September another record month for real estate

"Sept. another record month for real estate"

In an article in the Summit Daily News, October 26, 2005, reporter Duffy Hayes writes: "Real estate buyers and sellers were busy setting another record for the month of September, maintaining the momentum built up by the local real estate market over the past few months."

The article goes on to state that transactions reached an all-time high of 445 actual recorded deeds. This follows a record-setting month of August. "More people are investing in real estate versus the stock market" the report states, "and they're trying to buy in before interest rates go back up."

Breckenridge was the hottest market in Summit County. "Looking at year-to-date data, Summit County is poised to surpass the lofty real estate totals for last year. Through September, total real estate sales volume is up 133 percent over last year, and transactions are up 128 percent..."

The Local's Breckenridge

Breckenridge, Colorado
A personal perspective
By Susan and Don Gunnin


We wake up in the morning, and through floor-to-vaulted-ceiling windows, view the sun touching the tips of the 12,000 foot above sea level mountain tops west across the valley. In the summer, the scene is of rock formations above treeline, and in the winter, it is of the purest white snow you’ve ever seen. In the evenings, the sunsets are like John Denver’s “fire in the sky”. The air is rarefied, both literally and figuratively, and our morning coffee seems to taste better because of it.

Breckenridge, the county seat of Summit County, is a community of about 3,200 permanent residents, snuggled in a valley culminating on the south end at Hoosier Pass on the Continental Divide about 85 miles west of Denver. On either side of the valley are 12-13,000 foot mountains, the west ones of which comprise the Breckenridge ski area, one of the most popular ski resorts in North America. During peak ski season, the population can grow to 35,000 people as skiers flock to town.

Living in this rarified atmosphere is like no place else on earth. All the winter activities associated with skiing, ice skating, sledding and throwing snow balls, are complimented by summer activities of hiking, camping, music and art festivals, biking, fishing, rafting, and simply observing the beauty of wild flower covered mountains beneath the cobalt blue skies characteristic of the Rockies. A common thought among locals is “we came here for the skiing, but summers are why we stay”.

The town of Breckenridge was not originally a ski area. Unlike most ski areas which were towns created as ski areas, Breckenridge began as a Victorian mining town back in the mid 1800s. By 1880, there were eighteen saloons and three dance halls on Main Street. Gold and silver mining kept the town prosperous until the early 1940s, after which Breckenridge suffered a ‘post boom’ recession and decline in population.

Referring to the snow, the era of “White Gold” began in 1961 when the Breckenridge Ski Area opened. By 1973, Eisenhower Tunnel was bored through the Continental Divide allowing traffic on what is now Interstate 70 to make the trip from Denver in about an hour and a half.

As far as real estate goes, more than 60 percent of the homes in Breckenridge are second homes for absentee owners, many of whom plan ultimately to retire to Breckenridge. Many of these homes offer short-term rentals for destination vacationers visiting Breckenridge. This creates an investment opportunity for many, and at least helps second home owners cover some or all of their mortgage payments with rental revenue.

This real estate market is pretty hot, with projections that total buildout (when all the land available for residential building has been developed) could happen in the next 10 or so years. When that happened in Aspen, real estate values went through the roof, so this is a great place to be a realtor today!

The biggest disadvantage to all the new construction is the fear of losing some of the old-fashioned, down-home historical character of the town. Although building codes and guidelines are in place to keep this loss to a minimum, the old Victorian town still can become a settlement of million dollar estates. Perhaps this is just the price of growth!

To learn more about Breckenridge and real estate opportunities, check out Susan Gunnin’s web site at www.breck4sale.com.

2005 Year to date Market Analysis

This information is assembled from data provided by Land Title Guarantee Company in Breckenridge. This is year to date information through August, 2005.

SALES VOLUME UP 28%

In January, the dollar volume of sales was up 93%. In February, 15%, March 30%, April 22%, May 19%, June no change, July 37% and August 45%. Total YTD volume was $824,933,699 for 2005, compared to $642,626,700 for the same period in 2004. This represents an increase of 28%.

NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS UP 19%

In January, the number of transactions was up 82%, In February, down 23%, March 24%, April 3%, May 6%, June 10%, July 41%, and August 37%. Total YTD number of transactions was 2,186 for 2005, compared to 1,838 for the same period in 2004. This represents an increase of 19%.

You can see that real estate activity in Breckenridge remains extremely strong. If you're thinking of making a purchase here, now could very well be the time.

For more information about the investment market in Breckenridge go to Susan Gunnin's main web site or her auxillary site, or email her.

Prices went through the roof

“Real estate values went through the roof”

This is a quote from an article entitled 'Summit County Buildout Looms' written by Kim Marquis for the Summit Daily News, April, 2004.

Following is a summary of that article.

In the quote above, Kim was citing what a county planner said happened to Aspen, Colorado once that town reached buildout. Buildout is achieved when all of the land zoned for development has been developed.

A buildout analysis by Summit County’s planning department projects, based on current growth rates, the county will reach residential buildout in less than 10 years. Summit County is currently 68.7 percent builtout for residential development. Based on building capacity absorption over the past 10 years, development will consume another 25 percent by the year 2011, and reach total buildout by 2013. In Summit County, buildout doesn’t mean “crowded”, since 70 percent of the county is national forest.

A local RE/MAX broker said that what happened in Aspen might occur here. This broker said “Property values have already been going up all through the 1990s, and redevelopment (when older homes are torn down and replaced with new ones) is happening already where the value of the land exceeds the value of the structure.”

Even if the growth rate slows, the county is likely to reach buildout in the next 20 years. In the 1970s, Summit County was the fastest growing county in the nation, growing at a rate of 232 percent. In the following decade, growth slowed to 45.6 percent, but in the 1990s, growth picked up to 99.5 percent, again one of the fastest growth rates in the country. At the current growth rate of 3.7 percent between 2000 and 2003 – a trend expected to continue – this decade will experience a growth rate of 26.3 percent.

Even though the permanent population is not expected to grow that fast, it is important to note that more than 60 percent of Summit County homes are owned as second homes for non-permanent residents – absentee owners – who intend eventually to retire to this pristine mountain community. Many of these owners purchase a property and make it available for short-term rentals to help defray some of the ownership costs until they are ready to retire. And even if they don’t ultimately retire here, property appreciation and possible tax advantages will make for a sound investment. A win-win situation!

New second home purchases may mirror or exceed the national growth rate – 5 percent per year – for such buying. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are six million second homes in the U. S. and Americans are currently spending 19 million dollars annually on them.

Given this information, if you have an investment horizon extending out 7, 10, 15 years,
NOW may very well be the time to think about investing in Summit County and Breckenridge. Susan Gunnin is an expert in resort real estate investment analysis. She can help you determine if investing in Summit County makes sense for you. Like most investments, the longer you wait, the more you may have to pay and the less will be your return. To take advantage of a unique opportunity, give Susan a call at 800-289-7005, or Email here, or visit her website. For more information about Breckenridge and Summit County, visit Susan's auxillary website.

For Investment, Breckenridge is hard to beat

Real estate sales run continues

This was the title of an article in the Summit Daily News on November 23, 2004. The subtitle said “Sales volume surpasses last year by 33 percent”.

A paraphrase of the article, written by Summit Daily News reporter Kim Marquis, goes on to state that the average per property selling price was up $24,000. Eric Degerberg, managing broker at RE/MAX Properties of the Summit, said that based on the RE/MAX business to date, the trend will continue. The number of October closings broke all monthly records. Vacant land – lot – sales soared 52 percent over last year.

According to Bonnie Smith Allen of Exclusive Mountain Retreats, more homes priced higher than $2 million sold than in any other year on record. Additionally, sixty-two homes priced at over $1 million have sold and another sixteen are under contract. Last year, fifty-nine such homes sold.

Susan Gunnin believes this is perfectly in line with an article reported earlier which stated that Breckenridge and Summit County are approaching “buildout”. As available property decreases, prices increase. According to Susan, “it’s simple supply and demand economics”.

If your investment portfolio needs real estate in it, Breckenridge is pretty tough to beat.

Visit Susan's web site to learn more.