Good day from snowy Crested Butte,

The snow is falling, pre-ski season bookings are steady and visitors are about to enjoy some serious direct winter jet service to Gunnison from major cities around the United States! The ski area opens at Thanksgiving! (Travel Deal : Buy 2 Airline Tickets to Gunnison/Crested Butte, Get the 3rd Ticket FREE)

And, in the face of the national credit crisis and Wall Street meltdown, real estate investors are stepping up to the plate here in Crested Butte to snap up some very nice properties. A look at the year-to-date numbers and some interesting market stats have developed. Transaction numbers and sales volume have picked up in recent weeks and some hi-flyer deals have closed around the valley. Currently, there are 17 residential properties under contract including two townhomes in Skyland and 6 other properties valued over a million dollars. Last month a developer bought up 20 home site parcels at Buckhorn Ranch and a 35 acre ranch parcel at Smith Hill Ranches just sold for $1,500,000. And, a newer, 3 bedroom townhome on 9th Street sold this week for $647,000! 

With almost half of our 2008 transactions representing "all-cash" deals, it is becoming obvious around town that investors consider Crested Butte a "safe harbor" for investment money. We're pushing 100 residential deals year-to-date and 20% of these deals were valued at a million dollars or more.

Finally, in light of the large inventory of Mt Crested Butte condos on the market, the developers at the Black Diamond Lodge, Crested Butte's brand new and finest luxury ski condo offering just announced a major $200,000 price reduction on the first two condos they sell. At this discount, this property is a must consideration if you seek the best ski condo property at the best price.

Thanks for visiting!
Channing Boucher
Broker Associate
Benson Sotheby's International Realty | 970-596-3228