In his monthly real estate column in Sunday’s Aspen Times, Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty broker Scott Bayens, citing the Multiple Listings Services, reported another “nearly 500 properties under contract and set to close by the end of the year. All previous end-of-year sales numbers are sure to smashed.” Those properties are located in the Roaring Fork Valley and from Glenwood Springs to Rifle, according to Bayens.
Here in the mountains we have a couple of truisms relating to the summer season. One is “come for the winter; stay for the summer.” Another is, “summers are always too short.” Of course, as fires rage now in the month of August, and Interstate 70 remains closed, many are praying for rain and cooler temps sooner than later. But those of us lucky to live here know how special these months usually are.
Estin and Bayens, who writes a monthly real estate column for The Aspen Times, agree on the general reasoning beyond the mass move of the wealthy from cities to small market luxury towns like Aspen. A lot has to do with the current environment surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, combined with much of the civil unrest that has been sweeping through the country.
Scott Bayens, a broker with Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty, said real estate agents are trying to grasp the new normal. He confirmed the trends in Gray’s report — activity plummeted in middle March and improved in late April into May.
Now, single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums priced between $400,000 and $750,000 in the mid and lower valley are going under contract in just a few days in many cases and often have multiple offers.
