Crested Butte Real Estate Market Reports - 2008

December 2008

Crested Butte Real Estate 2008 Year In Review - The Highlights

Crested Butte still doesn't have any parking meters or traffic lights! - HOORAY!

The 2008-2009 ski season kicked off with 120+ inches of snow by Christmas!

In the face of the national economic turmoil and the credit crisis, Crested Butte Mountain Resort scored big with CNL Lifestyles. CNL – a Florida-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) purchased CBMR in a $132 million deal that included the Mueller's other ski resorts in Vermont. The Muellers will continue to operate all three ski resorts under a "lease-back" agreement. The lease term is 40 years. CNL will help to capitalize Crested Butte Mountain Resort operations and its resort and real estate expansion. Learn more at my Blog

$50+ Million School Bond Passed (3A) – Capital improvements are about to begin at 6 of our community’s public schools including the top-rated Crested Butte Community School.

High profile publicity for Crested Butte came in the form of great PR and numerous articles in the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal and Outside Magazine and Sunset Magazine put Crested Butte in the Top 10 Best Places to live in the United States!

2008 real estate sales in Crested Butte were down from recent years but well over $100 million worth of homes, condos, vacant land and ranch parcels traded during the year. Approximately 45% of the deals were ‘all-cash’ transactions signaling continued demand from saavy investors and an on-going appeal for the real estate in our community. Days on market came in high but this is typical of our resort community. Inventories are still very high - in all categories - giving buyers an advantage, especially for vacant land and condos in Mt Crested Butte. The market area includes properties sold from Almont, Colorado north to Crested Butte and Mt Crested Butte. The figures below are from the Gunnison Country MLS system only.

October 2008

The real estate market continues to tick along in Crested Butte in the face of widespread economic fear and turmoil. Year to date we've realized 88 residential transactions totaling over $65 million in sales. The average sales price of a home in Crested Butte and the surrounding communities of Mt Crested Butte, Crested Butte South and Almont is $747,000 and the median sales price is just over $508,000.  We've also realized over 30 land deals totaling $18 million in sales.

To me, this demand is reflective of people's desire to live and play in our emerging "lifestyle market" regardless of national economics. Its also reflective of saavy investment behavior. Our inventory is up, prices have come down - off from our historic highs of 2005 thru 2007 - and sellers are making deals. Brokers around the market report a sharp increase in buyer inquiries and shopping activity. Many people were caught off guard when the ski area was purchased in 2004 and the real estate feeding frenzy commenced with a severe spike in values. If you didn't own it before the ski area sale it became damn hard to buy it almost immediately after the sale. In some locations, prices on homes doubled in 2005 and then tripled in 2006 and 2007.

Now, four years and a billion dollars plus in real estate deals later, excellent opportunity is presenting itself. Vacant land at Buckhorn Ranch and Crested Butte South is available at "pre-ski area sale" pricing. New and nicely renovated ski condos in Mt Crested Butte are available for big discounts. A few choice home site parcels at Prospect - Crested Butte Mountain Resort's ultra-exclusive, ski in-ski out community - are on the market for considerably less than what the seller's originally paid. These are just a few of the opportunities out there. Might be time to take a hard look at our local offerings!

May 2008

With property inventories reaching all time highs, real estate sales - especially for vacant land - are flat. Values on homes and parcels in town and on the mountain remain high as there has been just enough sales activity to support strong asking prices. We've seen solid 7-figure deals for homes and slopeside condos in Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte and this month a homesite in the Verzuh neighborhood of Crested Butte sold for $755,000!

However, once you leave town limits, developers are slashing prices on unsold lots, offering deep discounts and 2005 pricing on some deals. The developer of the Larkspur subdivision across the street from the Crested Butte County Club dropped prices on his remaining parcels in this new subdivision significantly below what they were selling for just a few months ago, some going well below $200,000. Additionally, the developer at Buckhorn Ranch has dropped prices more than 40% on all of his remaining inventory. You can buy a small, interior lot in this neighborhood for $92,000! And, with over 50 parcels on the market in Crested Butte South, bargains can be found as sale prices are dropping below $100,000 for 1/3 acre view properties.  It might be a good time to start shopping for dirt around Crested Butte!

Crested Butte Average Sale Price for a Single Family Home Last 12 months
$1,060,000 ($455,000 for condos and townhomes)

Mt. Crested Butte Average Sale Price for a Single Family Home Last 12 months
$1,302,778 ($732,000 for condos and townhomes)

Crested Butte South Average Sale Price for a Single Family Home Last 12 months
$513,000 ($287,000 for condos and townhomes)

Source: Gunnison Country Association of Realtors MLS

March 2008

The Crested Butte real estate market continues to churn along in spite of national concerns of a recession as investors remain bullish on our ski town reminding us all know that real estate is a highly localized industry.

Year-to-date 2008 activity for residential properties is consistent as we've seen 18 deals close representing just over $15,500,000 in volume. 4 of the 18 residential deals included homes priced from $1.5 million to $2.85 million. The average days-on-market for these residential sales was 299 days.

For land, we've realized 9 land deals representing $3,440,000 in volume. The local market for vacant land in our area is currently quite polarized. Some vacant land parcels in Crested Butte South (10 miles south of Crested Butte) are selling for below $100,000 for the first time in 3 years. A 4/10th of an acre lot on Neville Way sold for $98,500 recently and there are 2 other parcels for sale under $100K and 33 parcels for sale in CB South priced under $200K.

Meanwhile, up the road in the town of Crested Butte and on the mountain in Mt. Crested Butte land is selling at prices on the other end of the spectrum. A recent 50 ft. x 125 ft. parcel on Sopris Avenue sold for $550,000 and a Prospect neighborhood parcel on the back side of Mt. Crested Butte just sold for $875,000. A 45 acre parcel at Trappers (above the town of Crested Butte) sold for $700,000.

Last week, the Buckhorn Ranch subdivision (5 minutes from downtown Crested Butte) was put under contract. This deal could end up being the one of the largest real estate transactions in our town's history. Asking price on this 200+ lot subdivision is $35 million. Parcels at Buckhorn Ranch range in size from sub-quarter acre home sites up to larger 1 and 2 acre tracts. Learn more about Buckhorn Ranch

More publicity for Crested Butte. The media's love affair for our community and resort continues.
CNN.com published a Taking the Kids: to Rustic Crested Butte article. Read the article here.

January 2008

The new year has started off with good demand for real estate in Crested Butte. Real estate agents around the local market report that home shopping picked up over our recent holiday season. Properties were being shown and buyers wrote offers for condos and single family homes. Agents expect the holiday shopping demand to equate to a spike in sales activity during the first half of 2008.

Aside from the 51 Cimarron condo units under contract from 2007 sales work which inflate our figures (the building isn't built yet), there are an additional 17 residential listings currently under contract. Buyers put real estate under contract in Mt. Crested Butte, Meridian Lake, Skyland, in town and in Crested Butte South. Of all 68 properties under contract, 18 are valued over a $1 million and 18 are asking $509,000 or less. The biggest pending transaction is the Crested Butte Club in downtown Crested Butte. Asking price: $2,480,000.

Vacant land activity is a bit quieter and totals 5 parcels under contract. Yes, it can be a challenge to buy something that is beneath all of the great snow we've received. But, considering the average asking price for these parcels is $894,000 and only 1 of the 5 properties is a 35 acre lot buyers are not shying away from our valuable real estate even in the middle of winter.