Blog: 2 March 2009

Don't expect a guaranteed answer to that question, but it is one that everyone connected to this industry is trying to answer. One thing we do know is that no matter where you are in the economic spectrum of the US economy, no one has been exempt from the drop in values of real estate. There are many owners in the Vail Valley who never used a mortgage and therefore have not been affected by increased mortgage payments, but even cash buyers have seen the affects of a weakening home value. On the other hand, the run up in values of real estate over the past three years had to come to a halt at some point, it always has in the 30 years I have been in the business, and usually happens in eight year cycles. As I have pointed out in earlier blogs, we have seen a 40% drop in number of transactions over the past 12 months. Even though the median price of real estate remained high last year, that was attributed to contracts that were signed as much as two years prior for units like the Arrabelle. Units that are under construction right now may not have the same such good fortune.