Downvalley real estate sales outpacing upvalley

Local property inventory continues steady slide

The average price per unit may be higher in Pitkin County, but Garfield County real estate sales outpaced sales in Piktin by unit volume for the month of April, according to a study released by the Land Title Guarantee Company.

The average unit price in Garfield County was $403,361 in April, based on 244 units sold for a total of $98.4 million. The average unit price in Pitkin County was $1.3 million that month based on 148 units sold for a total of $199.6 million. Incidentally, that makes a total of $17.8 million in agent commissions per sale for the 392 units that changed hands in the two counties in April -- an average of $22,811 per sale for each buying and selling agent.

Additionally, the previously steady trend of dollar volume from house sales in Pitkin and Garfield counties far outpacing the sales for previous years is slowing down. In fact, April 2007 was the first month in at least five months to show Pitkin County sales figures smaller than the corresponding month from a year earlier. While the sales figures in Pitkin County from late 2006 and early 2007 have been outpacing the sales figures from 2005 and 2006, they've been steadily coming down to earth after having been in the stratosphere. This trend coincides with the decrease from 2006 to 2007 in the total number of units sold.

"There's no way we could continue at the pace we've been at. Even in a strong market, I wouldn't expect these numbers to continue," real estate agent Rich Wagar said Monday. "The inventory is steadily decreasing. There's less to choose from. Those winter storms really affected business and real estate, too. People didn't reschedule for second visits. And the airport being closed ..."

Farther downvalley, real estate sales in the Carbondale portions of Pitkin and Garfield counties are also outpacing the real estate sales of the Basalt and El Jebel portions of Eagle County, according to Land Title Guarantee Company. Mirroring the Garfield/Pitkin situation, the Carbondale area saw a larger volume of units sold, while Basalt and El Jebel had higher average unit prices.

The average unit price in Carbondale was $574,063 in April based on 57 units sold for a total of $32.7 million. The average unit price in the Eagle County portion of Basalt and El Jebel was $732,577 in April based on 18 units sold for a total of $13.1 million.

"There's more inventory for sale downvalley, and relatively speaking, the price point is more favorable. That changes people's perception. Just this year, Missouri Heights (above Basalt) became a reasonable commute to Aspen. The price point changed the psychology and now people are calling it the Starwood of downvalley.

"People say, 'Hey the new highway is fast, and I don't ski as much as I used to,' so they're looking farther away," said Wagar.