Aspen Real Estate Market Update


Aspen/Snowmass real estate values continue to be strong. While inventory levels nationally are
increasing and prices falling, the trend is opposite in the Roaring Fork Valley. The 1st quarter 2007, January through March, Pitkin County sales hit $759M or 63% higher than the same period last year.

At the same time, the number of transactions fell from 503 last year to 311 this year, a 38% decline.
In short… dollars up, transactions down equates to low inventory and high demand.

Why is the Roaring Fork Valley defying the national housing slump?
  • Boomers retire and head west: newly retired, aged 55-64, elderly in good health, with high education and income levels, are seeking active and high quality living environments. This age bracket is most likely to purchase second homes. And an increasing number of those second-home owners are making the area their permanent home.
  • The Rocky Mountain region (5 states: Idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming) is the fastest growing area in the country referred to as the “third coast” by demographers.
  • People are flooding to areas surrounded by public lands - National Forests, National Parks, and BLM. Aspen/Snowmass is surrounded by 92% public and/or lands in some form of protected, conservation status.
  • Exurbia: A huge population migration to “exurbia”, semi-rural areas.
  • The “environment” has become the key economic asset. There is a direct economic upside to property values in controlling growth. For 30 years, Pitkin County has been on the leading edge of implementing restrictive land use codes and zoning regulations to limit and manage growth.
  • High end real estate resilience: Wealthy buyers are buffered by market volatility.
If one is concerned about market timing, remember this: those who have sat on the sidelines waiting for a market correction have basically spent their lifetime regretting that indecision. At any time, this market has consistently presented ‘sticker shock’ to new buyers. And though history is no indicator of future results, once one steps over the pricing hurdle and plans on at least a 3-5 year horizon, boldness here has almost always been consistently rewarded.

Tim Estin, Aspen - “The real estate market is cushioned by global demand for product in the Aspen/Roaring Fork Valley - this sport intellectual, and cultural mountain resort powerhouse is unmatched anywhere in the U.S. And there is limited real estate supply.”