Law of Supply and Demand in Crested Butte

View September 2009 Newsletter (HTML)

Happy Fall from Crested Butte!

Supplies of Crested Butte homes and land for sale are as high as they've ever been and in spite of improving demand for area homes and condos and a record breaking home sale, buyers are seeking and getting good deals on our real estate. There are 695 homes and condos for sale and 427 listings for land and ranches for sale from Almont north to Mt. Crested Butte.

After a very slow start to 2009, many sellers faced facts and prices began to fall. By mid-summer, it seemed like a "buy button" was pushed, shoppers became purchasers and our market gained momentum. Of the 98 homes and condos sold so far this year, 60 of these deals occurred after July 1. (There are an additional 30 homes and condos currently under contract.)

By comparison, 2009 is outpacing 2008 in terms of actual sales - 98 home sales vs. 83 last year. The market is behind in volume: $55 million vs. $60 million in 2008. It still takes about the same time to sell a home or condo in Crested Butte. Our current days on the market is 315 days vs. 325 days for 2008.

How much have prices adjusted?

Consider this: Year-to-date, the average residential sales price is $562,000 and the median sales price is $385,000. In 2008, the average residential sales price was $742,000 and the median sales price was $508,000.

After adjusting my eyes and looking at my calculator again, it appears our real estate has seen a 25% drop in prices since 2008. It's true that our market has realized decent high-end sales activity. 16 homes and condos have sold for $900,000 or greater. The highest sale came this week: $2.88 million for a new spec home in Mt. Crested Butte. Crested Butte's highest home sale (the record breaker) was just over $2 million.

But, even the top of the market is seeing pricing declines. Much of the property in our market is selling at 75% to 85% of its original asking price - many as low as 50% - 60%! Crested Butte homes are averaging 75% and Mt. Crested Butte homes are selling at 79% of their original asking price. Mt. Crested Butte condos are closing, on average, at 73% of their original asking price.

Perhaps the best value proposition in Crested Butte real estate today is vacant land. Of the 427 active land listings in our local market, only 15 sales have closed in 2009. Last year at this time, 40 land properties had sold by the end of September. Average and median sales prices for land have dropped dramatically as well. Last year's median sales price for raw land was $300,000. Today it's around $210,000. In 2007, the median sales price for land was $468,000. Might be a good time to start shopping our land offerings.

Thanks for reading today!

Channing Boucher
Benson Sotheby's International Realty
Local Knowledge Global Reach