T.D. Smith: 37 Years of Telluride real estate experience

State gives school district top ranking

 Superintendent: ‘I’m proud of these kids’

By Kathrine Warren
Staff Reporter

Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 6:11 AM CDT

Telluride has a lot to brag about: Skiing, mountain scenery, festivals galore. Add one more to the list: highly accredited schools.

The Telluride School District recently announced it is “Accredited with Distinction” by the state of Colorado. This represents the highest level the state ranks schools.

This accreditation is based on Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) testing, ACT scores, preparation of students for post-secondary success, school safety measures, attendance and drop-out rates, and is determined by the Colorado Department of Education.

Superintendent Mary Rubadeau called the ranking validating and credited the district’s success to a program called Individual Mission and Assessment Plan (IMAP).

In its 11th year, IMAP teams teachers up by grade level to focus the core areas of reading, writing and math with the children of that grade. Kindergarten through sixth grade teams are divided by grade, and seventh through 12th grade have grade level and subject IMAP teams.

Kristin Hoins, the technology and enrichment teacher for the Telluride Intermediate School, said IMAP is a way for teachers to collaborate and customize lesson plans for students’ needs.

Before school starts each year, teams will get together and look at student data and test scores, and then get to know their students to assess strengths and challenges.

They will break kids into small groups for advanced learning plans or place children in academic remediation plans to address specific needs identified by the IMAP teams.

“We customize the instruction in the classroom and we’re working on more targeted goals over the course of the year,” Hoins said. They use examples of the students’ work to track progress, and Hoins says it’s a success for both the students and the teachers.

“IMAP has proven to be successful over the years,” Rubadeau said.

The program is also helping Telluride schools close the achievement gap for students living at poverty level or English as a Second Language students.

“They’re growing more than our regular population,” she said. “Something we’re proud of.”

CSAP scores also played a role in the accreditation process, with students excelling in all grade levels. All grades and all subjects averaged 59 percentile growth, compared to the state’s average of 50 percent. The district saw exceptional growth in fifth, sixth and eighth grade.

“I’m proud of these kids,” Rubadeau said. “They take these state tests seriously … and they work hard.”

Parents or interested community members can access Telluride’s data on student achievement and other accreditation information on the state’s website: www.schoolview.org.

Late summer is hot for real estate activity

by Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Thursday, August 19, 2010

$135 million under contract in last month

Eighteen single-family homes totaling $135 million have gone under contract in the last month in the Aspen and Snowmass Village areas, according to an analysis by local real estate broker Amy Doherty. The contracts include a $29.5 million property on Maroon Creek Road near Highlands and a $20 million home bordering the North Star Preserve east of Aspen — all the way down to the lowest-priced property in the group at $2.5 million. This high level of real estate activity doesn’t necessarily mean anything unusual or break any records, brokers said, as August is typically the busiest month of the year for signing contracts. But it’s a snapshot of current real estate activity, and with many predicting a turning in the local market and a strong interest in its high end, it bears watching.
“There have been so few closings in our market history in that price range, so it is interesting,” said Doherty, who also warned that it’s impossible to tell which ones will or will not close.

There have been seven single-family home sales for more than $20 million in Pitkin County within the last three years, according to records from the county clerk and recorder’s office. In June, a McLain Flats estate sold for $24.5 million, the highest transaction since mid-2009 when a home on Willoughby Way went for $43 million. Rounding out the upper echelons of local real estate are a Starwood home that sold for $36.5 million in December 2007 and an estate on Wildcat Ridge above Snowmass that changed hands in April 2008.

The six-bedroom, six-bath Maroon Creek estate is a spec home built in 2008 by B&C LLC, according to county records. The Pitkin County assessor values the 15,000-square-foot home at $18.25 million. The 1.8-acre lot it sits on was acquired in late 2004 for $2.7 million.

Listing broker Carrie Wells said there have been multiple offers on the home, which according to Multiple Listing Service records has been on the market for more than a year.

But it could close for much less than the $29.5 million listing price, Doherty noted, as it’s in the due diligence phase. (The McLain Flats property was also listed at $29.5 million.)

