Vail Valley real estate has best month in September

From the Vail Daily

By the numbers:

$7.15 million: September’s most expensive sale, in Beaver Creek.

8: Sales of homes priced at more than $4 million.

157: Total sales in September.

6: Bank sales in September, down from 15 in August.

Source: Land Title Guarantee Company

 For much of this year, local real estate sales stories have had at least some variation of, “transactions are up,
 but dollar volume is down from last year. September turned that sentence on its head.

Eagle County real estate sales in September — the last month for which numbers are available from Land Title Guarantee Co. — were actually down a bit from the same period in 2012. There were 175 total sales in September of 2012, and 157 for the same period this year. The difference is in price. Those sales this year added up to $151.3 million, an 8 percent increase over September of 2012. The difference in that dollar volume came in large part from sales of very expensive homes — $4 million and more. There were eight such sales in September, which accounted for nearly one-third of the total sales volume for the month. Those eight sales also made up a significant portion of the 33 total sales of $4 million or more through the first nine months of the year. While September’s dollar volume was an improvement over 2012, the sales volume so far for the year is still less than the sales through September of 2012 — albeit by just 2 percent. And as is usually the case in the Vail Valley market, homes priced at $1 million or less make up the vast majority of transactions — 74 percent in September. But those sales accounted for 34 percent of the dollar volume.

Bank sales declining

The good news for the lower end of the market — $500,000 and less — is that various kinds of bank sales, from foreclosures to short sales, keeps declining. In 2012, bank sales made up nearly 20 percent of all transactions. In September, there were only six such sales, down from 15 in August. As you’d expect, many of the 157 September sales — 32 — were in the primarily residential areas of Eagle and Gypsum. There were 13 sales in Avon. But there were 39 total sales from East Vail to Intermountain.

Eagle County home buyers are primarily from Colorado — 62 percent. A regional report from Land Title that covers Eagle, Summit, Pitkin, Grand, Garfield and Routt counties shows in-state clients make up about 60 percent of all clients.

Of the remaining regional buyers, just more than 1 percent are from other countries. In Eagle County, 3 percent of all buyers were from international markets. While real estate seems to be improving across the spectrum, the business still remains below the pre-recession rocket ride it was on.

New, State-of-the-Art Snowmaking Compressors at Vail and Beaver Creek

VAIL, Colo. – Oct. 30, 2013 – Thanks to the installation of new, highly-efficient snowmaking compressors at Vail and Beaver Creek, both resorts anticipate a combined energy savings of approximately 3.3 million kWh or the equivalent amount of energy used by more than 300 U.S. homes in one year compared to the previous snowmaking compressors.

The new compressors are an integral component to the snowmaking systems at Vail and Beaver Creek as compressed air is vital to the snowmaking process. At both resorts the new compressors will push air through underground snowmaking pipes to snowmaking locations across the mountains, where the air will then be used to propel water through the snow guns and into the atmosphere in order to make snow. A single new compressor at Vail will replace eight old compressors, and Beaver Creek’s new compressor will replace seven.  In addition to making the snowmaking system more efficient, these modern compressors will build on providing the highest quality snow surfaces for skiers and snowboarders.

Vail, Beaver Creek and Holy Cross Energy worked closely together on this initiative, which contributed to the creation of a new rebate program for similar large, custom commercial energy reduction projects. The project and partnership truly shows Vail Resorts and Holy Cross’ commitment to increased efficiency and energy reduction. This joint project will help Holy Cross Energy achieve 10 percent of its five-year energy efficiency goal.

“The compressor replacements at Vail and Beaver Creek are a great example of how we can work together with our community partners as well as a significant step in Vail Resorts’ new companywide energy reduction goal, ‘The Next 10,’ which aims to cut our company’s energy usage by an additional 10 percent by 2020,” said Chris Jarnot, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Vail Mountain.

