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970.596.3228
View This Month’s Crested Butte Real Estate Adviser Issue #9 Online
Greetings from Crested Butte,
The narrative is changing in Crested Butte. This summer’s tourism season was a record breaker. Sales, lodging and restaurant tax collections were way up and the number of visitors to our valley spiked like the thermometer in Texas and Oklahoma. Custom homes starting popping up out of the ground and one of the first spec homes we’ve seen in years is under contract before it is finished. Sales of existing homes climbed in all categories and certain locations and now folks are talking in terms of a real economic rebound in Crested Butte.
For portions of the Crested Butte real estate market, it is still very much a buyer’s market. Right now, home sites at Buckhorn Ranch (five minute drive to town) are selling for less than $50,000 and you can still buy condos near the ski slopes for less than $100,000. Down in Crested Butte South, vacant land is available at historically low prices. Heavily discounted, bank owned homes are still hitting the market and in most cases they are selling off quickly to happy investors. Overall, inventories of vacant land and condos in our valley are still pretty deep. This fact alone is contributing to the low price opportunities.
But, if you were waiting for the bottom of the market to jump on that special Mt. Crested Butte ski home, the rustic 4 bedroom place in town or even that hot foreclosure deal in Crested Butte South, I believe that day has come and gone.
2011 will be remembered as the year luxury real estate investment came to life again in Crested Butte. Year to date, 31 properties listed between $750,000 and $4,500,000 have sold or are under contract. 19 of these properties have sold at or above $1,000,000. The average sold price for these 31 deals is above $1.6 million and the average sold price per foot is pushing $500/psf.
Year to date we’ve seen 162 residential sales and $77 million in real estate investment from Crested Butte South north to Mt. Crested Butte. Last year at this time we saw 143 residential sales amounting to $73 million in sales.
Consider the following previous year comparisons:
In 2010, 9 homes sold in Crested Butte South with an average sold price per foot of $133. Days on market for these homes: 300 days. This year, the number of Crested Butte South single family homes to sell has almost doubled – currently 17 homes – and the average sold price per foot is $156. Average days on market: 210 days.
In 2010, homes that sold in the town limits of Crested Butte fetched an average price of $801,000 and $411 per square foot. Days on market: 280 days. So far this year, homes in town are selling at an average price of $1.6 million and an average sold price per foot of $481. Days on market: 271 days.
Up in Mt. Crested Butte, only 12 homes sold in 2010. Average sales price was $640,000 and the average price per square foot was $216. This year, 19 homes have sold at an average price of $1,020,000 and an average price per square foot of $300.
The most interesting thing about all of this luxury real estate buying? Interest rates on home mortgages are still very low, yet, most of these luxury home deals are all cash transactions. Of the 162 sales year-to-date, almost 100 were cash transactions. My appraiser and mortgage broker friends are starving at a time while some of our little community’s all time biggest real estate transactions are occurring. In 2010, the majority of real estate purchases were done with conventional mortgages.
Spec Home Goes Under Contract Prior to Completion
It seems like it’s been years since we’ve seen a new spec home going up around the valley. Now, the community’s first under construction spec homes located in the Town of Crested Butte went under contract a few weeks ago. Asking price is just under $1.6 million.
New Master Plan for Snodgrass?
(borrowed from CBMR’s recent newsletter)
This past year, the Forest Service asked CBMR to revise its Master Plan for the resort, including plans on Snodgrass Mountain. At that time, the Forest Service made it very clear that they would consider lower impact skiing on Snodgrass (such as cat skiing). They also believe there to be more development opportunities on the main mountain (such as lift service and new trails within the Teo Bowl drainage). Using this specific information, CBMR has decided to revise their Master Plan to now include projects on both the main mountain and Snodgrass.
Ski Season Starts in Crested Butte November 23!
View CBMR’s Website
2011-2012 Air Service to Gunnison and Crested Butte
View Flight Schedule (PDF)
Thanks for reading today! We hope to see you in Crested Butte very soon!
Channing Boucher
Broker Associate
Benson Sotheby’s International Realty