Infrastructure, Rocky Mountain Setting and Environment add to the enjoyment of owning real estate in the Vail Valley

Over the past many years, ski towns throughout the United States and Canada have enjoyed these increased second home buying trends. Among those is the Vail Valley which has become a leader in resort architecture and amenity. With this, the popularity of second homes in the valley has soared to an all time intrinsic and monetary high.

The Vail Valley has enjoyed its success for several reasons, the first and foremost being the natural setting of the ski areas. Those who have traveled extensively in the Rocky Mountains know that the climate, the elevations, the wildlife, the recreational opportunities and the snowfall are second to none. This, coupled with an extensive amenity package and advanced infrastructure has allowed the Vail Valley to evolve from the tiny ski area along Highway 6 thirty years ago to a mega resort with the highest level of services.

The on-mountain conveniences, topography and continued terrain expansions has made Vail and Beaver Creek two of the best ski areas in North America. The Beaver Creek Ski Area has especially helped the local real estate market branch into a luxury home market exposing more affluent individuals, their family and friends to the valley.

In addition to the winter time play ground, the area also boasts of thirteen championship golf courses with several more planned for the future. The Vail Valley is by far the golf Mecca of the Rocky Mountains.

Beautiful Concert facilities including the Ford Amphitheatre and the Vilar Center; convention facilities; white water rafting rivers; world-class fly-fishing streams; the ease of travel from Denver; and expanded service of the Eagle County Airport and Jet Center round out and have also been major factors in the success and growth of the Vail Valley.

Another constant factor of importance is the scarce amount of developable land in the area. The Vail and Eagle River Valleys are surrounded by billions of acres of State and National Forest areas with only a tiny sliver of private land running down the Interstate 70 corridor. The increasing scarcity of vacant developable parcels parallels what we have seen in resort beachfront communities. There are only so many beach front properties available and once the demand outweighs the supply, prices tend to rise sharply.

Scarcity of land has already been a factor in the Vail real estate market where the Town of Vail proper estimates that ninety-eight percent of available land has already been developed. As a result, we are currently witnessing the re-development of residences in several areas in the Town of Vail being offered at record setting asking prices.

The good news is that as the Vail Valley has grown west ward, several new real estate offerings have become available; down valley, you can find a myriad of condominiums, duplexes and single-family homes that will fit most individual’s particular needs.

As far as statistics go, it looks like 2004 will be an all time record year eclipsing the 2000 totals. Through September, the number of transactions is up 135% and the dollar volume is up 156% over last years totals. This is not surprising as the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments reports appreciation of properties in resort markets to be far above national averages. In fact, in the last ten years, the Vail Valley has seen average appreciation of approximately twenty percent per year!

Clearly, the Vail Valley will continue to grow and be considered one of the best resort areas to live and own a second home. Moreover, research suggests that the next several years could be one of the more lucrative times to enter the second home market in the Vail Valley.

For more information on resort properties or Vail Valley Real Estate, please contact: Gateway Land and Development 970-926-6777

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