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Market Update: 3rd Quarter, 2009
Some Impressive Sales; Endless Opportunity for Buyers
Buyers and sellers want to know: How is the CB area market?
The answer you get depends on who you ask. Everyone agrees the market had a substantial up-tick
through the summer. This quarter we have seen multiple record-breaking sales of single family homes - a
$2,000,000+ home in Town and a $2,872,500 home sale in Mt. CB among them. 57 residential properties
have sold in total; and 8 vacant lots have sold. So there is substantial activity. But to answer the bigger
question of market health, you have to take a look at the bigger picture.
If you are a seller, you may be feeling the pinch of market that seems sluggish. Relative to total properties
for sale, that may be the right description. There are currently 621 residential homes, townhouses and
condos for sale. Wow! And 58 have sold this quarter. It is easy to let the number of listings dwarf the
volume of sales. But wait...
...Compared to last year's Q3 numbers, we have reason to be optimistic. Q3 2008 saw only 27 residential
properties sell. And none came close to the whopper of a sale in Mt. Crested Butte last week, which closed
at an impressive $2,872,500! Another reason to be optimistic. We have seen some record sales prices this
summer. Consider the top ten highest prices of our Q3 sales:
$2,872,500
$2,200,000
$2,085,000
$2,037,500
$2,000,000
$1,480,000
$1,420,000
$1,200,000
$1,195,000
$950,000
It is clear that people value what Crested Butte has to offer, and they are willing to pay for it.
Last year, by end of Q3, we saw a total of 69 residential properties sold, for a total of $52,651,375.
In 2009, by the end of Q3 we have seen 94 residential properties sold, for a total of $54,808,707.
High-end sales prices are up and sales volume is up as well. Another reason to be optimistic.
From a buyer's point of view, the market could not be better. We are seeing a record amount of choices
available, and much of the market is being offered at bargain-bottom prices. Vacant land exemplifies this
better than anything.
Vacant lots in CB South for $50 and $60K. Land in Mt. CB for under $200K. Great lots in the Town of CB
for $299,000 and up. We have not seen opportunity like this for 10 years or more. And yet, only 8 vacant
lots have sold this quarter.
Condos and townhouses are another tremendous opportunity for buyers. There are currently 376 for sale!
Find one you like and make an offer. You'll kick yourself years down the road when you look back and see
what you could have bought that condo for!
It seems many who can buy are buying. Others who need to sell first may be having a hard time taking full
advantage of today's opportunity. And some buyers are just not in hurry. We are seeing prices continue to
come down across the board. With so much inventory and limited sales volume, sellers have only two
choices: continue to reduce, or be willing to wait it out. This is a buyer's market. Some sellers have
accepted it, some have not. Curious who's who? Make an offer.
This is a time of opportunity.
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Looking north from Blue Mesa, to the West Elks Wilderness. Over those hills is Crested Butte.
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