Keeping you informed on market statistics, real estate news, and events around town

Sunday, June 29, 2014

July Calendar of Events


  • 1st            Hot Summer Nights featuring Rich Robinson
  • 3rd            Avon Salute to the USA
  • 3rd            Beaver Creek Rodeo
  • 4th            Vail America Days Parade
  • 4th            Vail Independence Day Celebration
  • 4th            Beaver Creek Independence Day Celebration
  • 8th            Hot Summer Nights featuring Big Sam's Funky Nation
  • 13th          Trek to Table
  • 14th          Darius Rucker
  • 15th          Hot Summer Nights featuring 8150 Urban Dance Challenge
  • 22nd         Hot Summer Nights featuring March Fourth Marching Band
  • 24th          Slifer Bravo Shindig
  • 26th          Lyle Lovett
  • 27th          Opening Night of the Vail International Dance Festival

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Remodeling Cost vs. Value

From Colorado Home Connection
All of the DIY (Do It Yourself) shows transform boring and outdated homes to modern, contemporary and appealing homes right before your eyes. The one thing you must keep in mind is that just because you think your remodeling looks good and should add value doesn’t mean it will.
The good news is, for the second year in a row the Cost vs Value survey data by Hanley Woods shows the cost-value ratio is up to 66.1%. This means that if you spent $1,000 on home upgrades on average you would recoup about $661 in resale value.  The top five gainers along the front-range and mountain communities in Colorado for 2014 are:
homeconnection
    • Attic Bedroom Remodel- 95%
    • Two Story Addition- 89.3%
    • Family Room Addition- 87.6%
    • Deck Addition- 85.1%
    • Minor Kitchen Remodel- 83.5%

While three of the five biggest gainers can be very costly, starting with a few affordable DIY-friendly home improvement projects can pay off and make buyers take notice:
Improve landscaping. When it comes to curb appeal, your landscaping can pack a powerful punch, for better or worse. While many people focus their improvement dollars indoors, don’t overlook that first impression that strikes a buyer before they even get out of the car. And you don’t need a green thumb to reap rewards. Simply maintaining a freshly mowed lawn, removing dead plants and branches and adding colorful annual flowers or shrubbery can add 7 to 15% to your home’s value, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Upgrade lighting. While you may have tolerated your dated dining room chandelier, buyers may not be so forgiving. Switching out light fixtures for more updated styles is a low-cost, low-commitment home upgrade. Under-cabinet lighting is another quick-fix. Many home improvement stores now offer easy to install plug-in lights that deliver the look of a high-end custom kitchen, and don’t require electrical work. If you do update lighting that requires wiring, make sure you work with a licensed professional to ensure they’re safely installed.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Vail Luxury Market is on the RISE

From the Vail Daily
Thanks to a number of high-end sales this winter, real estate closings in April produced the best month thus far this year in terms of dollar volume. Sales in April were also the strongest the county has since July 2008, with $239,411,420 in total sales volume, according to the latest report. The dramatic upswing, up from only $104 million in March, was largely fueled by high-end sales, including the sale of Vail Village’s Galatyn Lodge for $28.6 million. Overall, there were 10 transactions for more than $5 million, said the Land Title Guarantee Co.’s monthly analysis. The two highest residential sales were also in Vail Village, which sold for $19 million and $14.5 million. There were also 11 transactions in the county that sold for between $2.5 million and $4.9 million. These high-end sales created a staggering $1,639,804 average sales price for April. However, the overall median price for property sold in Eagle County was $567,500.

Prices rising
Prices have steadily been making their way up throughout the year, and buyers are beginning to realize that if they want a good price, they need to buy now, said Slifer, Smith & Frampton President Jim Flaum. In some cases, homes are selling at or above 2008 prices. Most of the high-end sales happened in the winter, when prospective second-home owners were in town. Flaum said he thinks the April spike isn’t an anomaly — prices and transactions are generally trending upward — but the amount of the sales was affected by some major transactions and the time of year. “A lot of prospects who have been out there looking are finally realizing that the price of the market is at the bottom and now starting upward. They realized that if they wanted a good price and a choice pick, they had to act,” said Flaum. Most of that activity has been centered in Vail, but Flaum said the rising prices and “buying flurry” were trends throughout Eagle County.

Activity in Vail
Vail led in number of sales in the county with 31 total sales — including 13 in Vail Village and two in Lionshead. The two villages are the focus of much of the county’s real estate growth at the moment, said Slifer, Smith & Frampton broker Led Gardner “So far we’re not seeing similar sales in Beaver Creek. There’s some activity, but the rebound in pricing is in Vail’s core area,” said Gardner. “However, the hope is that this will set the bar for the rest of the valley for the remainder of the year.” Another trend for the high-end market has individuals buying older homes to tear down and rebuild. “We’re seeing a lot more speculative projects. There’s a dearth of land, and we’ve seen several examples of people buying an existing older home, tearing it down and building something for their own use,” said Gardner.

According to the April report, the rest of Eagle County had a busy month as well.

For the first time in a number of months, Eagle and Gypsum were out-sold in the number of transactions. In April, Avon was active with 13 transactions, followed by Arrowhead with 11. Eagle-Vail had five transactions, Eagle had eight and Gypsum had 10.