Breckenridge and Summit County Real Estate Market Update

Summit County Real Estate - Month in Review

2010-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Home Prices Gain in 91 U.S. Cities in First Quarter

2010-05-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Home Prices Gain in 91 U.S. Cities in First Quarter (Update3) - BusinessWeek

Home Prices Gain in 91 U.S. Cities in First Quarter

2010-05-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-11/home-prices-gain-in-91-u-s-cities-in-first-quarter-update3-.html

The deals are disappearing from the Summit County Real Estate Market!

2010-04-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

The single family home market is always the "last in and first out" when the market corrects. We are definitely seeing this occur in Summit County. Most of the incredibly low priced single family homes have been absorbed. Opportunities continue to arise but these are rare cases and are immediately purchased by savvy Buyers waiting for such a deal to become available. This absorption has definitely shown that the single family home market has reached the bottom. Prices have stabilized.

The condominium and vacant land market historically lags behind home sales. Although Buyer activity has recently strengthened dramatically, there are still some incredible opportunities for you to take advantage of. Financing has become available for both condos and vacant land. This has opened the market up to a large amount of Buyers who were not able to pay cash for the property in 2009. Since many financial experts are predicting interest rates to rise, this is also causing many Buyers to purchase now and thus lock in their interest rate for 30 years.

Since Buyers are buying, there are actually less properties on the market this Spring than we have seen in previous years. With this pent up Buyer demand the Summit County real estate market is quickly changing. Soon, the inventory of great deals will be totally depleted and prices will begin to rise.

If you have been waiting for the right time to purchase your mountain property, be careful not to miss this opportunity. There are still some quality properties available at deeply discounted prices but they are quickly being purchased.

Postponing your Home Purchase while you hope for values to Decline Further May Price You Out of the Market

2010-03-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

I believe the likelihood of rising interest rates makes purchasing now a better option than waiting and hoping for further potential value declines. Simply stated, there is a greater possibility of interest rate increases than potential value declines. Even if the price does decline, the interest rate increase may result in your loan payments being higher than you are comfortable with or for which you qualify for today.

To make the comparison simple, let’s assume you a considering purchasing a $650,000 property with a loan amount of $500,000. With a 30-year fixed-rate loan at 5.5%, the monthly payment is $2,839. Many real estate experts are forecasting that Real Estate prices are at or near the bottom of the market interest rates are going up. Let’s examine your payments if you waited a year to purchase and values did decline 10%. If interest rates have risen as expected to 7%, your payment on a $450,000 loan is $2,994. This is $155 more! A 1.5 percent increase in rates to equates to a 15 percent price decline, and a 2 percent increase necessitates a 20 percent price decline to qualify.

Where are the good buys in Breckenridge?

2010-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

Single Family Homes
The single family home market has been the least affected by the downturn, mostly due to stable demand and the availability of financing. However, especially in the remaining builder inventory, there are some great opportunities to buy a new home at or below cost. There are some bank owned properties but the quality homes are being snapped up quickly, leaving only the homes that you wouldn't want to own.

Condominiums & Townhomes
Mostly due to the lack of available financing, the condo market has been very stagnant. After 18 months, some Sellers are starting to lower prices significantly hoping to attract a cash investor. However, financing has recently loosened so I expect inventory to drop significantly in 2010. But right now, there are some fantastic deals available.

Vacant Land
Vacant land went from a little overpriced in 2008 to significantly under valued in 2010! This is especially noticeable in the Ski in ski out sector. Based on recent sales of several luxury homes, it has become up to 30% cheaper to buy a lot and build your custom home than it is to buy an existing home. There are some very good lot buys available.

