Real estate sales in valley exceed $1 billion
Sales for rst half of 2017 on hottest pace since 2001
EAGLE COUNTY — One very large trans- action — and a lot of more normal activity — has pushed the local real estate market to a place it hasn’t been in nearly a decade.
Thanks to the April sale of the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek — a $145 million deal — real estate sales for the rst half of 2017 exceed- ed $1 billion. The last time the county’s sales volume exceeded $1 billion in the rst half of the year was 2008.
That puts the local real estate market well on track to crack the $2 billion mark, another milestone that dates to the previ- ous decade.
Besides that very large sale in April, sales of high-end residential property have also been strong this year. There were 26 sales of $5 million or more in the rst six months of this year. There have been an- other 25 sales this year between $3 million and $5 million. The highest price seen in June was $12.6 million.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
According to Mark Bergman, association director at the Vail Board of Realtors, sales
BY THE NUMBERS
$1.1 billion: Real estate sales volume through June 30.
219: Real estate transactions in June 2017. 39 percent: Percentage of June sales in Eagle and Gypsum.
26: Sales of $5 million or more from Jan. 1
to June 30.
Source: Land Title Guarantee Co.
at that end of the market can drive other transactions.
“A wealthy buyer who sees other a uent buyers (purchasing) in that range captures attention and bolsters con dence,” Berg- man said.
While sales in the high end of the market drive up total sales numbers, the vast ma- jority of sales in the valley are for $1 million or less. Of the 735 transactions in the rst half of 2017, 531 were for $1 million or less, with 298 of those sales at $500,000 or less.
“There’s really been no o -season in the market this year,” Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate Managing Broker John Pfei er said. “The boom has continued through April, May and June.”
April, when sales usually wane in the wake of the ski season, was “incredibly busy,” Pfei er said.
The biggest problem in the market is inventory, particularly for homes priced at $500,000 or less.
Thanks to the April sale of the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek — a $145 million deal — real estate sales for the rst half of 2017 exceeded $1 billion. The last time the county’s sales volume exceeded $1 billion in the rst half of the year was 2008.
According to Vail Board of Realtors data, the average time on market for homes in that range — that is, between listing and having a unit under contract — is a matter of days.
Given the activity in the lower end of the market, it’s no surprise that the lower valley market is buzzing.
In June, 39 percent of all sales came from Eagle and Gypsum. For the year so far, about 31 percent of all sales have been in Eagle and Gypsum.
Units priced lower than $500,000 are also seeing mostly full-price o ers.
ONE BILLION
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Bergman said units sold in that price range
are seeing 96 percent of the asking prices.
RISING VALUES
The pace of sales has values rising. Pfei er said average sale prices in Ea- gle-Vail have increased about 10 percent from 12 months ago.
A sizzling local market raises some de- cade-old fears of a possible bubble devel- oping, but Bergman said economists with the National Association of Realtors don’t believe a bubble is in ating.
“There’s a high amount of consumer con- dence in the economy right now,” Berg- man said.
Lending standards have changed from
a decade ago, Pfei er said. That means more-quali ed buyers are getting mortgage loans.
And, in the second-home market, buyers seem more set on enjoying their homes.
“We don’t hear the word ‘investment’ like
we did (in 2007),” Pfei er said. “Buyers want to be here.”
And, while a 10 percent year-over-year value gain — that’s what Eagle-Vail has seen in the past year — is signi cant, it’s nothing like the 30 percent and more gains seen in the last real estate boom.
Eagle County’s proximity to Denver also seems to have helped the local market.
Land Title’s buyer abstract for the year so far shows about 15 percent of sales so far in 2017 have been to people from the Front Range.
“Denver’s economy seems far more bal- anced,” Pfei er said. “It’s a big, booming healthy city.”
That economic stability has a ected buyer con dence, he added, with even local buyers willing to jump into an active market.
“They believe there’s a lot of room for growth,” he said.
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