Friday, January 28, 2011
Luxury Sales
VAIL, Colorado — Luxury real estate sales in the valley are nowhere near what they were in 2007 and 2008, but transactions are up over last year and that's news that any real estate agent in the valley is happy to hear.
The average sale price in the county was $1.197 million in 2010, up 25 percent over last year. The number is second only to 2008 — boom times — when it was $1.396 million.
Local watchers of economic indicators have said time and time again that the valley is no longer able to rely on a real estate economy — that the economy has gone back to its roots, which is tourism-based.
But it doesn't mean real estate is a lost cause. In fact, many real estate brokers seem encouraged over the latest numbers.
“I think it's coming back,” said Trevor Theelke, of Land Title Guarantee Company, which compiles data for the Vail Board of Realtors. “It looks like things are on the trek back, but how long that's going to take is still anyone's guess.”
While numbers alone show encouraging signs, real estate data isn't always an apples to apples comparison.
There were 512 real estate transactions in the town of Vail in 2010, for example, with 84 of those transactions above $2.5 million. Thirty-two transactions were between $5 million and $10 million, and six transactions were above $10 million, according to data from the town of Vail.
Units that became available in 2010 at high-end developments like the Ritz-Carlton Residences and Solaris, however, might show a distorted look at sales prices because those units were not yet open and ready to sell in previous years, Theelke said.
The town of Vail's real estate transfer tax collections, which is 1 percent of the sales price, also show the spike. Collections in 2010 were nearly $7 million, compared to less than $2.5 million in 2009. About $4.2 million of the 2010 collections were from redevelopment projects including the Arrabelle, Chalets at the Lodge at Vail, Founders' Park Garage, Landmark, Lions Square Lodge North, Manor Vail, Mountain View, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Solaris and the Sebastian.
The average sale price in the county was $1.197 million in 2010, up 25 percent over last year. The number is second only to 2008 — boom times — when it was $1.396 million.
Local watchers of economic indicators have said time and time again that the valley is no longer able to rely on a real estate economy — that the economy has gone back to its roots, which is tourism-based.
But it doesn't mean real estate is a lost cause. In fact, many real estate brokers seem encouraged over the latest numbers.
“I think it's coming back,” said Trevor Theelke, of Land Title Guarantee Company, which compiles data for the Vail Board of Realtors. “It looks like things are on the trek back, but how long that's going to take is still anyone's guess.”
While numbers alone show encouraging signs, real estate data isn't always an apples to apples comparison.
There were 512 real estate transactions in the town of Vail in 2010, for example, with 84 of those transactions above $2.5 million. Thirty-two transactions were between $5 million and $10 million, and six transactions were above $10 million, according to data from the town of Vail.
Units that became available in 2010 at high-end developments like the Ritz-Carlton Residences and Solaris, however, might show a distorted look at sales prices because those units were not yet open and ready to sell in previous years, Theelke said.
The town of Vail's real estate transfer tax collections, which is 1 percent of the sales price, also show the spike. Collections in 2010 were nearly $7 million, compared to less than $2.5 million in 2009. About $4.2 million of the 2010 collections were from redevelopment projects including the Arrabelle, Chalets at the Lodge at Vail, Founders' Park Garage, Landmark, Lions Square Lodge North, Manor Vail, Mountain View, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Solaris and the Sebastian.
Vail in a good spot
Karry Agneberg, of Prudential Real Estate, thinks Vail is better positioned than so many other mountain resort areas for an economic rebound.Its geographic proximity to the Front Range, combined with a slew of world-class events like the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival and Vail International Dance Festival, means Vail has plenty of selling points to show consumers.
“We have such an international flavor to this community that I don't think resorts like Summit County and Crested Butte and Telluride (can compete),” Agneberg said. “We have as good a chance of coming out of this (recession) earlier and perhaps better than a lot of those places.”
Another sign that Vail is weathering the economic storm much better is that luxury real estate prices haven't really dropped much here. It's at least a sign that Vail has the confidence in the market enough to hold those prices.
Some luxury brands have begun offering packages or special buying bonuses, such as a free membership to the exclusive Arrabelle Ski Club for Ritz-Carlton buyers, for example.
Others, like Solaris, have not dropped prices or started to offer any special deals.
Craig Cohn, director of sales at Solaris, said he's been consistently busy with qualified buyers, but the change he has noticed the most is that deals no longer take a few weeks or a month.
“We're still dealing with qualified people, but people are much slower to make decisions these days,” Cohn said.
County-wide, there were still 60 sales in 2010 that were over $4 million — triple the sales in that price range in 2009. It's still a ways away from the 102 transactions that were over $4 million in 2008, but it's a sign of encouragement nonetheless.
“There are more high-priced sales going on,” Theelke said. “Everything's going to be good compared to last year.”
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
December Existing-Home Sales Jump
December Existing-Home Sales Jump
Washington, DC, January 20, 2011
Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales are on an uptrend. “December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal. The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery,” he said. “The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”
The national median existing-home price2 for all housing types was $168,800 in December, which is 1.0 percent below December 2009. Distressed homes3 rose to a 36 percent market share in December from 33 percent in November, and 32 percent in December 2009.
“The modest rise in distressed sales, which typically are discounted 10 to 15 percent relative to traditional homes, dampened the median price in December, but the flat price trend continues,” Yun explained.
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 4.2 percent to 3.56 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply4 at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in November.
NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said buyers are responding to very good affordability conditions despite tight mortgage credit. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, stable home prices, and pent-up demand are drawing home buyers into the market,” Phipps said. “Recent home buyers have been successful with very low default rates, given the outstanding performance for loans originated in 2009 and 2010.”
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.71 percent in December from 4.30 percent in November; the rate was 4.93 percent in December 2009.
A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 33 percent of homes in December, up from 32 percent in November, but are below a 43 percent share in December 2009.
Investors accounted for 20 percent of transactions in December, up from 19 percent in November and 15 percent in December 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 29 percent in December, compared with 31 percent in November, but up from 22 percent a year ago. “All-cash sales have been consistently high at about 30 percent of the market over the past six months,” Yun said.
Single-family home sales jumped 11.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.64 million in December from 4.15 million in November, but are 2.5 percent below the 4.76 million level in December 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $169,300 in December, down 0.2 percent from a year ago.
Existing condominium and co-op sales surged 16.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 in December from 550,000 in November, but remain 5.2 percent below the 675,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price5 was $165,000 in December, which is 7.4 percent below December 2009.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.0 percent to an annual pace of 870,000 in December but are 5.4 percent below December 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $237,300, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 11.0 percent in December to a level of 1.11 million but are 4.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $139,700, up 3.3 percent from December 2009.
In the South, existing-home sales increased 10.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.97 million in December but are 2.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the South was $148,400, unchanged from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West surged 16.7 percent to an annual level of 1.33 million in December but remain 1.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the West was $204,000, down 5.6 percent from a year ago.
The National Association of REALTORS®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)