Second Best Year of All Time After 2007

TELLURIDE – San Miguel County’s real estate market showed some encouraging figures last month, as it was the second biggest October in history, in both number of sales and dollar volume of sales, and it brought 2012 year-to-date sales figures to their highest point since the record-setting year of 2007.

According to statistics compiled by Telluride Consulting’s Judi Kiernan, the number of San Miguel County real estate sales in October reached 46, a 70 percent increase from the 27 sales that were recorded in the same month last year. That figure also comes close to the record 2007 October figure of 49.

In terms of dollar volume, October sales reached $49.1 million, which is an increase of 132 percent over the $21.2 million sold in October 2011. So far this year (through October) a total of 355 properties changed hands, marking a 9 percent increase from this time last year. The year-to-date dollar total of $261.1 million is a 22 percent increase from 2011.

“2007 was our biggest year ever in terms of dollars and sales numbers, and the fact that this is the next best year to date, I think it’s significant,” Kiernan said. “We are not back to 2007 but it is a big step forward. It is important to say that we have come back from a really terrible start to the year.”

Sales of single-family homes in the Town of Telluride led the way in October with eight sales that totaled over $19 million. There were five condominiums/half duplexes sold in Telluride that garnered over $5 million dollars, and there were three vacant residential properties sold in Telluride bringing in close to $2 million.

Sales within the Town of Mountain Village also saw increases with two single-family homes equaling close to $7 million in sales, while eight Mountain Village condominiums/half duplexes were sold for close to $8 million.

“It is a nice surprise that so much activity happened,” Telluride Properties broker associate Mike Shimkonis said, adding that both buyers and sellers are adjusting to make sales. “The sellers have gotten more realistic and the buyers are more willing to step up to make it happen. This has been a great offseason, and in November I hope to see the same.”

Telluride Real Estate Corp. President and Managing Broker TD Smith agrees that both the buyers and sellers have been more willing to adjust their respective prices to make a sale but also said buyers have a lot more confidence in the economy, and investing in Tellruide’s rather small market makes a lot of sense for people.

In the recent past, according to Smith, 2010 experienced a healthy recovery after a rather slow 2009 with an annual increase in sales that year of nearly 20 percent. The downgrading of U.S. debt and the problematic Euro dampened the market in 2011, but with $103 million of transactions currently under contract the market should outperform a rather stellar 2010. Investor attitudes seem to be shifting to resort real estate as a safe haven for capital in markets that have bottomed out.

Telluride, Smith said, with its relatively limited inventory, provides further assurances related to possible further deflation in value and, of course an intangible quality of life in a precious un-crowded resort environment.

“I think if we can at least maintain some stability in our economy that this market will continue to improve,” Smith said. “And it may improve sooner than we may have anticipated.”

Shimkonis added that the final two months of 2012 should see strong sales because many sellers, for capital-gains tax purposes, will want to close on sales by the end of the year.

“I have a feeling we are going to see a huge number of closings in the last two weeks of December.”



Gjarvis@watchnewspapers.com

Twitter: @gusgusj