March Market Update - by Lisa Leclair Waldorf

Ahh....beloved March. The skiing is spring-like, the sun is out much longer each day, the tourists AND locals are walking around town with funny goggle tans! Now that were into the last third of the first quarter of 2012, we wanted to share some market tidbits with you. Julie White, our gal Friday here at REWP, recently attended the Realtor Day at the Capital in Denver. Real estate trends were a hot topic and the predictions were that 2012 will look a lot like 2011: prices and sales activity wont change drastically. Less government incentives will be likely as well: no first time homebuyer incentives, fewer energy improvement incentives, etc. Does this mean the market can stand on its own? Only time will tell. Here at REWP, were very pleased with the property interest, internet inquiries and phone calls weve been receiving in the last couple of weeks. Were optimistic about sales in this wonderful Valley in the months to come. Heres a statistical snap shot: Residential sales volume is up 73% in the Winter Park area. The number of sales is equal to the number of sales during this same period in 2011. Some higher priced homes have sold this year in the area which is what has created this surge in volume. The condo market is somewhat flat. Weve had 16 closings so far this year vs. 18 at this time last year. Sales volume is down by 20% and the average sales price is down 29% (from 276K in 2011 to 194K in 2012). There are some great deals out there right now from bank owned ski in ski out properties to condos in the larger complexes where many units are available. Vacant land is flat as well. There have been 4 sales in the WP area, 4 in the Granby area and 1 in the Grand Lake area. Building materials are as costly as they were 6 years ago so Buyers are being very careful to assess cost vs. return when investing in land right now. For more info on statistics, check out our latest Real Estate of Winter Park Report which highlights year end trends of 2011. Come enjoy some spring with us!