In late 2008, Vail Resorts set out to reduce its energy use by 10 percent and in early 2012, the company surpassed its target goal. Through a continuous focus on energy conservation, Vail Resorts was able to reduce its electricity and natural gas usage by 10.75 percent through more efficient operations. The Next 10 Percent energy reduction goal for 2020 includes efforts such as reassessing operational efficiencies, examining ways to improve snowmaking, increasing building automation, investing in free cooling and LED lighting upgrades, and implementing additional energy efficient technologies.

Beaver Creek’s new compressor is up and running for the resort’s snowmaking operations as weather permits, including snowmaking on Beaver Creek’s new signature ladies race course, Raptor. The course will field competition Nov. 29 through Dec. 1 and serve as the ladies speed course for the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships. Beaver Creek opens for the season on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

Vail’s new compressor will be ready to turn on as early as Nov. 1 for snowmaking operations across the front side of the mountain in preparation for the public on opening day, Friday, Nov. 22.

November Calendar of Events

• 1st                 Keystone Opening Day
• 3rd                Nora Jane Struthers & the Party Line
• 8th                 Breckenridge Opening Day
• 10th               David Wilcox
• 22nd              Vail Opening Day
• 27th               Beaver Creek Opening Day
• 27th               Beaver Creek Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition
• 28th               Thanksgiving
• 29th               10th Annual Gingerbread House Competition
• 29th               33rd Annual Beaver Creek Tree Lighting
• 29th-Dec 1st  Nature Valley Ladies World Cup

July real estate sales show strength in Eagle County

From the Vail Daily:

EAGLE COUNTY — The Vail Valley real estate market had started to lag before the world’s economy fell apart in 2008, but it was still the last of the “good years.”

For at least one month, though, and depending on where you looked, the valley’s real estate market     looked like the good years were back.

Back On Track

The most recent sales numbers from Land Title Guarantee Co. showed July sales finally back up to the levels seen in 2008. In July of this year, there were 190 sales, which together added up to $122.9 million in “dollar volume.”

While those numbers rival the ones posted in 2008, they’re miles better than the numbers posed in 2009, the year the economic slump really hit the valley. That year, the July sales figures were 75 units sold for $59.6 million.

As is usually the case in local real estate, the volume in July came overwhelmingly from property priced at $1 million or less. That part of the market accounted for 84 percent of all transactions and was right at half of the dollar volume. A substantial number of those sales were in Eagle and Gypsum, which accounted for one-third of all sales in July.

‘A Normalized Market’

Craig Denton, of Ascent Sotheby’s International Realty in Vail, has been selling real estate in the valley for more than 30 years. Denton said the numbers so far this year indicate a “normalized” market.

“We’re back in a user market — a lifestyle market,” Denton said.

On the other hand, the high end of the market continues to lag. Vail’s Real Estate Transfer Tax collections are down more than 20 percent from last year, and out of all the sales in July, just five were for more than $2 million. Meanwhile, property priced at less than $500,000 often has multiple offers from potential buyers.

Ron Byrne, a longtime broker based in Vail, said there’s currently “a lot of difficulty” between asking prices and offers.

While more expensive property will often draw offers to buy, Byrne said many of those offers are rejected.

“The bids are enough off (the asking price) that we aren’t closing the deals,” Byrne said.

The fact that sellers seem to be firming up on asking prices could be the result of improving markets elsewhere, Byrne said. Steve Cardinale, a broker in Slifer Smith & Frampton’s Beaver Creek office, agreed, saying the luxury markets in places including New York, San Francisco and Hawaii seem to be drawing buyers.

Demand High, Supply Low

One problem in the Vail Valley could be the lack of new inventory, Byrne said. Units at the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons in Vail seem to be drawing more interest, he said. Just about everything else is a re-sale of an existing unit.

But Byrne and Cardinale believe the divide between buyers and sellers may be narrowing, if not closing.

“People who have made (rejected) offers are starting to come back,” Byrne said.

Cardinale, who also has more than 30 years in the local real estate business on his resume, said some “pockets” in Beaver Creek are starting to show some life. But, he said, at the very high end of the market — $7.5 million and above — sellers are in a position of being able to wait for the right price on their property.

“People say, ‘My property’s unique — if it doesn’t sell, I’ve got a nice place when I come skiing,’” Cardinale said.