Summit County Colorado Real Estate 2009 Statistics

2010-02-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

2009 Summary for Summit County
Summit County ended 2009 with $683,009,100 in monetary volume. This is 36% shy of last year’s total. Transactions in 2009 totaled 1245, 32% shy of last year’s total.
The areas that show an increase in median average price for Single Family 2008 to 2009 are: Breckenridge at 14%, Keystone at 27%, Silverthorne at 20%. The total Median Price Single Family Gross Live Median increased by 4%.
The areas that show an increase in median average price for Multi-Family 2008 to 2009 are: Copper Mountain at 21%, Silverthorne at 2% and Summit Cove at 22%. The total Median Price Multi-Family Gross Live Median decreased by 10%
The total Median Price for Vacant Land decreased from 2008-2009 by 3%.
There were 136 Residential Improved Units that sold for $1M and over in 2009 vs. 177 in 2008 and 208 in 2007.
The average price history for Real Estate transactions on the Residential Improved Unit side still hold steady with 4 full years of historical data: Single Family continues to show an increase: $905,030, Multi-Family, slight decrease at $398,051- relatively flat, and Vacant Land with a slight decrease- relatively flat.
Cash transactions are averaging around 40% each month.
The highest sale in Summit County occurred on 12/21/2009 $8,285,000 Timber Trail Sub Lot 9 – 382 Timber Trail Road – 7 Brm 9 Bath – Built in 2008 – 6,565 SF on .545 Acres. This is $1,262.00 PSF, a record price. The home is located in Breckenridge on Peak 8.

If you would like a detailed analysis of what happened in 2009, just let me know & I will email you a pdf file.

Summit County Colorado- Monthly Property Market Data Report

2009-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

In a continued effort to keep you informed of the quickly changing market conditions in Summit County, I would like to update you with the recent market activity which occurred in Summit, Eagle (Vail), Garfield (Glenwood Springs), Pitkin (Aspen) and Routt (Steamboat). I concentrated on analyzing sales of single family homes as this is the type of product which has historically led the charge out of a soft market. You will see that this has started to happen already. Summit County is the healthiest market with the average price of a single family home sold year to date increasing almost 11% over 2008 and 16% since the "top of the market" in 2007. Although the number of transactions are down significantly from 2007 & 2008, prices are still rising.

As seen in previous recessionary periods, owners of vacation homes in the resort markets tend to ride out the storm. Often inventory actually goes down as owners are not willing to sell until the market prices return to a higher value. This data shows that if you purchased an average price home in Summit County in 2007, the value of that home has risen 16% How many other investments have done that?

Single Family Average Price Index Third Quarter 2009
County: Av Price YTD. # Trans YTD. Full Year 2008 # Trans: 2008
EAGLE $1,291,594 238 $1,455,774 479
GARFIELD $414,804 264 $448,167 800
PITKIN $4,981,740 73 $5,118,572 130
ROUTT $647,994 109 $1,005,800 209
SUMMIT $925,927 242 $835,803 470

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Although prices are rising in general, you haven't missed the boat. There are still a few Sellers who are anxious to sell and have priced their properties accordingly. This is especially true in the condominium market. There are still some deals left! If you would like to receive further customized information regarding any well priced properties to suite your personal needs, please do not hesitate to call.

Rodney Allen, ABR, ALC, CIPS, CRS, GRI, MRE, RSPS, TRC
2009 Realtor of the Year
Exclusive Mountain Retreats Real Estate, Inc.
Breckenridge, Colorado.
970.453.0765 800.871.0765
Serving your Real Estate needs, Worldwide!
www.exclusivemountainretreats.com

State of the Breckenridge Real Estate Market

2009-10-29T15:12:00.001-07:00

After about a year of stagnation, the market in Summit County, Colorado is finally coming to life. Buyers are taking advantage of the current Buyers market. The few quality properties which have highly motivated Sellers are being absorbed quickly. Once the "deals" have all been bought, prices will increase as the inventory is absorbed. However, there are still some quality properties available at deeply discounted prices.

Although 2009 has seen price devaluations, they have not been as sharp as many other parts of the country. This exemplifies the strength of the Summit County Real Estate. In an accelerating market, double digit appreciation is gained year after year. During the worst recession since the great depression only a couple of years gains were lost, and that is, of course, only if you sold your property. Most property owners are riding out the storm. Even the Sellers who would like to sell are not willing to significantly lower prices. It is only the relatively few property owners who are experiencing a personal financial hardship are discounting prices. These properties represent the buying opportunities.

In the luxury market, prices in general have dropped about 10% from 2008 values. Ski in ski out home prices dropped 19% from 2008. However, the number of transactions has decreased sharply.

In summary, as we head in 2010, the combination of fabulous property choices, low interest rates & drastically reduced prices, may prove to be the best time to buy in many years. If you have been thinking about buying, Act Now!