The Grand County Real Estate Market - by Janene Johnson

The real estate market up here in Grand County, Colorado is continuing to strengthen as it follows the lead from the Denver, Colorado market. Winter Park, Colorado is a ski resort, home to the Winter Park Resort, one of the largest and most varied ski resorts in Colorado. We are a second home market and without that sense of urgency, our sales tend to lag behind those primary residential markets. As the Denver/Front Range market starts to become as busy as it has over the last 12 months, our market naturally follows along. I took a look at the sales of single family homes, condominiums and vacant land from January 1, 2015 through March 31, 2015 as compared to the same time period in 2014. The total volume of sales is up by 21% and the average sales price is up 19%. The total number of active listings has decreased by 4%, which is helping to create more of a sellers market. The $500,000 and up price range for homes is not as brisk a market as below that list price, so there are still some good deals to be had in that price range. Condominium sales have been doing well also. The total volume sold of condominiums is up by 39% and the average sales price is up by 7%. Townhomes/Duplexes sales were a bit different, as this category is simply represented by fewer listings total. The total volume sold increased by 8%. However, the average sales price decreased by 6%. Vacant land sales up here in ski country have been the hardest hit over these last several years of the economic downturn. On average, sales prices decreased over the last 5 years by 70% in value, so they had the most to gain to come back up to normal. The volume of land sales increased by 77%. The average sales price of lots increased by 28%. So it is good news for all concerned. There are still some very well priced properties out there, in vacant land, homes and condos. If you are a seller up here in the Rocky Mountains, you can now look forward to being able to make a bit of a return on your investment.