Amy Nakos

Summit County Rentals by Owner Supplements "Rent-By-Owner" Services

Frisco, CO (October 28, 2009)

The owners of Landmark Real Estate Group, LLC, Darren and Amy Nakos, along with Erik Tilley, a veteran in ski industry travel, have opened Summit County Rentals By Owner, LLC, operator of Breckenridge Rentals By Owner. Summit County Rentals By Owner is a marketing service that assists homeowners with obtaining short term rentals for their properties. Summit County Rentals By Owner builds custom web listings to market properties, pre-screens guests prior to presenting them to owners, and only books a property with the permission of the owner. Contracts with homeowners are non-exclusive, and homeowners can continue to fill their units with leads from other web listing services, or their own use.

"We never forget that your home is your home. Owners have total control over who stays in their property and when. We just try to increase the rental income through our own marketing channels. Also, unlike traditional property management companies, property owners receive the rental income prior to the guests' arrival," says Erik Tilley, Managing Partner of Summit County Rentals by Owner.

Summit County Rentals By Owner serves all of Summit County including Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne and is an affiliate of Denver based Resortia LLC, the largest independent rental agency in the Rocky Mountain region. Resortia launched Breckenridge Rentals By Owner in 2004 and provides rental agency services to mountain homeowners and guests in Colorado in Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park, and Telluride, as well as in Park City/Deer Valley, Utah and Jackson Hole, Wyoming under the "Rentals By Owner" name. Summit County Rentals by Owner is located in the offices of Landmark Real Estate Group, LLC at 111 Main Street, Frisco. For more information on Summit County Rentals by Owner, please call Erik Tilley at 888-425-7299.

September 2009 had a total of 127 residential improved transactions, up 35 from 92 in August 2009 with a total of $76.7M in residential volume up from $54.7M in August, a gain of 40.2% in dollar volume. Since July, dollar volume has increased by 83.5%. All real estate sales volume totaled $81.0M up from $60.9M in August 2009 an increase of 33%. September statistics show good growth from August's numbers and are up from July around 72%.

There were 147 total real estate transactions in Summit County in August 2009, 33 more than in August 2009. September 2009 compared to September 2008 shows a 27% drop in number of transactions from 201 to 147. September 2009 compared to September 2008 in monetary volume shows a decline of 36% from $127.0M to $81.0M, respectively.

The price bands receiving the greatest levels of sales in 2009 continue to be properties selling in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.

Average prices so far this year (January to August) are reflected in the 2009 lines below. Previous years' averages are for the entire year.

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889

2008 - $835,803

2009 - $925,927 ($913,102 in August) ($926,548 in July) ($897,362 in June)

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501

2007 - $406,529

2008 - $463,633

2009 - $394,784 ($404,968 in August) ($415,150 in July) ($404,431 in June)

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951

2007 - $391,587

2008 - $470,260

2009 - $331,245 ($320,920 in August) ($324,181 in July) ($271,236 in June)

In looking at the charts above, single family homes, as a category, continue to retain value better than the multi-family and vacant land categories.

As of October 30, 2009, there are 1,767 active residential listings down 158 from September. The total dollar value of inventory is $1.5 billion. As of the same date there are 419 land listings, down 18 from September when there were 437.

With respect to the residential listings, average days on the market is 282.8 up from 268.13 in September. 1,274 or 72.1% of these listings have been on the market for more than 120 days.

Our MLS is showing 250 residential properties currently Pending, down from 269 in September. October residential sales, according to MLS, shows 113 sales totaling about $71 million in sales. While MLS does not contain all sales, September numbers do show an increase over August by about $6M.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 6.5% of residential properties are for sale and 16.3% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. This indicates that residential inventory is not overly abundant but vacant land is in high supply.

What does all of this mean to you?

As I have said all year, our market remains a buyer's market with relatively high inventory and a marked decrease in buyers from previous years. I predict that recovery will be slow but that we are currently in a climate of recovery.

To illustrate how market conditions changed in 2009, let's go back to 2004. Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in September from 2004 to 2009:

September 2004 $116.1M

September 2005 $161.3M

September 2006 $219.9M

September 2007 $168.7M

September 2008 $127.0M

September 2009 $81.0M

Record breaking sales were in September 2006 when residential sales topped out at $219.9 million.

To the Sellers out there: Things are starting to look up. While the most competitively priced properties that show the best are the first the sell, things are slowly starting to move.

To the Buyers out there: My message remains the same. Now is a super time to take advantage of great prices and a large selection. You can search available properties at our website, or I can provide you a customized listing search.

August 2009 had a total of 92 residential improved transactions, up 10 from 82 in July2009 with a total of $54.7M in residential volume up from $41.8M in July, a gain of 30.9% in dollar volume. All real estate sales volume totaled $60.9M up from $47.4M in July 2009 an increase 28.5%. August statistics show good growth from July's numbers which were also increased by about 30% from June.

