- 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
Thursday, August 22, 2013
September Calendar of Events
Thursday, June 27, 2013
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.
Friday, June 14, 2013
July Calendar of Events
- 2nd Bud Light Hot Summer Nights featuring Honey Island Swamp Band
- 2nd Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
- 3rd Avon's Salute to the USA
- 4th Vail America Days Parade
- 4th Beaver Creek Independence Day Celebration
- 6th Minturn Market
- 7th Vail Farmer's Market
- 9th Bud Light Hot Summer Nights featuring The Revivalists
- 11th Beaver Creek Rodeo
- 12th-14th Art on the Rockies
- 13th Minturn Market
- 14th Vail Farmer's Market
- 16th Bud Light Hot Summer Nights featuring Robert Randolph and the Family Band
- 18th Beaver Creek Rodeo
- 20th-22nd Beaver Creek Antique Festival
- 20th Kenny Loggins
- 21st Minturn Market
- 22nd Vail Farmer's Market
- 23rd Bud Light Hot Summer Nights featuring Urban Dance Challenge
- 27th Colorado River Ride
- 28th Vail International Dance Festival Begins
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Eagle County real estate sales increase
From the Vail Daily:
The county’s real estate market is something of a mixed bag this year. Total sales are up, but average sale prices are down. But one sector of the market is keeping brokers and mortgage bankers hoping.
“If you’re selling a home for $300,000 or less, you’re going to get multiple offers,” Prudential Colorado Properties broker Mallie Kingston said.
Kingston said the activity in the lower end of the market is driven by several factors, but the most important is as old as Adam Smith: There’s a lot of demand and not much supply.
As a result, prices on the lower end of the for-sale market have started to show more strength, Kingston said.
Julie Bergsten, a vice president at Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate, said the multiple-offer syndrome may stretch a bit farther up-market. She said she’s seeing homes priced at $500,000 or less attracting a lot of attention, too.
Most of the sales in the county have historically been for $500,000 or less, with a few sales of high-end properties building up the average prices. That was the case in March, according to the most recent data from Land Title Guarantee Co.
Almost half of the 120 sales in March were for $500,000 or less, according to the monthly report. Adding homes of $1 million or less to the mix brings the total to 75 percent of all transactions.
But, Bergsten said, buyers of very expensive homes are “on the sidelines” right now. According to Slifer Smith & Frampton’s data, the company recorded 22 “written deals” for property priced at $3 million or more in the first quarter of 2012. In the first quarter of this year, only eight such deals were made.
But there’s no lack of buyers in the lower end of the market. Sarah Jardis, president of Central Rockies Mortgage, said she’s seeing a number of first-time buyers, including nurses, teachers and other young professionals. Those people are taking advantage of historically low interest rates. And, at least for some buyers, programs are available to loan 100 percent of a home’s purchase price.
Unlike the go-go days in the middle of the last decade, though, borrowers have to do more than register a pulse.
“There’s maybe more paperwork than ever before,” Jardis said. “If (a lender) asks for a bank statement, they want every page.”
Still, deals are getting done, Jardis said.
Bergsten said the current lack of inventory has the market in a kind of nether zone that’s neither a buyer’s nor seller’s market.
“Neither side is really in the driver’s seat right now,” Bergsten said. But, she added, sellers — especially those who don’t have to sell — may be feeling a bit more confident right now, and might be more willing to wait for what they consider an appropriate offer. And Kingston said this is a good time to sell, for people who still have equity in their homes.
Still, the market is nowhere near the rapid upward spiral it was on between 2005 and early 2008, and Bergsten said “I don’t see things exploding any time soon.”
With inventory so low, both Kingston and Bergsten said it might be time to build some new homes — at the right price point.
The county’s real estate market is something of a mixed bag this year. Total sales are up, but average sale prices are down. But one sector of the market is keeping brokers and mortgage bankers hoping.
“If you’re selling a home for $300,000 or less, you’re going to get multiple offers,” Prudential Colorado Properties broker Mallie Kingston said.
Kingston said the activity in the lower end of the market is driven by several factors, but the most important is as old as Adam Smith: There’s a lot of demand and not much supply.
As a result, prices on the lower end of the for-sale market have started to show more strength, Kingston said.
