Colorado real estate is booming
ASPEN — The residential real estate market from Aspen to Parachute far outpaced last year’s record performance during the first half of 2007.
The dollar volume of residential sales was $1.16 billion from January through June this year, according to the Multiple Listing Service for the Aspen-Glenwood Springs Association of Realtors.
The volume during the same period last year was $980 million.
The increase was $180 million or 18 percent when looking at sales over the entire region. That reflects sales of everything from McMansions to trailer homes, from Aspen to Parachute.
There were 1,286 transactions during the first six months of this year compared to 1,225 during the first half of last year.
Even veteran real estate agents are marveling over how long the market has been so strong. Strong sales started in 2002 and annual records for dollar volume have been set each year since 2003.
“This cycle has been one of the strongest we’ve seen,” said Chuck Frias, owner of Frias Properties of Aspen. “It’s never gone on this long.”
A cycle of high appreciation and strong sales typically lasts a couple of years, noted Phil Miller, a broker with Mason and Morse Real Estate. This cycle is heading into its fifth year.
Miller said he doesn’t believe the gross sales numbers mean all that much because of all of the nuances of the complex real estate market. But by any measure, the upper valley market “has never been stronger,” he said.