VAIL VALLEY, Colorado— Steve Pywell took a big step toward selling his Cordillera home on Saturday, a year after he put it on the Vail Valley real estate market.
Like many people selling their homes during the recession, the Houston, Texas, resident had to slash the price before attracting a buyer. He said he cut $700,000 […]

September 14, 2009
By Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist
September has come again, and most folks are back from vacation. Kids are back in school. Traffic (in most locales) has returned to its usual nightmarish levels. Many of us are asking ourselves “where did the summer go?”
Well, summer is not the only thing that has ended. The world-wide […]

Passing through the Fort Myers, Fla., airport a few weeks ago, I noticed people eagerly signing up for a free bus tour of foreclosed real estate—with all properties offering water views. During the ride to my hotel, the young driver volunteered that he had just bought his first house, paying $65,000 for a foreclosed property […]

As a well-polished realtor, you’d never suspect that Donna used to be a cowgirl. Along with her five sisters and one brother, she worked a cattle ranch in southern Idaho. I don’t know how many acres the ranch is. A while back, I learned that asking such things is a bit impolite and somewhat like […]

Recently released year-end figures from Land Title Guarantee Co. reveal what any local real-estate agent already knows: 2008 was not a great year.
Taking data from the Summit County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, Land Title reports that monetary volume for 2008 was down 35 percent from 2007. In December alone, monetary volume for 2008 was down […]

When investing in Colorado’s ski country real estate, many buyers forgo the glamour and exclusivity of chic resorts like Vail, Aspen and Telluride for the much lower prices, deep snowfalls and skiing in Summit County.
“About 70% of all residential property in the county is owned by second-home owners — and that’s been going up,” says […]

Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rearview mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers.
Then, everyone who sat on their down payment savings accounts for a few years too long will […]

Vail, CO (December, 2008) - At least once in everyone’s lifetime, a real estate opportunity comes along that they will always remember. Some will see what a smart move they made. Others will regret the smart move they could have made. Today, the Vail Valley of Colorado is one of those opportunities.
Four decades ago, Rod […]

The Federal Reserve announced last week that it would purchase up to $100 billion in direct debt of Fannie, Freddie, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, along with up to $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprises at the center of the U.S. housing crisis. Mortgage rates […]

What should a potential buyer do and be aware of in the loan application process? Here are some points to consider.
1. A potential buyer is encouraged to work with a well established local lender in Summit County. These lenders know the intricacies of the area and will be able to offer straight talk form the […]