During the boom years of the last decade, both had surpassed $2 billion, with Eagle County almost hitting $3 billion one year.

By comparison, little old Crested Butte is a $100 million a year real estate market. Of course, we have a much smaller population, less than 400,000 skier visits annually (no lift lines), no stop lights, no traffic meters and no private jets flying overhead all day long! (Our jet served airport is 28 miles away – thank goodness).

Thanks for visiting today!

Channing Boucher
Visit the Crested Butte Real Estate Guide
970-596-3228

Crested Butte real estate sales activity has picked up in 2010. In fact, twice as many homes, condos and townhomes have sold year-to-date compared to the 1st quarter of 2009.

41 properties have closed in 2010 versus 22 sales during the same time frame in 2009.

This represents over $18 million worth of Crested Butte real estate investment in 2010. Additionally, there are 18 properties under contract representing $11 million. Considering where we were last year at this time, these are promising numbers.

What is causing this uptick in deal making? For starters, the high inventory of available properties has forced prices downward. Last year at this time, the average sales price on a home was $506,000. Now, the average residential sales price is hovering around $433,000.

And, mortgage rates remain very attractive. Saavy buyers, some fearful of looming inflation in the U.S., are taking advantage of low interest rate, long term loans and scooping up some very nice real estate. Some of the best deals are located in Mt. Crested Butte right now. In particular, condos in and around the ski resort are selling. (45 sales since July 2009 and 16 so far this year).

In spite of the cheap money available to home buyers, it is interesting to note that of the 41 deals this year, half were “all-cash” transactions. I expect this trend to continue this year.

Last year, the majority of the $108 million in real estate deals we realized occurred in the last 5 months of the year. With the traditionally strong summer and fall selling seasons yet to begin in Crested Butte, the real estate market is on track to beat 2009′s performance.

In other Colorado real estate news, Telluride’s Sotheby’s office just closed what will go down as one of the biggest real estate deals in this state’s history. The Boot Jack Ranch in Pagosa Springs was sold this past week for $46.5 million to a Texas billionaire. The figure beats the $43 million paid by New York money manager Lewis A. Sanders for a 10-bedroom contemporary and guest house in Aspen last summer, a deal believed to set the U.S. record last year. Check out the photos from this amazing Colorado ranch property.The summer music season in Crested Butte is shaping up to be one of the best ever. The Crested Butte Music Festival just announced an awesome line up of summertime events.Follow this link to plan your summer vacation’s musical fun. New for this year is Crested Butte’s first ever bluegrass festival. The Bluegrass in Paradise Festival goes off July 6-8 and features the likes of musical greats: Drew Emmitt, Blue Highway, Bearfoot, Springcreek Bluegrass, Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys, Billy Nershi and Shannon Whitworth.

Finally, the Town of Crested Butte has put over 300 acres of Slate River valley land under contract. Known as the Kochevar Parcel, the Town of Crested Butte aims to lock up this huge chunk of prime Colorado dirt and manage it as recreational open space. The purchase price is $5.3 million.

The Town teamed up with the Crested Butte Land Trust and GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) and the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) – a national organization that is fronting the money for the purchase. Learn more at the Crested Butte News.Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher
Broker Associate

Contact Channing at 970-596-3228 or via his website.

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

The question on everyone’s mind? Have we bottomed out? Is it truly the best time to buy real estate again?

After hearing these resort’s real estate realities, it could be argued that we are indeed at the bottom and now is the best time in years to buy up that Colorado ski home or resort property.

From 2006 to 2009, western U.S. mountain resorts saw an across-the-board, 65% decline in real estate transactions. This marks an unprecedented decline in sales for vacation homes and ski resort real estate – it’s never been this dramatic or devastating to the economies in these resort towns.

Everyone knows the last few years have been tough for real estate. For western U.S. ski resorts, 2009 was the worst year in over two decades.

Stories of blood-bath market conditions were plentiful at the meeting but the bloodiest tale came out of Vail.

The broker from Vail was candid and the numbers were stunning. In 2006, Vail was the epitome of the nationwide real estate boom…uh…I mean…bubble. Real estate sales volume broke $2.3 billion and sky-high construction cranes were popping up everywhere in the Vail Valley. New subdivisions, slopeside developments and major renovations were underway and the real estate was flying off the shelf. By 2007, more sales records were broken and volume reached an incredible $2.94 billion! In 2008, the market was still cranking along hitting $2.2 billion more in sales.

Then the bubble burst in 2009. Real estate sales volume in Vail plunged to $800 million – almost a 70% decline in activity. Doesn’t seem all that bad for a ski resort town…after all $800 million is still $800 million.  But, when you’ve been riding billion dollar waves and the wave becomes a little ripple the coral reef below is going to hurt.

Vail took the worst beating but in Steamboat Springs, the market tanked a year earlier. After realizing almost $1 billion in sales in 2007, sales dropped to just over $268 million in 2009. In Telluride, they reached $500 million in sales in 2006 and again in 2007. The wheels fell off in 2008 and by 2009 sales amounted to less than $170 million. Same story from Jackson Hole: $800 million in sales in 2007 and last year they did $230 million.

With such devastating declines in sales and dramatic drops in prices (read my last newsletter), it sure looks like western U.S. ski resort real estate has hit bottom.

View 2009 WMRA Resort Statistics Here (PDF)

March 2010 Events in Crested Butte:

March 6: Super Tour (22.5K) – Crested Butte Nordic Center
March 6-7: Rippin Chix Steeps Camp with Alison Gannett, Crested Butte Mountain Resort
March 9-10: Aspen Sante Fe Ballet Presented by Crested Butte Center for the Arts
March 12-13: Banff Film Festival, Crested Butte Center for the Arts
March 13: 12-Hour Nordic Race, Crested Butte Nordic Center
March 13: Big Air on Elk, Crested Butte
March 13: 33^rd Annual Red Lady Salvation Ball Presented by High Country Citizen’s Alliance
March 18-20: 14^th Annual U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Telemark Championships, CBMR
March 19: 9^th Annual Crested Butte Land Trust Adventure Auction & Dinner, Mt. CB
March 20: Progressive Bonfire Dinner (on Nordic skis or snowshoes), Town Ranch
March 21: Al Johnson Memorial Uphill/Downhill Telemark Ski Race, CBMR
March 25: ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Downtown & Mt. Crested Butte
March 26-27: Elk Mountains Grand Traverse, Backcountry Ski Race from CB to Aspen   
March 27: First-Ever Skitown Breakdown Featuring Yonder Mountain String Band, CBMR

Channing Boucher

Broker Associate
Benson Sotheby’s International Realty
Local Knowledge Global Reach

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