There were 114 total real estate transactions in Summit County in August 2009, 19 more than in July 2009. August 2009 compared to August 2008 shows a 38% drop in number of transactions from 183 to 114. August 2009 compared to August 2008 in monetary volume shows a decline of 34% from $92.8M to $60.9M, respectively.

The price bands receiving the greatest levels of sales in 2009 continue to be properties selling in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.

Average prices so far this year (January to August) are reflected in the 2009 lines below. Previous years' averages are for the entire year.

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889

2008 - $835,803

2009 - $913,102 ($926,548 in July) ($897,362 in June)

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501

2007 - $406,529

2008 - $463,633

2009 - $404,968 ($415,150 in July) ($404,431 in June)

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951

2007 - $391,587

2008 - $470,260

2009 - $320,920 ($324,181 in July) ($271,236 in June)

In looking at the charts above, single family homes, as a category, has retained values better than multi-family and vacant land categories.

As of September 30, 2009, there are 1,925 active residential listings down 132 from August. The total dollar value of inventory is $1.61 billion. As of the same date there are 437 land listings, up 4 from August when there were 433.

With respect to the residential listings, average days on the market is 268.13 up from 255 in August. 1,267 or 65.82% of these listings have been on the market for more than 120 days.

Our MLS is showing 269 residential properties currently Pending, up from 254 in August. September residential sales, according to MLS, shows 105 sales totaling about $65 million in sales. While MLS does not contain all sales, September numbers do show an increase over August by about $10M.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 7.5% of residential properties are for sale and 17% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. This indicates that residential inventory is not overly abundant but vacant land is in high supply.

What does all of this mean to you?

As I have said all year, our market remains a buyer's market with relatively high inventory and a marked decrease in buyers from previous years. Prices are bottomed out or close to the bottom. I predict that recovery will be slow but that we are currently in a climate of recovery.

To illustrate how market conditions changed in 2009, let's go back to 2004. Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in August from 2004 to 2009:

August 2004 $102.3M

August 2005 $148.2M

August 2006 $130.8M

August 2007 $186.3M

August 2008 $92.8M

August 2009 $60.9M

Record breaking sales were in September 2006 when residential sales topped out at $219.9 million.

To the Sellers out there: Sellers who need to sell are price reducing, often realizing a loss, to get a sale. Sellers who are looking back at 2007 and 2008 pricing as a guide to pricing their property, will most likely find that their property sits on the market. As I mentioned above, over 60% of Summit County listings have been on the market for over 120 days. In order to sell your property you must be the best listing in your price and location category. If not, another Seller is undercutting you.

To the Buyers out there: My message remains the same. Now is a super time to take advantage of great prices and a large selection. If you have been "sitting on the fence," I would suggest taking a virtual tour of available properties that might fit your needs. You can search available properties at our website, or I can provide you a customized listing search.

July 2009 had a total of 82 residential improved transactions, up from 63 in June 2009 with a total of $41.8M in residential volume up from $31.2M in June, a gain of 34% in dollar volume. All real estate sales volume totaled $47.4M up from $34.0M in June 2009 an increase 39.4%. July statistics show good growth from June's numbers.

There were 95 total real estate transactions in Summit County in July 2009, 15 more than in June 2009. July 2009 compared to July 2008 shows a 30% drop in number of transactions from 136 to 95. July 2008 compared to July 2009 in monetary volume shows a decline of 41% from $80.6M to $47.4M, respectively.

The price bands receiving the greatest levels of sales in 2009 continue to be properties selling in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.

Average prices so far this year (January to July) are reflected in the 2009 lines below. Previous years' averages are for the entire year.

Single family home averages increased almost $30,000 from June to July.

Multi-family averages increased from June 2009 by around $10,000 or 2.7%. Vacant land averages increased by $53,000 or 19%.

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889

2008 - $835,803

2009 - $926,548 ($897,362 in June)

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501

2007 - $406,529

2008 - $463,633

2009 - $415,150 ($404,431 in June)

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951

2007 - $391,587

2008 - $470,260

2009 - $324,181 ($271,236 in June)

In looking at the charts above, single family homes, as a category, has retained values better than multi-family and vacant land categories.

As of August 31, 2009, there are 2,057 active residential listings down 32 from 2,089 a month previous. The total dollar value of inventory is $1.7 billion. As of the same date there are 433 land listings, up 8 from July when there were 425. This is an increase of 1.9%.

With respect to the residential listings, average days on the market is 255 up from 248 in July. 1,267 or 61.5% of these listings have been on the market for more than 120 days.

