to rip up a carpet, but they’re generally not interested in ripping out a kitchen. In Mallorca, Spain, about 70% of properties are holiday homes, with many owners hailing from Germany and Great Britain, says Stephen Dight of Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty. Easy fixes that won’t interfere with the enjoyment of the house get buyers’ attention. “The majority of people like to have something ready as they have neither the time nor the inclination to source furniture, decorators or building contractors. This is especially true with first-time buyers who know fewer people and are daunted by such a project,” Dight says.

Whether primary or a vacation home, renovating up to buyers expectations is always a sound investment. A home’s appearance should measure up to the best property in the neighborhood. Anything that might raise questions should be repaired, restored or replaced. “Don’t give buyers a reason not to buy. Give them a why,” says Blashaw. “If there’s one thing out of order, that’s when a potential buyer starts focusing on the negative.”

Thanks for reading today,
Channing Boucher
Benson Sotheby’s International Realty
Crested Butte CO
970-596-3228
View ChanningBoucher.com

A revised winter air schedule for United, Continental, and American Airlines has been placed on FlyGCB.com as a printable PDF. This way, you can print it out to share with staff, family and friends or e-mail it. Use this link to access the PDF.

LOCALS FARE INFO
Don’t forget about locals fares on United! Here is a bit more about the program:

• You must book at least one day in advance
• Must book locally with Crested Butte Vacations (349-2287) or at the United desk at Gunnison Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC); open 10AM-3:30PM except when flight is being serviced
• Maximum 30 overnights and minimum 1 overnight (not good for same day departure/return)
• $109.70 one way ONLY; must originate in GUC
• $161.40 round trip and you can originate in DEN or GUC
• Subject to availability and taxes

OFFICIAL VISITOR INFORMATION www.GunnisonCrestedButte.com

AIRLINE SCHEDULE AND DEALS INFORMATION www.FlyGCB.com

GROUND TRANSPORTATION SCHEDULE www.GunnisonValleyRTA.com

TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS LOCAL’S WEBSITE www.gcbta.com

Thanks for visiting today,
Channing Boucher
View My Crested Butte Real Estate Guide Today