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The good news is, it's now an unbelievable time to buy property, a condo or single-family home in Snowmass Village.
On many local properties, prices have dropped a staggering 30 percent of late and in terms of selection, there is variety galore.
“We have a lot of people looking,” said Rick Griffin, a veteran Realtor who is with Joshua & Co. in Snowmass Village. “When people start to look, there's a better attitude” and hopefully, more potential for sales.
Countering any rays of sunshine are some brutally harsh realities that have been released lately both through land title companies and during a March 10 Aspen Board of Realtors Real Estate Summit at the Hotel Jerome.
“This is a tough, difficult and interesting time right now,” said Randy Gold, a partner in Aspen Appraisal Group LLC. Gold backs up his opinions with more than 30 years of experience in the Aspen/Snowmass market.
In terms of sales volume, Snowmass Village experienced a drop of more than 75 percent, from 84 properties in 2008 to 21 in 2009.
“Eighty-four to 21 overstates it,” Gold noted, tempering his information by the fact that some sales (especially those in Base Village's Capitol Peak and Hayden Lodge) that closed in 2008 were really sold in 2007. “Maybe the real drop was 34 to 21,” he added.
Single family home sales were off by about half, with 16 homes in locations throughout the Village selling last year.
There were no sales of vacant lots last year and only one in 2008, Gold reported. However, there is currently one Two Creeks lot and another in Ridge Run 4 under contract.
The weakest segment of the local market, unquestionably, remains condominium sales. And for that, Gold blames the “chaos surrounding Base Village which has really spread its tentacles so negatively” around the entire Village.
Not including the Viceroy units, Gold said Snowmass Village currently has “about seven years worth of housing inventory.”
On the other hand, anyone who is looking at medium- or long-term gains can be comforted with the knowledge that there's little chance the land regulations are going to lessen so overbuilding will not be an issue.
“If you're one of those people who just bought and love Snowmass, have some patience,” Gold said.
Realtors are counseling potential sellers that if they need not sell right now, don't consider putting your property on the market.
Also hurting vacation home sales is the difficulty in securing jumbo mortgages, those above $417,000, speakers confirmed last week. While Wells Fargo Area Sales Manager Jeffrey White said the bank is lending, he said the vast majority of the loans made last year were refinances.
“We'll recover. But it looks like it's going to take some time,” said Snowmass Village Realtor Greg Rulon. He noted that for a while now, “resort properties are going to be behind the curve.”
That was reiterated during last week's forum as speakers said how the Front Range of Colorado, as well as cities that hadn't benefited from a huge boom were returning to more normal activity.
Snowmass Village may also be suffering from the drop in prices of Aspen properties. Said Gold: “This is more intuitive but there's been some shift of people that might have bought in Snowmass” who are now taking advantage of lower prices in town.
Locals, and those more familiar with what the Snowmass lifestyle has to offer, may disagree. But no one can refute the fact that if you have the resources, there hasn't been this good of a time to buy in the Village for at least a decade.
mosberger@snowmasssun.com
On many local properties, prices have dropped a staggering 30 percent of late and in terms of selection, there is variety galore.
“We have a lot of people looking,” said Rick Griffin, a veteran Realtor who is with Joshua & Co. in Snowmass Village. “When people start to look, there's a better attitude” and hopefully, more potential for sales.
Countering any rays of sunshine are some brutally harsh realities that have been released lately both through land title companies and during a March 10 Aspen Board of Realtors Real Estate Summit at the Hotel Jerome.
“This is a tough, difficult and interesting time right now,” said Randy Gold, a partner in Aspen Appraisal Group LLC. Gold backs up his opinions with more than 30 years of experience in the Aspen/Snowmass market.
In terms of sales volume, Snowmass Village experienced a drop of more than 75 percent, from 84 properties in 2008 to 21 in 2009.
“Eighty-four to 21 overstates it,” Gold noted, tempering his information by the fact that some sales (especially those in Base Village's Capitol Peak and Hayden Lodge) that closed in 2008 were really sold in 2007. “Maybe the real drop was 34 to 21,” he added.
Single family home sales were off by about half, with 16 homes in locations throughout the Village selling last year.
There were no sales of vacant lots last year and only one in 2008, Gold reported. However, there is currently one Two Creeks lot and another in Ridge Run 4 under contract.
The weakest segment of the local market, unquestionably, remains condominium sales. And for that, Gold blames the “chaos surrounding Base Village which has really spread its tentacles so negatively” around the entire Village.
Not including the Viceroy units, Gold said Snowmass Village currently has “about seven years worth of housing inventory.”
On the other hand, anyone who is looking at medium- or long-term gains can be comforted with the knowledge that there's little chance the land regulations are going to lessen so overbuilding will not be an issue.
“If you're one of those people who just bought and love Snowmass, have some patience,” Gold said.
Realtors are counseling potential sellers that if they need not sell right now, don't consider putting your property on the market.
Also hurting vacation home sales is the difficulty in securing jumbo mortgages, those above $417,000, speakers confirmed last week. While Wells Fargo Area Sales Manager Jeffrey White said the bank is lending, he said the vast majority of the loans made last year were refinances.
“We'll recover. But it looks like it's going to take some time,” said Snowmass Village Realtor Greg Rulon. He noted that for a while now, “resort properties are going to be behind the curve.”
That was reiterated during last week's forum as speakers said how the Front Range of Colorado, as well as cities that hadn't benefited from a huge boom were returning to more normal activity.
Snowmass Village may also be suffering from the drop in prices of Aspen properties. Said Gold: “This is more intuitive but there's been some shift of people that might have bought in Snowmass” who are now taking advantage of lower prices in town.
Locals, and those more familiar with what the Snowmass lifestyle has to offer, may disagree. But no one can refute the fact that if you have the resources, there hasn't been this good of a time to buy in the Village for at least a decade.
mosberger@snowmasssun.com
