Real Estate Numbers for 3 qtr in Pitkin County Are Strong:

Pitkin County:

The Aspen-area real estate market maintained a strong pace through the third quarter compared with last year, even though sales slumped in September.

The dollar volume of all sales year-to-date through September in Pitkin County was $1.12 billion, according to a monthly analysis by Land Title Guarantee Co. That is an increase of $135.1 million, or 13.7 percent, over the volume through the third quarter of 2013, the report showed.

That includes sales of all types of residences, from McMansions to employee housing to fractional ownership units.

The number of sales transactions was down 11.6 percent in Pitkin County through the third quarter, according to Land Title Guarantee Co. There were 1,167 transactions through September this year compared with 1,321 over the same period in 2013.

Although the dollar volume of sales through September is well ahead of last year’s pace, the report showed the Pitkin County market cooled during the summer and into the fall. September marked the fourth straight month that sales were down compared with last year. June was down 22.31 percent, July was down 1.87 percent and August was down 9.51 percent.

In September, dollar volume of sales in Pitkin County was $205.72 million, down 13.4 percent from $237.62 million for September 2013.

While sales were down June through September, they were offset by gains year to year in February through May.

The statistics through September were the latest analyzed by Land Title Guarantee Co. The title insurance company noted in its report that interval sales at the Innsbruck Inn heavily influenced the 2013 numbers. There were 857 transactions at that lone property from July 2013 through the end of that year. They totaled $16.92 million in sales.

Land Title Guarantee Co. also examined midvalley sales, looking at Basalt, El Jebel and Carbondale. Dollar volume of all sales was $212.23 million through September, an increase of 13.7 percent compared with the same period last year. The number of transactions was down 3.31 percent to 351.