November News

As many of you already know it snowed up to 4 feet in areas near Denver this week. In Vail, we only got a few inches but it is dumping now and we could get a foot out of this storm. It's truly too early to count much if any of this snow as part of future accumulation but it does at least help keep the ground cold so they can make snow. I do think most of it will stick around - especially up high where it looks like there is at least 8 inches sitting on Riva! Can't wait!

Usually this time of year the phone never rings and no one walks into the office. But we've been busy. If anyone at all is buying real estate this time of year, it's usually a second homebuyer trying to secure a property for the ski season. But in my case, I've been writing offers for full-time residents.

For the last year locals haven't even been looking at real estate. Even with interest rates at historical lows, most full-time residents can't come up with the mandatory 20% down for a house. If you think about it, the least expensive 2 bedroom home in Avon is $250,000 which means a buyer would need $50,000 to put down. Few locals have that sort of cash sitting around, not to mention the fact that many have lost jobs here preventing them from even having a conversation with a lender.

But the locals that have the means to buy are indeed buying right now. What I'm finding is that locals who have a good amount of equity in their current homes (because of sizable down payments or long-term ownership) are able to sell at greatly discounted prices to get the home sold quickly and, in turn, unlock the equity and then go on to get a great deal on the next house, which usually is a significant upgrade from their current home.

Never before have I seen the sort of jumps people are making: from 2 bedroom, 800 square foot condominiums to 3 bedroom, 2,000 square foot duplexes or from townhomes to single family homes with 3 car garages! Because of the incredible amount of inventory in the $700,000 - $1.5M range, homes that would have been $1M two years ago are now $700,000 (or less) and some locals are taking advantage of the opportunity.

For example, I have clients who just went under contract on a house for $500,000. They would have easily paid $675,000 for the same house two years ago. Deals like this are happening all over the Valley and locals who can either take advantage of their current equity by selling their home, or obtaining a line of credit on their current home and keeping it as a rental, are benefiting hugely in this market.

Fall is always a great time to buy - if you're a home seller in this area at this time of year, you're likely holding your breath waiting for a buyer. And typically the next one that walks through the door is the bird in the hand!