Lori Smith Estes Park Real Estate - LiveInEstesPark.com

Join me for tea and scones this Saturday from 1-3 p.m at this Charming historic home with Longs, Divide and Lumpy Ridge views. Open living spaces, 10 ‘ ceilings, original wood floors, two moss rock fireplaces and sun porch. 3 BR/2 BA and partially finished basement. Great potential-attic could be finished for an artist’s retreat. Take in the views from the fenced in flower garden, deck or patio. Picturesque .55 acre lot with rock outcroppings and huge ponderosa pines. Own a piece of Estes Park history with this turn of the century beauty. See you there!

Lori

It’s a roller coaster ride!

Have you checked out interest rates lately? Watched the financial news? Read up on the Economic Stimulus package? It is a little overwhelming isn’t it?

In case you are wondering about the health of the Estes Park market, the 2007 sales data has just been released. Here it is:

Total sales volume for ALL Property types in 2007 was $148,411,783. This is compared to $143,507,064 for 2006 representing a 3.4% increase.

Residential Sales single family sales saw a 3.30% increase in total volume to $88,428,857 with 233 residential properties sold. The average single family residential home was $379,923, a 5.2% decrease over the 2006 average.

Vacant Land sales total volume showed a 26.00% decrease over 2006. The average price rose to $187,979 from $186,613 in 2006, a .70% increase. 

Town home/Condo sales increased 14.10% in total volume to $40,787,026 from $35,738,445 in 2006. The number of Town Home/Condo sales numbered 136 as compared to 130 in 2006. The average price increased 9.00% to $299,905.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I am a little nervous about all the talk of a recession, but I do have to add that I have a lot of confidence in the Estes Park market. Estes Park is rich with resourceful individuals, teachers, business people, artists, musicians and beautiful scenery. People are willing to invest here as shown by the growth of our market last year.

After some blustery days last week. We are having some gorgeous sunny weather. Come on up and enjoy it.

OK, about the sales. Some recent tidbits of national business news from the week that helps me sleep at night. Just a highlight though, these numbers can give me a headache.
After analysts were projecting that new home sales would fall again, September posted an almost 5% gain. Since August sales were at an 11 year low, hopefully this means the market is making a gain upward. Unemployment claims fell by 8,000 last week too. Nationally the median price of homes rose 2.5% from August numbers too. These recent announcements coupled with the reasonable interest rates gives Realtors cause for hope of a return to more normal market conditions. The feds are anxious to keep things moving along and may cut the federal funds rate before the month is over.

The Estes Park year-to-date total sales volume is up from last year by 8%. And IMO it’s a Buyer’s Market. Estes is a hard market to buy into especially when you are coming here from the Midwest. I personally think there are a lot of bargains out there.

Have a great week!

For those of you concerned with Estes Park getting overrun with condos you can attend the upcoming meeting of the Estes Valley Planning Commission in the Board Room of the Town Hall on Tuesday, October 16th at 1:30 p.m. Topic of discussion will be the application for the planned 42 condominium units on S. St. Vrain (HWY 7) and Lexington Ln on an almost 6 acre parcel that is a grassy meadow where elk herds are seen often and other wildlife too. We have 167 condos on the market right now. Honestly do we need more. Prices are falling to 2005/2006 values. This would depreciate the values even more. Anyway, come and voice your opinion.

The hottest real estate deal of the summer is happening. One of the most talked about listings in Estes Park is now under contract.

This is the highest priced single family home ever listed on our MLS. Listed for $7,500,000 this beautiful mountain home in Windcliff Estates has views that are unsurpassed and a heated driveway. This spectacular structure boasts 7500 sq. ft., 7 bedrooms, 8 baths and a custom built circular log stairway to each of the four levels. With views like you might find in Switzerland, you do need a Swiss Bank account to afford it. This price might not seem like much for a ski resort town, like Vail or Aspen, but until now the highest priced sale on our Northern Colorado MLS was just under $3,000,000. Not that we don’t have property valued in this range, it’s just that nothing this expensive has been listed in the MLS before now. Currently 18 single family homes are listed for over a million dollars, compared to only 4 homes five years ago. We have to wait to see what it sells for, but one thing is for sure. Estes Park is moving up!