Aspen Snowmass and Roaring Fork Real Estate Blog

The proliferation of services that help homebuyers and sellers complete their own real-estate transactions is relatively recent, and it may have you wondering whether using a real-estate agent is becoming a relic of a bygone era. While doing the work yourself can save you the significant commissions that many real-estate agents command, for many, flying solo may not be the way to go — and could end up being more costly than a commission in the long run. Buying or selling a home is a major financial and emotional undertaking. Find out why you shouldn't discard the notion of hiring an agent just yet.

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Summary for the month of July

$74,155,436 – total dollar volume for the month, decrease of 41% from July 2009

41 – total transactions for the month, decrease of 4.6% from July 2009

Year to date dollar volume, $647,972,192 – an increase of 8.3% from the same time period in 2009

Year to date transactions, 385 – an increase of 2.9% from the same time period 2009

Fractional dollar volume totaled $5.97 million, a decrease of 43% from July 2009

Fractional transactions totaled 12, a decrease of 33% from July 2009
Hyatt -4, Residences at Little Nell – 3, Roaring Fork Club Suites – 2, Ritz Carlton, Roaring Fork Club, and Sanctuary each reported 1

Year to date fractional dollar volume totals $58.2 million, a decrease of 61% from same time period 2009

Year to date fractional transactions total 101, a decrease of 44% from the same time period 2009

Aspen led the county with 17 transactions and $54.36 million, Interval Units totaled 12 with $5.97 million, Snowmass Village totaled 7 and $11.4 million, Basalt reported 3 and $996,584, Old Snowmass and Redstone each reported 1 transaction with $1.2 million and $190,000, respectively

There were 2 sales in the county that were bank owned sales, totaling $2.78 million – this represents 3.74% of the dollar volume and approximately 5% of the transactions - 1 in Snowmass and 1 in Old Snowmass

There have been 6 banks sales year to date, totaling $8.4 million – representing 1.3% of the dollar volume and 1.6% of the transactions

Through July the average single family sold price for the county totals $4.478 million, a decrease of 9% from full year 2009

Through July, the median single family sold price for the county totals $4.15 million, an increase of 32% from full year 2009

ASPEN — Craig Morris' golf game suffered last year but his extra effort to sell real estate in a recession paid off.

Morris, a partner in Morris and Fyrwald Real Estate in Aspen, was recognized by REAL Trends and the Wall Street Journal Online for having the highest sales volume in real estate deals closed in the United States last year. REAL Trends is a Denver-based communications company that analyzes trends in national residential real estate sales.

The Wall Street Journal earlier this month released the list of the top 100 agents by sales volume. Morris was credited with $177 million in sales.

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Yes, even with months of inventory languishing on the market, some real-estate experts see a day coming when demand for new homes will exceed supply.

With all the talk of excess inventory and a flood of foreclosures, the idea of a looming housing shortage sounds unrealistic, if not downright fanciful.

After all, data from the National Association of Realtors showed a 5.1% decline in existing-home sales in June. Meanwhile, total housing inventory increased 2.5%, to 4 million homes available for sale -- an 8.9-month supply, up from an 8.3-month supply in May.

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Summary for the month of June

$115,390,224 – total dollar volume, an increase of 81% from June 2009 – and the second highest dollar volume month this year

50 – total transactions, an increase of 6.4% from June 2009

Mid Year dollars total $573.8 million – up nearly 22% from the same time period in 2009

Mid Year transactions total 344 – increase of approximately 4% from same time period 2009

Aspen had 18 transactions ($82 million), Interval Units accounted 18 transactions ($14.8 million), Snowmass Village - 8 transactions ($14.5 million), Redstone - 2 transactions ($1.1 million), Carbondale -1 transaction ($1.9 million), Old Snowmass – 1 transaction ($650,000), Basalt – 1 transaction ($220,000), and Woody Creek – 1 ($4,470)

There was one sale in the month that listed a bank as the Grantor for $4 million. This was in the Meadowood Subdivision in Aspen. This represents approximately 3.5% of the dollar volume for the month.

YTD, there have been 4 bank sales in Pitkin County totaling $5.6 million, this represents for less than 1% of the gross dollar volume

The average single family home sold price through June is $4.4 million, a decrease of 10% from full year 2009

The median single family home sold price is $4.1 million, an increase of 30% from full year 2009

Fractional dollar volume for the month of June totaled $14.8 million up 138% from last June

Fractional transactions totaled 18, an increase of 20% from June 2009

Through June, dollar volume totals $52.3 million, a decrease of 63% from mid-year 2009

Through June, transaction activity totals 89, a decrease of 45% from mid-year 2009

The fractional activity in June was heavily attributed to the Residences at Little Nell with a total of 9 transactions and $13 million, Hyatt Grand Aspen had 4 and $566,000, Ritz Carlton had 3 – totaling $397,000, and St. Regis had 2 totaling $685,000