The past three weeks have marked a turning point in our ski season, with prodigious snows returning to the Vail Valley, and excellent ski conditions to match!  It finally feels like winter here in Vail, with smiles up and down Bridge Street... snowplows working hard to keep up... and the perfect freshness that new snow brings to our world.  What a blessing to call this "home"!

(Photo taken today in the Sun Down Bowl trees.  Connor Walberg, photographer)

14" last week.  10" Monday night.  And look what is bearing down on us!  It looks like we can keep our powder skis out!



Winter is finally making its presence known here in the Vail Valley, and the new powder skis that have languished in the garage since September are now bringing smiles to my face!  10" overnight were a nice complement to the 14" or so we received last week, making for some nice turns this morning with my wife!

Even better, it looks like we are in for more over the next several days.  Take a look at the forecast below!

SNOWY WEATHER WILL BEGIN IN EARNEST WEDNESDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE
THROUGH MONDAY AS WAVE AFTER WAVE MOVES OVER COLORADO AND UTAH.
THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WILL BE AFFECTED FIRST WEDNESDAY EVENING
AND BY FRIDAY...PRECIPITATION WILL OVERSPREAD THE NORTHERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS. PLENTY OF PRECIPITATION IS
EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SNOW FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

The recent holiday season was one of the strongest in recent memory, certainly since the change in the market in late 2008.  In spite of somewhat sub-par snow conditions (now being remedied with fresh snowfall, literally as I write this), town was full,  shops and restaurants were out-the-roof busy, and the real estate market was extraordinarily active, especially in the high-end niche. 

Showing activity picked up a week before the norm this year, and continued strong through the first week of January.  Nine properties priced $4 million and greater have been placed under contract since Christmas Day, and there are several more that are currently in the midst of negotiations.

The list is diverse, interesting, and focused mainly in Beaver Creek and Bachelor Gulch.  Included is a never-before-offered penthouse at the Park Hyatt/Beaver Creek (the $5.875 list price included what will be a total rebuild of the property)… two slopeside Wiltshire Court properties in Beaver Creek... a five-bedroom penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton in Bachelor Gulch... a single family home in Bachelor Gulch priced at almost $12 million... and a $7.2m single family located in Arrowhead Mountain Estates.  Not to be left out, a $4m duplex property was placed under contract in Vail, and as stated above, there are currently a number of  multi-million transactions that are currently being negotiated here in town. 

Click on the following link to view these properties, along with numerous images and details of each… 

Notable Properties Placed Under Contract Since December 25, 2010

We’ll continue to see results from the holidays come in over the next few weeks.  This is a great way to enter the new year, and it will be fascinating to see if this momentum continues to build, or not.  Stay tuned!

Inch-by-inch, the snow is building up here in Vail... and in spite of the lack of epic dumps over the past couple of weeks, the skiing is terrific!  A couple of hours on skis with friends yesterday were great fun, and my buddies coming off the hill this afternoon have big grins on their faces!  Click on the video link below to see why!

Video from Vail Mountain, December 15, 2011

If that's not enough, take a look at the following image, courtesy of Connor Walberg Photography and Vail Resorts.

Chair 10 and Two Elk Restaurant opened yesterday, and we're all looking forward to skiing Vail's Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin as soon as conditions permit.  Stay tuned! 

Ten inches over the past weekend made a big difference... take a look at the following image and tell me how you think it was!!

The fresh snow prompted the ski company to open Northwoods and Chair 11... Game Creek and the Back Bowls are next.  Here's crossing our fingers for a couple more good storms in the next week or so!

October had the second highest number of real estate transactions for any month this year, 130, only exceeded by September.  Indicative of an active summer selling season, this brings the year-to-date total for transactions up to 1,100, 6% above last year’s volume through the same time period. While the majority of Eagle County real estate transactions were under $500,000, 51%, more than 10% of the transactions have sold for more than $2 million.

Eagle and Gypsum continue to account for the majority of all transactions in October with 17 and 13 transactions respectively, followed closely by Avon with 11 and East Vail with 9 sales. 

Year-to-date through October, Vail Village has produced 40% more dollar volume, over $145 million, than any other area in Eagle County.  The 49 transactions which have closed in Vail Village are the fifth highest in the county, reflecting an average sales price of $2,959,700. The average price per square foot for a single family home in Vail Village has gone up 31% over last year, rising to $1,764.

Bank sales continue to impact our market with 18 more sales in October, bringing the total to 243 transactions year-to-date through October.  Most of these transactions have occurred in our down valley sub-markets, where those in the trades have been especially hard hit by the down turn in construction.

 Other October highlights:

• Vail Village averaged $3,600,217 per sale over 6 transactions

• Eagle had the most transactions at 17
• 51% of the transactions were single family homes. 

For a full report on the numbers, please click the following link.  And as always, please feel free to call or email if I may answer any questions, share my observations on trends, or just to discuss the snow conditions!  I'm here for you.

Land Title’s October 2011 Market Analysis