This is THE site for buyers looking to purchase residential real estate in the Aspen / Snowmass Area. (Sellers, please visit http://TopAspenAgents.com)

On this site you will find information on the Aspen / Snowmass area, market updates, statistical analysis, sales history along with access to all of the current listings including foreclosure and short-sale opportunities.

Please be sure to check back regularly to see the most up to date information on everything real estate in Aspen and Snowmass.

According to today’s Wall Street Journal,  financial turmoil in Europe is providing an unexpected windfall for American home buyers, as international money seeking a safe haven is flowing into the U.S., pushing mortgage rates to the lowest levels of the year and nearing 50-year lows. Analysts now see the prospect of rates as low as 4.5% this summer instead of rising to 6% as some had projected earlier. Rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 4.84% last week, with rates on 15-year mortgages at 4.24%, the lowest since Freddie Mac started its survey of rates in 1991.

Well, the trend of decreasing inventory and decreasing absorption rate (listings divided by sales) has clearly ended. Not surprisingly, the promise of Spring has started to bring the sellers out. While sales have shown very modest increases, this is not enough to offset the increase in inventory.  Continue Reading »

For those of you who love to follow the numbers and analyze the trends, you will love this feature. The data included covers the whole of the Aspen / Glenwood MLS.

Aspen / Glenwood Springs MLS Market Statistics

The hole along side highway 82 at Willits which was supposed to be a “Whole Foods” store looks like it will finally move forward.  A clear sign of the rapid decline in the area’s real estate market and overall economy came when construction was halted on the Whole Foods store in Fall of 2008.

Many feel that once large projects like this one and others up in Snowmass Village get back on line, it may be one of the best indicators of an improvement in our local market.

To read the full article, visit: http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100309/NEWS/100309791

For those of you interested in market statistics and trends, click on the following link to see detailed graphs showing information on sales and inventory in Aspen over the last 12 months:

Aspen Real Estate Market Statistics

Economists tell us that all markets have cycles. A typical market, like a wave, has peaks and troughs. Nobody would deny that in the Aspen / Snowmass area, in the years running up to 2007, we were riding the crest of a big wave of optimism and euphoria as the prices soared higher daily. Continue Reading »

Both December and January have shown falling sales numbers in the Aspen/Glenwood MLS.  December ‘08 had 83 sales versus 81 in ‘09. January ‘09 had 108 versus a meager 67 this year.

On a more positive note, the trend of decreasing inventory has continued for the 6th straight month and while the overall supply has climbed back up to 58 months, there are more localized areas and price ranges where supply has fallen back close to what would be a balanced market (The River Valley Ranch development in Carbondale is one such example). Continue Reading »

According to the Aspen Times today, 2009 was down 60% on 2008 for new construction and 2010 seems like it is going to be tough too.  Since local architects are still very slow, this means that new construction will also continue to be slow. According to Alpine Bank, construction financing is very hard to obtain right now, exacerbating the problem. Continue Reading »

Recently there has been more talk nationally about “Shadow Inventory”. This refers to home sellers who have either pulled their house of the market or are choosing to wait for the “market to get better” before listing. While, on the national level, supply has continued to decrease to what are considered stable levels, the concern is that there are potentially millions of home owners who are just waiting to list once they perceive things to be better. Continue Reading »

There has been a lot of talk in the news about Short Sales and they are definitely becoming an important part of our market from Aspen and Snowmass all the way down to Rifle.

A short sale can offer a good opportunity for a patient buyer since typically, if the bank agrees, the property can be sold at significantly less than what the current market value might suggest (often up to around 20%). Continue Reading »