Real Estate Around the Rockies: 2008 Recap

End-of-year real estate reports from various Rocky Mountain ski resorts were not surprising – the market for real estate realized a serious decline. From Aspen to Steamboat Springs to Vail, the reports at the major resort areas are about the same: 40 to 55 percent less dollar volume was recorded in 2008, compared with the previous year.

According to a report from the Land Title Guarantee Company: The sales volume in Steamboat Springs and surrounding areas was down 45.7 percent versus 2007. Altogether, $725 million in sales were reported.

In the Vail market, sales were down 52 percent last year, with a final tally of $2.75 billion.

In the Aspen market, sales were down 46 percent in dollar volume, to $1.37 billion.

The Glenwood Springs/Carbondale area market—down-valley from both Aspen and Vail—had similar numbers: 51 percent less volume, down to $723 million.

In Teton County, Wyoming – home to Jackson Hole- the number of transactions was down by 50 percent.  No drop in dollar volume was reported by the Jackson Hole News & Guide. But the newspaper notes that transactions had fallen 19 percent during the dot-com bubble burst of 2000 and another 22 percent in the fallout of 9/11.

In Utah, the Park City market was still at $1 billion for 2008, but that was the lowest since 2004, noted the Park Record. The number of transactions during the fourth quarter was the lowest since 1992. Still, real estate agents tell the Park Record they think it can’t get any worse—and will soon get better. "I’m seeing the market going from being stuck to picking up in small increments," said Jess Reid, of Jess Reid Real Estate. "It’s frozen, but it will thaw out," said Jim Lewis, of Summit Sotheby’s. "It’s always darkest before the dawn, and it’s pretty dark now,"

In Aspen and Vail, the contraction in sales has yielded a similar contraction in sales offices. The greater upheaval was in Aspen, where a real estate company dropped its franchise for Aspen Sotheby’s International Realty. The franchise agreement is being acquired by another firm, Morris and Frywald Real Estate, a firm founded in 2000 that has grown to almost 50 brokers. Citing the firm’s website, The Aspen Times reports the firm did $242 million in sales last year. 

Thanks for visiting today,

Channing Boucher
Visit My Crested Butte Real Estate Guide