ASPEN—Real estate sales in Pitkin County were up 17 percent in dollar volume and down 9 percent in number of transactions for the month of August. And while overall dollar volume is lower than it was in 2011, the gap is narrowing, and the general feeling is that the market is on the rise. Land Title released its August market analysis on Wednesday, which covers all property transfers throughout Pitkin County. The $105 million worth of real estate sales reflects the best August since 2008, just before the local recession hit, when $160 million worth of property changed hands. The 60 total transactions in August, on the other hand, was almost comparable to the 66 transactions in 2008—but nearly half of the 113 in August 2007, which was near the high point of the local real estate boom. Through August, the dollar volume of nearly $778 million reflects a 7 percent decrease from the same period in 2011, and the 441 total transactions is 11.5 percent lower than last year. Real estate brokers tend to analyze market data in more detail than Land Title, thus uncovering more specific trends. In Mason Morse broker Tim Estin’s August report, for example, he shows that dollar volume was down 25 percent and number of transactions was even compared to August 2011 in the Aspen/Snowmass market. Estin’s calculations are based on sales from Aspen to Old Snowmass, including Snowmass Village. Year to date, the total Aspen/Snowmass market is down 14 percent in dollar volume and down 3 percent in number of sales compared to 2011, Estin reported. Breaking it down even further, the Aspen market (still including Woody Creek and Old Snowmass) is faring better than Snowmass Village. Dollar volume was up 28 percent in August but down 11 percent year to date, Estin reported, while unit sale were up on both counts—11 percent in August and 3 percent year to date. Broker Andrew Ernemann with BJ Adams and Company breaks Aspen down even further (not including anything downvalley of McLain Flats) and found that both the number of sales and dollar volume were up 40 percent in August. All indicators are down in Snowmass Village, Estin found, and Ernemann wrote that the town “continues to struggle.” Year to date, number of sales are down 17 percent and dollar volume down 25 percent, Estin reported. Listing inventory, which is believed to be one of the more reliable indicators of a healthy real estate market, has been trending in the right direction. For the total Aspen/Snowmass market, listing inventory was down 10 percent as of the end of August, to 1,173 properties for sale, according to Estin. The number of properties on the market in the greater Aspen area is down even more, 14 percent, and even in Snowmass it’s down 5 percent. Basalt’s inventory has dropped 26 percent, reported Ernemann. Meanwhile, Ernemann reports that the number of properties under contract in Aspen is up 50 percent compared to one year ago, “proof the gains posted in August should continue into the fall and early winter,” he wrote. And in Snowmass Village, the number of properties under contract jumped from a disappointing three at the end of August to 11 a few weeks later. There is hope the sale of the stalled Base Village development back to Related Companies”—which closed at the end of September—“will breathe some life into the Snowmass real estate market,” wrote Ernemann.
Looking at the whole summer, the Aspen/Snowmass market “has been exceptionally strong in the single-family home category,” wrote Estin in his report. Unit sales are up 26 percent and dollar volume is up 32 percent through the area; in Aspen, the trend has been even stronger, up 29 percent and 55 percent, respectively.
Estin attributes the spike in Aspen dollar volume to more high-end sales—seven homes closed for over $10 million from June through August 2012 versus four during the same period in 2011.
Aspen condo sales were down modestly in number (4 percent) and more dramatically in dollar volume (36 percent) over the summer, Estin reported. Most brokers agree that it’s because most of the newer, more expensive, and more central condos have been sold, leaving older and less desirable inventory on the market.
Snowmass Village condo sales are down by double digits, Estin reported, but that town “is primarily a winter market due to the preponderance of ski-in/ski-out properties.”
Single-family home prices are nearly on par with 2011, according to Land Title. The average single-family home price through August was $4.16 million, an increase of 1 percent over 2011, while the median home price declined 1 percent to $2.75 million.
August transactions: PITKIN COUNTY • August dollar volume: $105,496,731 • August number of transactions: 60 • Increase from August 2011 (dollar volume): 17% • Decrease from August 2011 (transaction volume): -9% • Year-to-date dollar volume: $777,842,935 (7% decrease from same time last year) • Year-to-date transactions: 441 (11.5% decrease) • August bank sales: 2, $1.9 million • Average single-family home price: $4,160,733 (up 1% over 2011) • Median single-family home price: $2,750,000 (down 1% from 2011) • August fractional sales: 9 (three at Ritz Carlton, three at Hyatt, one at Residences at Little Nell, one each at Roaring Fork Club and Shadow Mountain Lodge • August fractional dollar volume: $2,717,964 (56% decrease from August 2011)
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