Crested Butte Real Estate Market Reports - 2009

December 2009 - The Year in Review

Happy New Year from Snowy Crested Butte!

In spite of global economic conditions and the highly publicized bankruptcies of western U.S. ski resorts including Tamarack in Idaho, the Yellowstone Club, and Moonlight Basin in Montana, Crested Butte appeared to weather the financial storms of 2009. Christmas ski vacationers poured into town this month, the snow has been good and our real estate market scratched and clawed its way to almost $90 million in total sales.

2009 in our little ski town will be remembered for some high flyer real estate transactions, community-wide turmoil over the National Forest Service's rejection of CBMR's plan to expand its resort onto Snodgrass Mountain and today's announcement in the Crested Butte News that the proposed Foothills Annexation is now off the table, after almost 2 years of planning.

Crazy times indeed but Crested Butte remains Crested Butte. People love this place. We still don't have a parking meter or any traffic lights in our town. The town-to-resort shuttle service is still free and we even saw new businesses come to town including our newest restaurant: Ryce Asian Bistro.

Here is a snapshot of our community's 2009 real estate activity:

2009 Residential Sales Breakdown

Over 125 Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte homes, condos and townhomes sold in 2009 totaling about $70 million in sales. 14 residential properties sold for over $1 million.

Crested Butte South had 16 transactions including 9 single family homes.
Crested Butte had 29 transactions including 18 single family homes.
Rural Crested Butte saw 12 transactions including 7 single family homes.
Mt Crested Butte realized 64 transactions including 42 condos.

2009 Vacant Land Sales Breakdown

21 total land transactions totaling $10 million in sales.
3 properties sold for over $1 million including a Prospect lot that sold for $1,000,000.
10 sales in Rural Crested Butte including last week's sale of a Trappers Crossing South 35-acre parcel that closed for $1,490,000.
6 Crested Butte South parcels sold.
3 Town of Crested Butte parcels sold including a Verzuh parcel that closed for $730,000.

Thanks for reading and good luck in 2010! Channing Boucher Broker Associate Benson Sotheby's International Realty Local Knowledge Global Reach

View the Sotheby's International Realty Winter 2010 Crested Butte Real Estate Guide

November 2009

Time for some good old real estate market analysis for the Crested Butte area real estate market. These documents are in PDF format:

Home Sales - 2009 | Condo Sales - 2009 | Vacant Land Sales - 2009 | Multi-Year Market Analysis - 05-09

October 2009

Denver-based BBC Research and Consulting (their website) just finished a Gunnison/Crested Butte housing needs assessment report and if you've lived here since 2000, the results are not surprising. Our population growth is flat, the number of new vacation homes has climbed significantly and our real estate prices are more expensive.

Home ownership in Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte has become particularly challenging and in Gunnison owning a home is no cake walk either. BBC's rep told the Gunnison County Commissioners last week that "a person who moved to the Gunnison Valley and purchased a home in 2000 would need to make nearly $65,000 more annually in 2009 to afford the same home. If they moved farther north to the Crested Butte area, their income in 2009 would have to be about $150,000 higher than it was in 2000 to afford the same home."

BBC's representative revealed that population growth since 2000 has been “modest, especially relative to other resort communities,” averaging about 1 percent annually. Since the 2000 census, the county’s population has grown by 7.8 percent but the number of housing units has increased 19.6 percent.

“Seasonal homes have driven the new home construction and the price increase. You can see that since 2000, the county has added more than 1,200 new seasonal homes. Price increases have been extreme in Crested Butte. The median home value has gone up by more than $500,000 since 2000”, BBC's rep added. What does this mean? Over 40 percent of homes in Gunnison County are now considered "vacant homes" - they sit empty or are utilized on a seasonal basis only.

According to a resident's survey used in BBC's assessment, most people in our valley are satisfied with their current housing situation - 81% actually. But most folks also recognize the barriers to home ownership are high and it doesn't appear to be getting easier to buy a house in this County in spite of the national real estate downturn and local market price reductions.

What's New In Crested Butte:

The 2009-2010 ski season at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) begins November 25. (their website)

CBMR has remodeled their notorious on-hill bar/restaurant: The Ice Bar. The Ice Bar restaurant remodel doubles the size of the existing space increasing the capacity to 63 in the dining room, 12-15 in the lounge and 20 at the outside bar. They've also improved their Red Lady Tubing Hill amenity by adding a new surface lift to drag folks up to the top of the tubing lanes. And, the base area's new and popular Adventure Park, complete with year-round ice-skating, bungee trampolines and a climbing wall will remain open throughout the winter months.

Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher

September 2009

Supplies of Crested Butte homes and land for sale are as high as they've ever been and in spite of improving demand for area homes and condos and a record breaking home sale, buyers are seeking and getting good deals on our real estate. There are 695 homes and condos for sale and 427 listings for land and ranches for sale from Almont north to Mt. Crested Butte.

After a very slow start to 2009, many sellers faced facts and prices began to fall. By mid-summer, it seemed like a "buy button" was pushed, shoppers became purchasers and our market gained momentum. Of the 98 homes and condos sold so far this year, 60 of these deals occurred after July 1. (There are an additional 30 homes and condos currently under contract.)

By comparison, 2009 is outpacing 2008 in terms of actual sales - 98 home sales vs. 83 last year. The market is behind in volume: $55 million vs. $60 million in 2008. It still takes about the same time to sell a home or condo in Crested Butte. Our current days on the market is 315 days vs. 325 days for 2008.

How much have prices adjusted?

Consider this:  Year-to-date, the average residential sales price is $562,000 and the median sales price is $385,000. In 2008, the average residential sales price was $742,000 and the median sales price was $508,000.

After adjusting my eyes and looking at my calculator again, it appears our real estate has seen a 25% drop in prices since 2008. It's true that our market has realized decent high-end sales activity. 16 homes and condos have sold for $900,000 or greater. The highest sale came this week: $2.88 million for a new spec home in Mt. Crested Butte. Crested Butte's highest home sale (the record breaker) was just over $2 million.

But, even the top of the market is seeing pricing declines. Much of the property in our market is selling at 75% to 85% of its original asking price - many as low as 50% - 60%! Crested Butte homes are averaging 75% and Mt. Crested Butte homes are selling at 79% of their original asking price. Mt. Crested Butte condos are closing, on average, at 73% of their original asking price.

Perhaps the best value proposition in Crested Butte real estate today is vacant land. Of the 427 active land listings in our local market, only 15 sales have closed in 2009. Last year at this time, 40 land properties had sold by the end of September. Average and median sales prices for land have dropped dramatically as well.  Last year's median sales price for raw land was $300,000. Today it’s around $210,000. In 2007, the median sales price for land was $468,000. Might be a good time to start shopping our land offerings.

Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher

August 2009

Mid-summer real estate sales activity in Crested Butte picked up enough to give our market a very important "shot in the arm" confidence booster. We limped into the historically busy summer selling season after a dismal end to 2008 and first half of 2009. Our market was down almost 65% and by the end of May things were looking pretty grim for summertime sales.

But, in July and August we experienced some very impressive buying activity particularly for luxury homes at the higher end of our market. Our market rebounded with July 2009 sales numbers actually doubling (over $13 million) that of July 2008 numbers ($6.3 million). The market is now down about 47% year-to-date compared to 2008. This is a moral victory considering where we were just a few months ago.

At the north end of our valley (Almont to Mt Crested Butte), we've seen 68 homes and condos sell in 2009 with 12 of these properties trading for $900,000 or greater. 3 homes sold for more than $2 million dollars! The most important statistic? We still have 38 more residential properties under contract representing another $25 million in pending sales volume. When these sales are finalized our year-to-date market condition will improve again and get us within 15% of 2008's sales performance. Quite a jump to say the least. Stay tuned.

View Benson Sotheby's Year to Date Market Analysis - PDF

Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher

July 2009

The luxury real estate market has come alive in the Butte with a record breaking deal. Last week a single family home on 4th Street in Crested Butte sold for just over $2 million dollars.  This is the highest sale price for a single family home in town and it comes after a very slow start for homes sales during the first half of 2009.

Other notable luxury home deals include a $1.7 million Butte Avenue home that is under contract and a Gothic Avenue house listed at $1,495,000 is also under contract. Over on Ruth's Road, a home listed for $975,000 has a sale pending.

Out at the Skyland neighborhood, a Lake Grant luxury home listed for almost $2.3 million is under contract and two larger townhomes listed between $795,000 and $900,000 in Mt. Crested Butte's Pinnacle's development are under contract. In Crested Butte South, a home on Shavano listed for $729,000 is also pending.

Even the high end of the Gunnison market is seeing activity with a pending sale for a home on 10 acres listed at $750,000.

