Birdseye View | Crested Butte Market Snapshot | Third Quarter 2022

Let’s say the acronym of the day is EQ, which stands for equalization, or perhaps equilibrium. Everyone is enjoying a deep breath and a return to more normal times. Product supplies and workforce capacities are leveling everywhere. We all knew that the frenetic pace of the post covid spending frenzy was not sustainable. Yet we embraced the surge and enjoyed record setting periods of sales and prices.

In real estate, this all translates to more inventory and more product to sell – we desperately needed it! We are still at about half the listings (117 areawide) that we would like to have, but the improvement is welcome. Home buyers are more cautious and selective than in recent years. Sellers are reducing prices to move their homes. We are approaching a more normal market where compromise in pricing negotiations wins deals.

In the Crested Butte area, prices are still peaking as sales level. More expensive properties are selling, driving the average price per square foot in the Town of Crested Butte over $1000 for the first time ever. Even with record high prices, single family home sales are roughly half of those numbers from the previous year.

Condominium sales on the mountain are still in high demand and on par with last year. Prices continue to rise with the average unit selling for over $600,000 – also driven by more expensive units selling, with fifteen units closed above $750,000.

Land sales have tapered significantly with nearly a third of the production from this time last year. Again, more expensive tracts have sold nearly doubling the average price to $950,000, with twenty sales over the million-dollar price point.

Bluebird continues to beat the market nearly matching sales from last year, as the overall region experiences a forty percent decline in sales. The firm is leading sales in the valley and closed the most expensive residential property on record at $7.4 million. Bluebird is also orchestrating marketing plans for two major master planned communities.

The desire and demand for quality of life and destination living continues to drive significant interest to our neighborhoods, and we welcome the opportunity to share with you how we are “bringing dreams home.”