Julie Bergsten, a vice president at Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate, said the multiple-offer syndrome may stretch a bit farther up-market. She said she’s seeing homes priced at $500,000 or less attracting a lot of attention, too.
Most of the sales in the county have historically been for $500,000 or less, with a few sales of high-end properties building up the average prices. That was the case in March, according to the most recent data from Land Title Guarantee Co.
Almost half of the 120 sales in March were for $500,000 or less, according to the monthly report. Adding homes of $1 million or less to the mix brings the total to 75 percent of all transactions.
But, Bergsten said, buyers of very expensive homes are “on the sidelines” right now. According to Slifer Smith & Frampton’s data, the company recorded 22 “written deals” for property priced at $3 million or more in the first quarter of 2012. In the first quarter of this year, only eight such deals were made.
But there’s no lack of buyers in the lower end of the market. Sarah Jardis, president of Central Rockies Mortgage, said she’s seeing a number of first-time buyers, including nurses, teachers and other young professionals. Those people are taking advantage of historically low interest rates. And, at least for some buyers, programs are available to loan 100 percent of a home’s purchase price.
Unlike the go-go days in the middle of the last decade, though, borrowers have to do more than register a pulse.
“There’s maybe more paperwork than ever before,” Jardis said. “If (a lender) asks for a bank statement, they want every page.”
Still, deals are getting done, Jardis said.
Bergsten said the current lack of inventory has the market in a kind of nether zone that’s neither a buyer’s nor seller’s market.
“Neither side is really in the driver’s seat right now,” Bergsten said. But, she added, sellers — especially those who don’t have to sell — may be feeling a bit more confident right now, and might be more willing to wait for what they consider an appropriate offer. And Kingston said this is a good time to sell, for people who still have equity in their homes.
Still, the market is nowhere near the rapid upward spiral it was on between 2005 and early 2008, and Bergsten said “I don’t see things exploding any time soon.”
With inventory so low, both Kingston and Bergsten said it might be time to build some new homes — at the right price point.
“That’s why they’re selling at Stratton Flats (in Gypsum),” Kingston said. “It’s all about the price point.”
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
June Calendar of Events
- 6th-9th Go Pro Summer Mountain Games
- 14th-16th King of the Mountain Volleyball tournament
- 15th-16th Tough Mudder
- 16th Vail Farmers Market
- 18th Hot Summer Nights featuring Freddy Jones Band
- 21st-22nd Beaver Creek Culinary Demonstration
- 23rd Vail Farmers Market
- 25th Hot Summer Nights featuring The Dunwells
- 27th Beaver Creek Rodeo
- 28th-30th Bravo! Vail featuring the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
- 29th Reds, Whites & Brews Festival
- 29th Minturn Market
- 30th Vail Farmer's Market
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Local real estate inventory continues to shrink
From the Vail Daily-
EAGLE COUNTY — Real estate supply is tighter and prices are creeping up, says the Vail Board of Realtors.
The group's report for the first quarter of this year shows less real estate inventory valley wide. Homes are staying on the market for about half the amount of time they were a year ago.
“It's the basic law of supply and demand,” said Mikel Oburn, a Realtor with Prudential Colorado Properties. “Inventory remains low, and so do interest rates, so prices are creeping up.”
Singletree, for example, has about half the properties on the market it had a year ago, Oburn said.
The Board of Realtors report shows local inventory levels are 34.5 percent lower than they were in the first quarter of 2012.
This time last year saw 17 months of local inventory available. It's down to nine and half months of available inventory.
That means if no other homes came on the market, every available home would sell within that time.
“This shift may mean that for owners who were on the fence about listing a property, the time to revisit their decision is now. There are buyers out there looking to purchase,” said Julie Retzlaff, chairperson of the Vail Board of Realtors. “From the buyer's perspective, now is also the time for them to move forward. Those considering a purchase could anticipate a rise in purchase prices in the future, as fewer inventory options exist. Lower inventory can create a rise in prices as a multitude of buyers compete for the same property.”
The market is also tightening back to what passes for normal as bank-owned and distressed property sales work their way through the market.