Our MLS is showing 254 residential properties currently Pending, up from 226 in July. August residential sales, according to MLS, shows about $47 million in sales. While MLS does not contain all sales, August numbers do show an increase over July, but not a marked increase. Generally speaking, August, September and October are the three months in Summit County are when most sales transactions occur.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 8% of residential properties are for sale and 16.8% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. This indicates that residential inventory is not overly abundant but vacant land is in high supply.

What does all of this mean to you?

We are seeing slow increases in dollar volume and number of transactions from the beginning of this year. Our market remains a buyer's market with relatively high inventory and a marked decrease in buyers from previous years. I predict that recovery will be slow but that we are currently in a climate of recovery.

The fact that July 2009 residential sales totaled only $41 million and MLS shows that August 2009 will total $47 million indicate that 2009 is not going to be the year we see a full real estate rebound. There is currently $1.7 Billion of residential real estate on the market in Summit County. If you assume even $50 million a month in sales, it would take 34 months or almost 3 years to absorb the current inventory.

To illustrate how market conditions changed in 2009, let's go back to 2004. Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in July from 2004 to 2009:

July 2004 $89.3M

July 2005 $122.4M

July 2006 $122.1M

July 2007 $138.2M

July 2008 $80.6M

July 2009 $47.0M

Record breaking sales were in September 2006 when residential sales topped out at $219.9 million.

To the Sellers out there: Sellers who need to sell are price reducing, often realizing a loss, to get a sale. Sellers who are looking back at 2007 and 2008 pricing as a guide to pricing their property, will most likely find that their property sits on the market. As I mentioned above, over 60% of Summit County listings have been on the market for over 120 days. In order to sell your property you must be the best listing in your price and location category. If not, another Seller is undercutting you.

To the Buyers out there: My message remains the same. Now is a super time to take advantage of great prices and a large selection. If you have been "sitting on the fence," I would suggest taking a virtual tour of available properties that might fit your needs. You can search available properties at our website, or I can provide you a customized listing search.

June 2009 had a total of 63 residential improved transactions, down from 69 in May 2009 with a total of $31.2M in residential volume down from $53.9M in May, down 42% in dollar volume. All real estate sales volume totaled $34M down from $63.7M in May 2009 a decrease of 46%. June sales statistics show a marked decline from the previous month.

There were 80 total real estate transactions in Summit County in June 2009, 8 less than in May 2009. June 2009 compared to June 2008 shows a 48% drop in number of transactions from 155 to 80.

The price bands receiving the greatest levels of sales in 2009 continue to be properties selling in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.

Average prices so far this year (January to June) are reflected in the 2009 lines below. Previous years' averages are for the entire year.

Single family home averages fell $70,000 from May. This was due to a large number of luxry homes closing in May, but not in June.

Multi-family averages decreased from May 2009 by around $40,000 or 9.3%. Vacant land averages decreased by $78,000 or 22%.

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889

2008 - $835,803

2009 - $897,362 ($967,467 in May)

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501

2007 - $406,529

2008 - $463,633

2009 - $404,431 ($445,884 in May)

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951

2007 - $391,587

2008 - $470,260

2009 - $271,236 ($349,115 in May)

As of July 31, 2009, there are 2089 active residential listings up 45 or an increase of 2.2% from June. As of the same date there are 425 land listings, up 20 from June when there were 405 land listings. This is an increase of 4.9%.

With respect to the residential listings, average days on the market is 248 up one day from 247 in June. 1,254 or 60.3% of these listings have been on the market for more than 120 days.

Our MLS is showing 226 residential properties currently Pending, up from 199 in June. Many of the pending properties are units in newly construction developments that have not yet closed.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 8.1 \% of residential properties are for sale and 16.5% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. This indicates that residential inventory is not overly abundant but vacant land is in high supply.

What does all of this mean to you?

I have been saying for months that I wish I knew if we have hit bottom. May statistics showing large increases in dollar volume and number of transactions over April was encouraging. June, however, showed marked declines in both dollar volume and number of transactions. While I'm not sure where July transactions are going shake out, I do know that July activity has been increased and we will see more transactions closing in August.

And back to my original question: Have we hit bottom? While I don't know for sure, I have seen more buyers moving into the marketplace taking advantage of decreased pricing and low interest rates. As activity increases, it is a strong indicator of bottoming out. Also, we won't be sure that we've hit the bottom until after it's over. So, the increase in transactions that I am predicting for August, will (hopefully) show that the bottom was in June.

I said this last month and will repeat my belief that it is a great time for buyers to jump into the market. There are still plenty of opportunities to purchase at 2006 prices and sometimes even below those levels. It is a buyers market and with the right research (and the right Realtor!) you will find an opportunity that you will be proud of in the years to come.