Resort real estate index, May 2008 report
OK. The bad news first: Compared to the first five months of 2007, the first five months in 2008’s total Summit County real estate sales has decreased 22% from:
$556,504,300 in 2007 to
$435,302,900 in 2008.
(In 2006, the total year-to-date sales were: $518,502,100, also higher than 2008).
In January, 2008, the total property sales was $85,497,600, down about $2,500,000.
In February, 2008, it took a big hit at $64,539,900, down $23,800,000.
March didn’t fair as poorly, at $95,396,600, only down about $3,000,000.
April and May took another dive, coming in at the $94,000,000 and $95,000,000 range — a difference from April, 2007, of about $39,670,800 and from May, 2007, of about $63,000,000.
Though this sounds like very bad news, it has to be taken in the context of a larger picture. Yes, the number of sales is down compared to this time last year. That means Summit County is starting to see the slowdown that the rest of the nation has experienced for awhile. However, on the positive side, Summit County real estate is still showing strength in terms of its average single-family home price.
From January through May, 2008, the average single-family home price was $838,347 (with 190 transactions). This compares to the 2007 average of $798,889. Of course, the year-to-date 2008 number only tells a portion of the story. In 2007, 801 homes sold, so we’ll have to see what the rest of 2008 brings. While transactions are down this year, average sales price is looking good so far.
The other good news is that, compared to other resort towns in Colorado, Summit County property is doing better than most in the number of sales.
While Summit County is down 22% in total year-to-date 2008 sales compared to the same months (January through May) in 2007, Eagle County, which hosts the opulent town of Vail and Vail Ski Resort, is down 30%. Worse yet, Pitkin County, home of world-renown Aspen, and Routt County, home of Steamboat, are both down 51%! The only mountain-resort town close to Summit County that fared better than Summit County is Garfield County (where the quaint town of Glenwood Springs and Glenwood Hot Spring lies), which is down 2% less than Summit County, at 20%.
Moreover, Summit County had the highest number of transactions from January through May, compared to Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin and Routt counties. While Summit County had 780 transactions, Eagle had 604, Garfield had 764, Pitkin had 376 and Routt had 572.
On the other hand, Summit County ranked fourth out of the five counties when it came to year-to-date average single-family home prices. This is both good and bad news, depending on how you look at it.
The good news is that Summit County’s average single-family home price isn’t unreachable for many people, like it is in Pitkin County, where the average home price is $5.2 million, or even $1.6 million in Eagle County! And, at $838,347, Summit County’s average single-family home price is much greater than in Garfield County, which is $457,374. However, Summit County does lag behind Routt County (Steamboat), which is at $920,971, year-to-date.
New construction, 2008
From January through May, 2008, the number of closings on new construction was 71. Garfield County saw the most growth in new construction, with 205 closings, while Routt had 179, Eagle had 128 and Pitkin had 110. Summit County new construction sales from January through May added up to $50,878,000.
So far, new construction closings make up 12% of Summit County’s gross transactions, which is the lowest percentage out of all five counties. However, that could be because Summit County is rapidly running out of new areas to develop, whereas other counties have more land on the outskirts of the main towns. In 2007, new construction closings in Summit County totaled 308, just above Pitkin County’s 296 — the least amount of new construction sales. Pitkin County is also rapidly running out of developable land.
While new construction closings in the United States as a whole declined 20.89% from 2006 to 2007, Summit County increased 7.69%.
Price points in 2007
Out of all five counties, Summit County had the lowest price point, with 24,717 units assessed in 2007 under $1 million, compared to Eagle County’s 21,911; Garfield County’s 18,053; Routt County’s 12,761; and Pitkin County’s 5,921.
However, when it came to units between $1,000,001 and $3 million, Summit County ranked third, with 1,505 units, above Routt County’s 1,027 and Garfield County’s 353. Pitkin County had 3,147 and Eagle County had the most, at 5,394.
Between $3,000,001 and $5 million, Summit County ranked second, at 31, ahead of Garfield County’s 10 units. Pitkin, of course won, with 1,256 units, ahead of Eagle County’s 897 and Routt’s 82.
Last year, no Summit County properties assessed above $5 million. Pitkin still had 1,117 units, and Eagle County had 466. Routt and Garfield had less than 20.
Median home price changes between 2006 and 2007
Summit County fared much better in median home prices, compared to the rest of the United States. In October, 2007, Summit County’s median price was $648,750, while the nation’s was $207,800. Between 2006 and 2007, the nation’s median price decreased by 5%, while Summit County’s increased by 5.5%.
Compared to Summit’s surrounding four counties, Summit came in second lowest for median home price, ahead of Garfield County’s 2007 median of $394,950, up 14.6% from 2006.
Again, this just means that Summit County is one of the most affordable mountain resort areas in which to invest. Pitkin County (Aspen area) is unreachable for most people, at a 2007 $3.7 million median, up 5.7% from 2006. Eagle County (Vail area) is quite a stretch, at $810,000. Routt County (Steamboat area) is close to Summit County, at $660,000, up 13.7%. Eagle County saw the greatest increase in median home price from 2006 to 2007, at 32%.