During February of this year, statewide foreclosure filings were down 43.6 percent, year over year, and foreclosure filings fell to the lowest point recorded in any month since the Colorado Division of Housing began keeping monthly foreclosure stats in 2007. Statewide foreclosure auction sales were at the lowest level recorded in any February during the past seven years.
Across Colorado, there were 3,995 foreclosure filings during the first two months of 2012 and 2,616 during the same period this year, according to the state Division of Housing.
Mesa County had the most foreclosures. Boulder County had the fewest.
Foreclosure filings peaked in mid-2009 in response to large job losses beginning in late 2008. A subsequent rise in foreclosure sales at auction peaked in spring and summer of 2010 as the state worked through the large inventory of foreclosures filed in mid 2009.
Foreclosure filings declined between January 2011 and July 2011, but have been generally flat since late 2011. Foreclosure sales activity has been falling since late 2011.
There appears to be a six to nine-month delay between trends in filings and sales. For example, the large decline in filings that began in mid-2009 shows up as a decline in sales that begins during the spring of 2010. This likely reflects a time lag between the initiation of foreclosures and the completion of foreclosures. Nevertheless, the increase in filings that appeared in late 2011 has yet to produce any resulting rise in auction sales.
Since 2011, however, both filings and sales have shown general declines in activity.
Nationwide, foreclosure filings have tended to peak late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter.
EAGLE COUNTY — Real estate supply is tighter and prices are creeping up, says the Vail Board of Realtors.
The group's report for the first quarter of this year shows less real estate inventory valley wide. Homes are staying on the market for about half the amount of time they were a year ago.
“It's the basic law of supply and demand,” said Mikel Oburn, a Realtor with Prudential Colorado Properties. “Inventory remains low, and so do interest rates, so prices are creeping up.”
Singletree, for example, has about half the properties on the market it had a year ago, Oburn said.
The Board of Realtors report shows local inventory levels are 34.5 percent lower than they were in the first quarter of 2012.
This time last year saw 17 months of local inventory available. It's down to nine and half months of available inventory.
That means if no other homes came on the market, every available home would sell within that time.
“This shift may mean that for owners who were on the fence about listing a property, the time to revisit their decision is now. There are buyers out there looking to purchase,” said Julie Retzlaff, chairperson of the Vail Board of Realtors. “From the buyer's perspective, now is also the time for them to move forward. Those considering a purchase could anticipate a rise in purchase prices in the future, as fewer inventory options exist. Lower inventory can create a rise in prices as a multitude of buyers compete for the same property.”
The market is also tightening back to what passes for normal as bank-owned and distressed property sales work their way through the market.
During February of this year, statewide foreclosure filings were down 43.6 percent, year over year, and foreclosure filings fell to the lowest point recorded in any month since the Colorado Division of Housing began keeping monthly foreclosure stats in 2007. Statewide foreclosure auction sales were at the lowest level recorded in any February during the past seven years.
Across Colorado, there were 3,995 foreclosure filings during the first two months of 2012 and 2,616 during the same period this year, according to the state Division of Housing.
Mesa County had the most foreclosures. Boulder County had the fewest.
Foreclosure filings peaked in mid-2009 in response to large job losses beginning in late 2008. A subsequent rise in foreclosure sales at auction peaked in spring and summer of 2010 as the state worked through the large inventory of foreclosures filed in mid 2009.
Foreclosure filings declined between January 2011 and July 2011, but have been generally flat since late 2011. Foreclosure sales activity has been falling since late 2011.
There appears to be a six to nine-month delay between trends in filings and sales. For example, the large decline in filings that began in mid-2009 shows up as a decline in sales that begins during the spring of 2010. This likely reflects a time lag between the initiation of foreclosures and the completion of foreclosures. Nevertheless, the increase in filings that appeared in late 2011 has yet to produce any resulting rise in auction sales.
Since 2011, however, both filings and sales have shown general declines in activity.
Nationwide, foreclosure filings have tended to peak late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
April Calendar of Events
- 3rd Los Lonely Boys
- 3rd-6th Taste of Vail
- 4th Elephant Revival
- 5th The Music of Abba
- 7th Ski Heritage Week
- 8th-14th Spring Back to Vail
- 12th OAR
- 13th Sublime
- 14th Jimmy Cliff
- 14th Pond Skimming
- 14th Closing day at Vail, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge
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