Several local brokers have noticed a trend in higher-end properties getting more attention recently. Three of the properties put under contract in the last week and a half are above $10 million. The $20 million North Star property was just completed this year, and has been on the market for just 31 days. There have already been 16 sales for more than $6 million from January through June of this year.

Realtor Steven Shane said that it might be because high net worth buyers who are able to afford these properties don’t need to sell something first.

“There is a lot of competition in this price range,” said Wells. “Anybody looking to buy a home in this tier is going to see everything that’s listed and everything that’s not listed.”

But it’s also a matter of timing, as would-be buyers wrap up their summer in Aspen, noted Shane.

“As Labor Day is approaching people who are here and love being here are making commitments,” he said.

Wells said that while it’s not surprising to see such a high level of activity in early August, it’s noticeable because of the combination of the timing, interest in high-end properties and the Aspen area coming out of a slumped market.

Doherty noted that even if some of these higher-end sales go through, the inventory for such properties is still large. There are 43 properties for more than $15 million in the Aspen to Glenwood MLS (with the vast majority in the upper valley), for a total value of $996 million.

This includes the Stranahan ranch in Woody Creek, listed for $47 million, two Owl Creek Road properties in the $40 million range and two properties in the West Buttermilk area for about $35 million and $45 million.

From January to June, nearly $574 million worth of real estate has changed hands in Pitkin County, according to the latest Land Title report. That’s up nearly 22 percent from the same period in 2009.

In July, $137 million was sold, according to Doherty’s calculations, compared to nearly $127 million in July 2009.

Last August recorded just $51 million in real estate sales, according to Doherty, so if some of these higher end properties close this month that number is likely to be beat. September 2009, however, had $128 million in sales, reflecting the trend that many properties go under contract at the height of the summer season.
lutz@aspendailynews.com

Friends of Telluride ~

We hope you all have been enjoying your summer.  The Telluride Real Estate marketplace has experienced a bit of a rebound in the first half of 2010.  Year to date, gross dollar sales have increased 89% over that same period in 2009.  Numbers of regional transactions also increased at the rate of 45%.  Currently, dollar volume of sales are 55% of sales achieved in 2007, our last good real estate year pre-recession.  This represents an increase of 26% when one compares 2009 sales to 2007.  Sales in the region appear to be tracking better than those in Aspen where that resort’s sales have increased 22% during the same time period.

A total of 51 sales transpired in the Town of Telluride representing total gross dollars of $54.9M YTD.  A total of 72 sales occurred in the Town of Mountain Village with gross dollars of $94.6M.  The remainder of San Miguel County experienced 38 sales totaling $39.7M.  It appears as though the upper end of the market is garnering considerable interest.  There have been a total of 29 sales in the Telluride region above $2M with 15 sales above $4M and three transactions between $8M – $10.1M YTD.  Another Mountain Village home with an asking price of $10.5M is currently under contract.  These high end sales show a dramatic improvement as during the same period in 2009, there were only 13 sales above $2M.

While we do not anticipate a boom cycle on the near horizon, this data seems to indicate a strong renewed interest in investment in the Telluride lifestyle with its limited, high quality inventory. The catalyst for stronger sales has been a willingness by some sellers to accept price levels 20% – 30% below the market highs of 2007. Those sellers are not necessarily in “must sell” situations, but are often times seeking liquidity for alternative investments. Investors are gravitating to discounted “Grade A” properties and seem to be avoiding a limited number of problematic foreclosure and short sale scenarios.

With the velocity of sales increasing, it is likely that a “bottom” has been reached and sellers will over time resist these deeper discounts and the market will respond with gentle appreciation. Those sellers who have held firm with price structure must remain patient, but oddly have contributed to “setting the bottom” and will influence the rise in future values. Premium properties at significantly higher pricing will likely lead the market to a gentle appreciation cycle. With 12 homes transacted in the past 120 days at $800 PSF – $1,075 PSF, this cycle is likely in motion.

We look forward to seeing you in Telluride.

Best,

TD Smith and Chris Sommers