At the southern end of our market area, a log home on 32 acres outside of Lake City sold this week for just under $1.4 million marking the first seven-figure residential deal in this resort community in almost two years.

Another notable transaction comes from the commercial real estate world. The infamous Idle Spur building on Elk Avenue has sold to it's current restaurant operators: Maxwell's, for just over $1.6 million.

It's an understatement to say these are remarkable real estate deals for the slowest market conditions we've realized in 5 years. Buyer's are taking advantage of the large selection of homes and condos and demonstrating renewed faith in our real estate, our community and our lifestyle.

March 2009

By definition it may be easy to pin the buyer's market distinction on Crested Butte real estate. Days-on-market is high, inventories are flush with offerings, the number of transactions is low and now we are seeing asking prices drop. But, is all of this translating into real estate bargains?

If you are shopping ski area condos or vacant land you are going to get a deal. No doubt, it is a buyer's market. With big inventory levels and flat demand great deals are happening. In some cases, we've returned to pre-Mueller era pricing for Mt. Crested Butte condos and on home site parcels in places like Crested Butte South, Buckhorn Ranch and today a parcel on the 12th hole at the Crested Butte Country Club was lowered to $250,000!

But there may be reason to put an asterisk next to our buyer's market distinction. Single family homes, an important anchor segment of any real estate market, appear to be holding their value and demand is shifting for more expensive properties. Just last week, a 1721 sq. ft., single family home in the town of Crested Butte, sold for $900,000 (that's $523/sft)! And, if you review the last 4 years of home sales, some interesting facts stand out. A key metric, the median sales price for single family homes in Crested Butte, Mt Crested Butte and Crested Butte South reached a 48-month high by the end of 2008.

The median sales price is the middle price point where 50% of homes sold are above this mark and the other 50% sold fall below. This is a better metric to determine a market's overall condition versus the average sales price metric where a few multi-million home sales can skew the data.

The graph below demonstrates that in spite of decreasing transaction levels from 2005 to 2008, and increasing days on market, the median sales price of single family homes in our market rose almost $250,000 per sale!

February 2009

Active listings in Mt. Crested Butte hit 272 condos and townhomes for sale. Combine that with 70 single family homes for sale and ski area buyers have some serious choices.  Down the mountain in the town of Crested Butte, there are 50 single family homes and 30 condos and townhomes on the market! Buyers are responding to the market conditions and scoring some very nice deals. Here is some sales data:

Recent Notable Transactions:
703 Sopris Ave. - 3 Bed Crested Butte Townhome - SOLD at $569,000
714 Teocalli Ave. - Crested Butte Triplex Unit - SOLD at $425,000
319 Mountaineer Square - Mt CB - 2 Bed Condo - SOLD at $885,000
731 Maroon Ave. - Older Crested Butte Home - SOLD at $685,000

Notable Under Contract Activity:
8 Teocalli Avenue - Smaller Crested Butte Home - List Price: $1,095,000
12 Alpine Court - 3 Bedroom Skyland Duplex - List Price: $459,000
522 Shavano - Crested Butte South Home - List Price: $635,900

January 2009

2009 has begun with new deal making and some incredible opportunities to purchase premier Crested Butte real estate at seriously discounted prices. Buyers are enjoying strong inventories and competitive price reductions across all categories. The lower end of the market has come alive and we have 14 properties currently under contract including 9 townhomes and condos and 2 single family homes.  Buyers are also taking advantage of the cheap money offered by lenders for residential purchases. Borrowers are realizing sub-6% and in some cases sub-5% rates on 30-year fixed residential loans.

Last Week's Closing Activity:
337 Cement Creek - Crested Butte South Townhome - SOLD at $390,000
401 Black Bear Lodge - Condo in Mt Crested Butte - SOLD at $950,000
103 Mountain Sunrise - Condo in Mt Crested Butte - SOLD at $244,000

Under Contract Activity:
7 homes and condos priced between $200,000 and $2.2 million in Mt Crested Butte
4 homes and condos priced between $190,000 and $735,000 in the Town of Crested Butte
1 home (asking $635,000) and 1 condo (asking $159,000) in Crested Butte South

In other news, CNL, the real estate investment trust that acquired Crested Butte Mountain Resort recently, appears to have a lot of cash to spend. They just acquired another resort in Massachusetts under a similar "sale, lease-back" deal bringing their ownership total to 14 North American ski resorts.
Learn more in my real estate blog.

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.