Real Estate Market Update - by Shanna Lalley

WOW this year is flying by! As we happily move farther away from the stock market crash of 2009 and subsequent real estate crash, Winter Park and the Fraser Valley are definitely starting to see some bright spots on the local real estate front. Taken as a whole both the average sales prices of condos and residential properties are equal to where prices were in 2005. The number of sales is up, year-to-date there have been 421 condo & residential sales versus 352 for all of 2010. Total sales volume is slightly down from this same time last year but we expect to finish out higher than 2010. This is a good is sign for sellers that buyer demand is increasing however with the number of sales being up you would expect the total sales volume to be up more. Total sales volume has remained flat due to the lower prices weve seen in the past year. All average stats combined it would seem that we are still firmly a buyers market. However, if you take a deeper look at specific neighborhoods,Real Estate, and condo complexes, some are faring better than others. Rendezvous and Lakota have remained buyers favorites. In the past year Rendezvous has continued to build new townhomes as theyve received contracts. All in all it looks like theyve built and sold three tri-plexes in the past year (9 units total) and their new-construction continues to be popular along with resales of cabins and townhomes. Lakota has seen some very good deals come and go this year. There have been 13 sales in Lakota in the past 2 years (many in the $1million+ range). There are currently 14 active listings comprised of 8 townhomes, 2 single-family homes, and 3 half-duplexes. The prices of the townhomes have remained relatively flat to slightly down in the past two years but more important is that the properties areselling (this is the first step to firming prices). Across the highway at the base village we are seeing sales occur in Fraser Crossing & Founders Pointe but sales in the Zephyr Mountain Lodge remain sluggish at best. There are currently 27 active listings in FC/FP made up of 5 studios, 15 one-bedrooms and 7 two-bedrooms. And there have been 16 sales in the past year with two bedrooms units selling the best (9 sales) and one-bedrooms being the most difficult (no sales to date). For some reason sales at Zephyr Mountain Lodge have been difficult. There are currently 26 condos on the market and only 2 sales in the past 12 months. There are definitely a few very well priced condos in Zephyr that are good opportunities for buyers. The best advice we can give to owners/sellers in ZML is to take some time to update your furniture and add some mountain décor. It seems buyers are attracted to the newness and updated features of the condos across the street (and prices are slightly lower). We are also seeing increased Real Estateactivity in some lower end sectors of the market such as Hi Country Haus, in downtown Winter Park, and Meadow Ridge, in Fraser. And vacant land along with subsequent building is improving slightly. If you would like an update on specific neighborhood or condo complex please give us a call and one of our Brokers would be happy answer your questions. This information is deemed reliable from the Grand County Board of REALTORs Multiple Listing Service and represents sales by all area Brokers.