1. The number of listed properties is at a recent peak. The number as of April 28th was 206, which was comprised of 101 condominiums built in 2006 or earlier and 105 new units completed or still under construction since 2007.
2. Sales are improving but have not begun to accelerate significantly yet. From January 1, 2010 through April 27, 2010 there have been a total of 20 accepted and closed contracts which compares with only 9 closed during the same period in 2009. Sales have been about equally divided between new and older Vail condominiums
Even with this encouraging increase, there is still a 41 month supply of Vail luxury condominiums on the market based on the current average sale of about 5 condominiums per month.
Sellers can expect the monthly rate of sale to decrease in May and June 2010 because we are in the spring “off season”, which means that tourist REALTOR prospect traffic will be down significantly from this winter. In reality sellers cannot expect a contract before July at the earliest.
3. Prices are down significantly from the market highs of 2007. The most recent sold prices per square foot in Vail Village have been at $856 to $1,704 per square foot. The price range in Lionshead has been $893 per square foot to a high of $1,715 per square foot. By comparison during the heady sales days in 2007 prices were as high as $1,750 per square foot for new construction in Lionshead and $3,000 + per square foot for new construction in Vail Village
4. The new, unfinished condominium buildings are nearing completion. The developers and their construction lenders will be seriously discounting their prices to complete the condominium sales in their new buildings.
5. Some sellers are now more anxious and motivated to sell at very attractive prices than we have seen in about ten years. This may peak during this spring “off season” because of the imbalance between the 205 properties for sale and the reasonably small number of actual current buyers.
6. Mortgage interest rates are still at historic low levels. Many experienced economists expect that mortgage interest rates will increase later this year as the result of current and projected United States Government spending.
If you or someone you know and care about is a serious Vail condominium buyer, now is a great time to move forward to obtain a much more reasonably priced family legacy property and/or a historically very good investment.
If you already own a Vail luxury condominium and you want to trade up to something bigger and/or more desirable you will probably save more money on the “buy” side than you will give up on the sale of your current property.
As a point of information, Vail Luxury Condominiums means all Vail condominiums and townhomes located in Vail Village and Lionshead.
If you would like further information on the current market statistics and/or would like to discuss this matter, please call Dave Cole at (970) 331-6867 or email him at:
dave@davecole.com