« Knoll Estate, is where it is at! | Main | Cortina lot 16, won't last long »
February 10, 2005
Real Estate Sales
Year-End Statistics Point to Record Real Estate Sales
By Josie Jay
Last year was a “banner year” for Telluride real estate, according to sales data compiled by Judi Kiernan, owner of Telluride Consulting. The total dollar value of real estate sales in San Miguel County for 2004 was up a whopping 42 percent from 2003, at $616.8 million. This number smashed the previous dollar volume record set in 2000 by over $70 million.
“It was the biggest year ever,” said Julie McAfee, real estate broker with Telluride 360 Real Estate. “We’re back on track and it just keeps going up.” McAfee called Telluride the best real estate market in Colorado. “Buy your real estate now,” she recommends. “In six months you’ll wish you would have.”
Todd Creel of Prospect Realty agreed. “The sooner the better,” he said about investing in local real estate, particularly in town. But town prices are already well out of the reach for most locals. Thirty-five single-family homes sold in Telluride in 2004 for an average price of nearly $1.5 million.
“These numbers look high now, but two years from now they will look like a good buy,” said Creel, “just like they did two years ago.”
The total number of sales in San Miguel County in 2004 also increased as compared to 2003. A total of 854 properties sold, representing a 14 percent growth rate. It was the third highest year for number of sales, coming in behind 1999 (925 sales) and 2000 (965 sales). The number of sales in Mountain Village was up 20 percent in 2004 over 2003, with an increased dollar volume of 41 percent. Telluride sales numbers were up 25 percent and dollar volume was up by 43 percent.
The region’s increase in real estate sales has been attributed to last year’s historically low interest rates.
“When interest rates are very low it’s easier to get in, but you can’t just rely on low interest rates,” said McAfee. “You can’t wait,” she said, advising prospective property owners to get pre-qualify for a loan and work on clearing up any credit problems. “Set up a pre-purchasing program and start taking those steps to build up your credit,” she said. “Time is of the essence.”
Creel said 2004’s record sales will be hard to follow, but he remains “generally optimistic.”
“Similar cycles in the past indicate things will start to slow down, but properties are still well valued and selling at a steady pace,” he said. “I think February and March will tell us a lot” about how the 2005 market will go.
“I think 2005 will be a good year, but I don’t see how it can match 2004,” agreed Chris Binner of Coldwell Banker Shaw and Company. “It’s good to be a little conservative; things just can’t go like that every year.” Still, he predicted 2005 would be up over 2004, even with interest rates slowly on the rise. “They are still very low compared to history, but when they start to climb some people think the sky is falling,” said Binner. “2005 won’t be as barn burner-ish as 2004, but we’re blessed with properties within thirty minutes of here that I think will do well.”
The three towns of Norwood, Ridgway and Rico bound those properties. “All three have healthy markets, and that includes what’s inside – Mountain Village, Telluride and the mesas,” said Binner.
Creel, who deals with a lot of mesa property, noted that the market in those areas did not do as well in 2004 compared to properties in Telluride and Mountain Village. “Sales were relatively slow. Unless a really good value came up, they were not selling,” he said. “The bulk of people were looking closer to town. I bet in the coming year things may slow down in town because of the limited supply, and buyers will start looking outside of town.” Those properties include outlying mesas and closer neighborhoods like the Ski Ranches and Placerville.
The average San Miguel County real estate transaction for 2004 was just under three-quarters of a million dollars, compared with the 2003 average of just over half a million dollars. Property values outside of San Miguel County also saw an increase in 2004. “Ridgway is going up tremendously,” said McAfee, who purchased property there a year and a half ago and has already seen a 26 percent increase in its value. “Lots last year were going for $40,000 to $70,000. Now they’re at $110,000.” Even though all properties within an hour of Telluride are going up in value, she noted the market fluctuates more in the outlying areas. “The safest place to invest is in Telluride. To make the most of your real estate, invest here.”
The condominium market experienced a boom in sales last year. According to Kiernan’s data, $65.6 million of Telluride’s real estate dollars came from condominiums, with 126 units selling at an average price of just over $500,000. Condominium sales did just as well in Mountain Village, with 87 units selling for an average of just under $1 million each.
Local real estate brokers said the condominium market was driven by locals taking advantage of low interest rates and the limited number of properties available for under $500.000. Many local buyers jumped at what might be their last chance to buy an “affordable” property in the foreseeable future.
“If locals can get in the market they will make money,” said McAfee. “The market is based on supply and demand. We won’t fizzle out like the Denver area, which was hopping, so people built and built and built, and then there was this oversupply and the market dropped. Telluride will never reach that because of our limited supply.”
Twenty vacant residential lots sold last year in Telluride for a total of $13.7 million; 123 lots sold in Mountain Village at $80.2 million.
Creel noted that on Feb. 3 there were 36 houses listed for sale in Telluride. “We’re starting to see a lot more house inventory on the market, but our supply of vacant land has gone away. The perception is there is no more land in town.” He predicted this would lead buyers to look outside of Telluride. “In Mountain Village things are a little different, there is more supply,” he said, noting that 67 houses are currently listed. “It almost seems like the cycle will move back to Mountain Village now because there are lots and homes available for a good value.”
“We have a limited amount of property,” said Binner. “But people are committed to giving it a strong go. We have a lot of press worldwide as a resort, and we are less expensive than Vail and Aspen.”
Creel agreed that the Telluride lifestyle appeals to a lot of buyers in the real estate market. “Some people are looking to park it in a place where property will hold its value and they’ll get a lot of use out of it, too.”
Click the link below and let Telluride 360 Real Estate show you some of the best condos, homes, vacant land that Telluride has to offer.
http://www.telluride360.com/
Posted by Adam at February 10, 2005 03:48 PM