Time As A Cure All

The gulf between buyers and sellers might have just one cure — time.

But time may be starting to do its work. Cardinale said the markets for high-end items from homes to planes to boats and cars is starting to show life. People who have ridden the stock market to its current level may be ready to cash out and have some fun.

Denton said he’s starting to see a little loosening, too, saying his company, at the moment, has a home at Red Sky Ranch in Wolcott under contract. In fact, Denton said, the entire valley real estate business has put just more than 20 homes priced at $2 million or more under contract this summer. That’s a good thing.

Still, there are a few hundred more homes in that price range on the market.

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September Calendar of Events

• Aug 29-Sept 2.          Vail Jazz Festival
• Aug 30-Sept 1           Gourmet on the Gore
• Aug 30-Sept 1           Beaver Creek Oktoberfest
• Sept 1                        Vail Farmers Market
• Sept 6                        Vail Automotive Classic
• Sept 6-8                     Vail Oktoberfest in Lionshead
• Sept 10                      America's Cup Fly Fishing tournament 
• Sept 13-15                 Beaver Creek luxury Lifestyle Festival
• Sept 13-15                 Vail Oktoberfest in Vail Village
• Sept 19-21                 Living Well Summit
• Sept 20-22                American Crown Circus
• Sept 27-Oct 6            Vail/ Beaver Creek restaurant week

Statewide real estate markets improving

From the Vail Daily

Improvements in the local real estate market reflect state trends.

The Colorado Division of Housing said foreclosures dove 50 percent in May, while home loan payoffs surged.

At the same time, the Vail Board of Realtors May monthly indicators report shows a tightening local market. The number of new listings coming to market is down 13 percent from last year, and active inventory is down over 34 percent from last year. “While this report provides great insight into Eagle County as a whole, each neighborhood has its own unique characteristics and trends which are best navigated through the use of a local Realtor,” said Julie Retzlaff who chairs the Vail Board of Realtors. The time that a local property spent on the market dropped 3 percent to 159 days, down from 185 days in 2011, the Vail Board of Realtors May report said. Retzlaff said concerns about interest rates are popping up again, after Fed chief Ben Bernanke told Congress the Federal Reserve Bank is considering tapering the $85 billion it’s spending each month to buy mortgage-backed securities and other debt.

Payoffs are up

The number of home loans paid off in Colorado was up 31.4 percent from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, the Colorado Division of Housing reported. Public trustees in Colorado released a total of 98,321 deeds of trust during the first quarter of 2013, the highest quarterly total recorded in any quarter since the Division began collecting quarterly totals in 2008. That’s up from 74,809 deeds released during the first quarter of last year. Eagle County saw the smallest increase of the 21 Colorado counties surveyed at 3.7 percent. Jefferson County showed the next smallest increase at 12.5 percent. A release of a deed of trust occurs when a real estate loan is paid off, whether it be through refinance, sale of property or because the owner has made the final payment on the loan, McMaken said. Increases in release activity occur as refinance and home-sale activity increases, and rising release totals typically indicate increases in the demand for home loans and real estate. “From early 2011 to late 2012, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell for seven quarters in a row,” McMaken said. “We’re not surprised to see refinancing and purchase activity increase sharply as a result.”

Foreclosures are down

In Colorado’s metro counties, foreclosure filings were down 50.5 percent during May 2013, falling to the lowest level recorded during May in any year since the Division of Housing began collecting monthly totals in 2007. Foreclosure auction sales in metro areas were down 25.4 percent in May this year compared to May of last year, falling from 965 to 720. During the same period, foreclosure filings dropped from 2,249 to 1,113. For the first five months of the year combined, from January through May, foreclosure filings were down 43.4 percent in 2013 when compared to the same period last year. Foreclosure auction sales were down 29.4 percent across the same period. “And a downward trend is likely to continue as long as employment is stable and we continue to see low mortgage rates,” said Ryan McMaken, an economist for the Colorado Division of Housing. Foreclosure filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process, and foreclosure auction sales totals are the total number of foreclosures that have been sold at auction, ending the foreclosure process.