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 […]

Consumers are sitting on the side­lines, and discretionary spending is down — neither is good news for mountain resorts eyeing the 2008-09 ski season.
  However, there is one variable that could change everything: snow. “Snow trumps all evils,” Ralf Garrison said this week in the Mountain Travel Symposium’s 2008-09 travel-outlook session.
  Despite the gloomy economic […]

  Advance reservations in mountain communities for this winter are down 9 percent
 By TANYA CANINO
 SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
  As the stock markets slipped along their rollercoaster track this week, officials at a Mountain Travel Symposium warned desti­nation resort and tourism indus­try professionals of the volatility of today’s travel market.
  “I’m looking through the lens […]

The recessionary pressure is also being felt in the local housing market, said Gary Severson, direc­tor of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.
  In Summit County, the avail­able inventory of homes for sale has doubled from a year ago, while the number of sales has dropped by half, he said, citing recent data from the […]

The recessionary pressure is also being felt in the local housing market, said Gary Severson, direc­tor of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.
  In Summit County, the avail­able inventory of homes for sale has doubled from a year ago, while the number of sales has dropped by half, he said, citing recent data from the […]

Vail, CO (Oct. 2008) –Slifer Smith & Frampton, the Vail Valley’s and Summit County’s premier real estate firm, has released company sales numbers for fiscal year 2008 that reflect the company’s second best year ever (the company recorded its best year for closed dollar volume in 2007).  According to the firm, the Slifer Smith & […]