Summit County ski resort homes are selling briskly, thanks to their towns' proximity to Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado, say local Realtors.

Breckenridge

"The supply of units under $400,000 remains relatively low throughout Summit County," says Realtor Ron Shelton. "There are a lot of people looking in this price range, so sellers can be a bit more bullish. Over $500,000, there are twice the number of units available, compared to the same time two years ago."

Shelton advises, "That means you buyers should be able to drive a hard bargain. And it means that you sellers need to be very competitive with pricing and be willing to negotiate and have your units in top notch condition. As predicted, 2003 sales indicate a 38 percent increase in number of sales in the Breckenridge area and the Keystone area saw an even higher increase. If you're a seller, make your unit choice. If you're a buyer, be ready to move. Now more than ever, people realize that time is what is most valuable, not money."

Keystone

"Data gathered from the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments' study of second-home ownership in five mountain counties was presented at the Colorado Municipal League Conference in Steamboat Springs," explains Realtor Thomas Driemeyer. "Second-home owners occupied 60 percent of the housing units in the five counties and are driving job growth, but increasing housing costs are making it harder to accommodate a work force. Owning property that can be rented to workers is a great long-term investment. April sales tax receipts for Summit County were up 10.9 percent over April 2003. Overall sales tax revenues in Breckenridge in April totaled $614,458, a 7.6 percent increase over April 2003, bringing the year-to-date totals for the town for the first four months of 2004 to $4.573 million, a 5.9 percent increase over a year earlier."

Driemeyer notes, "One positive aspect of the overall increase was the 4.7 percent increase for the first four months in the retail, restaurant and lodging sectors, an indication that tourism is faring better. The Travel Industry Association of America predicts a 3 percent increase in leisure travel this summer, the biggest one-year jump in four years. Summer trips by people traveling more than 50 miles from home, in millions:

2000 311
2001 311
2002 317
2003 324
2004 335 (estimated)

The summer conference business looks good this year, with more than 15,000 tourists expected in Breckenridge this June, up 41 percent over June 2003. Overall, Breckenridge's summer reservations are 8 percent ahead of last year."

Copper Mountain

"Copper Mountain still trails the rest of Summit County in terms of real estate pricing trends, but it is beginning to catch up," says Realtor Ken Deshaies. "Current applications by Intrawest to improve the base area will bring many more summer businesses and activities, making it truly a year-round resort. There are still some bargains to be had when measured against the volatile uptrends of the 90s. This could be a good time to invest. However, a recent decision by the Board of County Commissioners denying Intrawest's application to nearly double the base of the ski area will have an affect on future values. The question currently is what. If expansion is basically halted with current approvals in place, it may well be that values of existing properties will go up. On the other hand, the objective was to make Copper Mountain more of a year-round resort, an aspect that is currently lacking. As of this summer of 2004, we are in a wait and see mode. Stay tuned."

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Published: August 4, 2004

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