This Week’s Issue of the Advisor
May 11, 2016
Crested Butte is changing. In my 26 year history with this small mountain town I’ve witnessed a lot of change. I’ve seen dramatic peaks and valleys (pun intended) with tourism, real estate and the local economy. I never thought we would see a billion of anything in Crested Butte, but in four short years from 2004 to 2008, we peaked at well over $1 billion worth of real estate investment. Then we crashed and entered the dark valley of the post-2008 financial meltdown when foreclosed houses in Crested Butte South hit the market at less than $100 per sq. ft., no one was buying land or condos and it was impossible to find tenants for commercial spaces along Elk Avenue.
Then in 2012, we started climbing out of that valley and up the next peak. Foreclosures dried up and values rose again. Businesses started leasing spaces and summer tourism picked up speed like we’ve never seen it around here. Each year since 2012 we’ve grown our real estate sales volume and the number of transactions. Last year we reached $170 million in sales putting us at just over a half billion in sales since our correction. Year-to-date, we are up 29% in volume compared to the same time in 2015. 58 homes and condos have sold and another 70 residential properties under contract – and its only May.
When the oil market crashed, some assumed we would enter another economic valley. But, we’ve sustained our growth in spite of the missing Texas and Oklahoma money. The majority of our real estate now sells to in-state buyers. Many of these investors are from Boulder and Denver – a trend that none of us saw coming until it did. The surge in Front Range money in Crested Butte is impressive and a reflection of Colorado’s booming economy. I see more of the same for the remainder of this year and beyond. Perhaps this peak we are climbing will be higher than ever before.
