Market Update - by Shanna Lalley

Happy 2015! What a ride we had in 2014. FINALLY, the Winter Park real estate market is showing signs of recovery. The recovery lag between the Denver Front Range and Winter Park has been frustrating for some sellers who did not see the rapid sales that the Front Range saw. By the time ski season rolled around these frustrated sellers were taking their properties off the market and renting them out for the season. The nightmarish traffic on I-70 has driven many Front Range skiers to seek season rentals in the High Country. This demand drove rental prices up and many would-be renters were left out in the cold as buyers snatched some remaining good deals. This lag in recovery also caused some buyers to hold off in early 2014 thinking that better deals might still be coming. What buyers found in the long run is that our inventory was quickly depleted as the end of the year approached. Many buyers found themselves in competing offer situations or were just frustrated that many of their top-choices were picked up by other buyers. So where do we stand going into 2015? If you are a buyer, please give us a call and let us set you up for automatic listing alerts. We should see a small increase in inventory in January and then another significant bump after ski season. It would be worth yourtime to start watching the market now so you can make quick, informed decisions when you see the right property for you. No doubt, some sellers will start testing the market with slightly higher prices. Condos in the Winter Park Area (WP, Fraser & Tabernash) finished 2014 with a 4% increase in median sales price and a 9.6% increase in median list price. For the year, the number of sold condos was up 32+% and then number of new listing was down 18%. Single-family homes, townhomes & duplexes finished with the median sales price increasing 7% and median list price increasing 11%. The number of sold properties was up 34.3% over 2013 and the number of new listings was down 28%. On a positive note for buyers and sellers it is great time to list and buy. Sellers, if youve been chompin at the bit to sell but didnt want to sit on your listing for year a waiting for a buyer now is a great time to get it done. Plus sellers get the added benefit of slightly stronger selling prices. Buyers, dont get frustrated. Inventory will return (albeit probably not to the levels of 2012 & 2013) and sales prices shouldnt jump significantly over night. But you will need to be ready to move quickly when the right property comes along.