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Realtors Say Local Housing Sales Remain Positive

Telluride represents the strongest market in the county

This year, housing sales have had mixed results in Colorado’s resort communities, but since March Telluride’s market has remained relatively strong.
While most Telluride realtors welcome the positive numbers, they are approaching the future with a cautious optimism. Since April, the average dollar amount of housing sales per month in Telluride has been up roughly 30 percent over last year, according to real-estate broker TD Smith.

Smith said he has seen the most sales activity in the Town of Telluride, which he said is good news for the rest of the area. However, resort communities in Colorado have seen a range of sales numbers both good and bad. According to real-estate broker George Harvey, housing sales this year were up around 12 percent in Vail, but were down 12 percent in Aspen.

“The resort markets in general are still a little fickle,” Harvey said. “But I’m very pleased to see that Telluride has got a least a short positive trend going.”

Out of all home sales in Telluride this summer, 25 units were sold for more than $1 million and 14 were sold for more than $2 million, according to Smith. During August, around 35 properties were sold or changed hands in the county, which is up from 25 during August of last year, San Miguel County warranty deeds show.
“We’ve reached a level where pricing has stabilized, and I think there’s a significant amount of investors with excess capital and very few places to put it,” Smith said. “They’re investing — not necessarily because they think prices are going to go up significantly, but because they’re ready for a change in lifestyle.”

Generally, single family home prices in Telluride tend to be less expensive than Mountain Village, but both towns have about the same number of units on the market — around 65, Harvey said. While he cautioned the small sample size and wide range of difference in the houses available, Harvey estimates the average price of a home in Telluride is around $1.5 million, while Mountain Village is around $2.5 million.

As far as who is buying property in the area, realtors say a wide range of buyers from many different parts of the country are looking at property in the region.

Ed Andrews of Andrews Real-Estate Inc. said he has had a busy summer, in part, he thinks, because of better pricing than in years past. He said he has been talking to everyone from doctors to business people.

“I’ve worked with people from Texas, Arizona, California and Virginia, so they’re really coming from everywhere,” Andrews said. “It’s just a wide array [of buyers], you can’t just put your thumb and say XYZ — they’re just from a really wide variety of backgrounds and locations. People, I think, have discovered that Telluride is one of the more beautiful places in the country.”

Other housing units, such as condominiums, have also seen better sales numbers since April, however specifics were not available. The long-term rental market has remained strong with low cost rentals in demand. However, the rental market tends to follow seasonal trends.

“If you look at Telluride, the sale of single family homes last year and especially this year is very, very strong,” Stewart Seeligson, president of the Telluride Association of Realtors, said. “Since the pullback in 2008-2009, all segments [of the market] in Mountain Village and Telluride have experienced recovery. But each segment is operating and recovering at its own particular pace.”

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