At the end of 2011 it seems Summit County real estate sales will be up about 10-11% over the number of transactions in 2010.  However, this is still less than 50% of the sales of 2006.  The improvement is all relative, and the 2006/2007 glory days are long gone. In 2006 there were 2499 residential sales in Summit County. The bottom dropped out at the end of 2008 and in 2009 there were only 917 transactions for all Summit County real estate.

Breckenridge Peak 7 Home for Sale

2010 saw 1011 sales and hopefully, this year may be somewhere between 1115 and 1125.  While homes and condos are not selling for more than the last sale yet, the downward spiral has slowed and it may be possible that pricing is close to the bottom. Inventory is at a new low, with just over a one year supply of residential properties on the market. The number will increase again next spring as people get ready to list in the summer, but it remains to be seen how much the inventory will increase. It will probably still be less than at the same time this year.

Borrowing has not become any easier, but those who are determined to get a loan, if they are qualified and willing to go through all the requirements, can get one.  About 40% of the transactions are cash sales. Only about 3 or 4% of the listings are distressed properties, but roughly 8% of closings have been bank owned or short sales. Bank owned properties are seeing multiple offers and often, sell for more than the list price. Realistic Sellers are getting their properties sold, although there are more cases now where offers are for less than what is owed to the lender. Sometimes Sellers are not able to accept them as they don’t have the money to bring to closing, so the property is kept on the market hoping for a better offer.

The trend is up for all but pricing, and with that stabilizing, the Summit County real estate market should be showing slow improvement over the next couple of years.

Joanne Hanson with Coldwell Banker

For more information on Summit County Real Estate, please see check out Joanne Hanson’s blog!

Carols fill the air —on the ski slopes, in the shops, and on the radio. IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR, one of my favorite seasonal songs, says it all. It’s mid-December and we are home (in our second and my most favorite home) in Summit County.

We come from the Southeast every year the week after Thanksgiving and leave the Monday after Easter. Here we find “age mates” in their 70s — hikers, bikers, skiers, square dancers, travelers and all-around fun and vibrant people. When we bought our first condo in 2000, we were delighted with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths and a cozy little living/dining space. Within the first year, we realized that we had not planned for the number of wonderful friends we would make in the County.

Loving Life as a Copper Mountain Abassador!

We have our friends from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Breckenridge, the skiers from the On the Hill Gang at Copper Mountain, and our close circle from the Ambassadors at Copper. Since there are so many half- or part-time residents here, everyone is welcomed immediately. There’s little interest in what your status was prior to your arrival. It is not uncommon to go to a party and chat with a ski instructor, a retired banker, a former professional who is now driving a bus to the resort, a goat rancher and a restaurateur. There’s a slightly derisive term used in the area called FIP — short for “Formerly Important Person” — referring to someone who brings his or her former work title into the mix!

There are many portals into the daily rhythm of Summit County: volunteer opportunities through civic organizations, churches, our fine hospital, the resorts, the Senior Center, museums and galleries. There’s even an open knitting group at The Tea Bar at The Next Page book store in Frisco. During ski season, the On the Hill Gang at Copper Mountain boasts more than 200 members who meet four times a week to ski at all levels with a guide, who is a qualified instructor. Breckenridge and Keystone have similar programs. For those with a serving heart and personality, all the ski resorts have volunteer host and safety opportunities. A free ski pass and lots of on-mountain time with guests from all over the world are the rewards for working 14 – 25 days a season.

Summit County also attracts young people stopping out before their first “real” jobs, college grads taking a breather after four years of rigorous study and structure.  Recently, two younger men came to stay with us and ski for the weekend from our hometown of Spartanburg, S.C. Their envy was nearly palpable. One said, “You are living my dream.” An accurate observation! This IS the most wonderful time of the year, unless it’s the summer for hiking and biking and the perfect weather that everyone raves about. This IS the most fun place in the nation to live a healthy lifestyle and meet congenial and adventurous men and women who are capitalizing on their ”senior citizen” status. This IS a dream and we’re privileged to live it right here in Summit County.

After months of nothing but gear talk and staring at the sky in hopes of snow, the day has finally arrived – Breckenridge is open for its 50th year! I thought I would sleep in this morning to avoid the opening rush, but to no surprise I woke up with the sun and was on the mountain by 9:15 a.m. Needless to say, the excitement got to me. I had to take advantage of being allowed to skip work for three hours to make some opening day turns!

The air was electric during the bus ride up to the base of Peak 8. Everyone was chatting anxiously about the upcoming season and the first day on snow. How many runs would be open? How many chairlifts? Would it be crowded? Will the snow be OK? Have you heard about the upcoming snowstorm? Snowboarders, skiers, adults, children, grandparents and travelers alike shared in the growing excitement. The scene at the base of Peak 8 was organized chaos as groups tried to keep track of each other and search for the shortest lift lines. They were all long, but no one seemed to care as strangers high-fived each other and friends from seasons past were reunited.

My coworker Geoff and I decided to take advantage of EpicMix’s new feature this year – free on-mountain photos for pass holders. The man in green scanned our passes, we struck a pose, he snapped the photo, and then (supposedly) the photo was instantly sent to each of our EpicMix accounts. Sure enough, two hours later when I arrived at the office and logged into EpicMix, this beautiful photo was already there:

At the base of the mountain for an Epic Mix Picture!

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I can say without hesitation that this is the most excited I have ever been for a ski season. It’s hard to believe, but it will be my 20^th season on snow. I’ve skied more days than anyone I know, and yet this is the season I am most excited for – quite simply because 80% of my skiing life thus far was spent traveling the United States and ripping race courses in a freezing cold speed suit.

So, what’s exciting and new for the upcoming season? Well, for me, everything! Instead of waking up at 6 a.m., donning my speed suit, and heading to the race trail, I will wake up casually (around 8:30 a.m.), sip a hot chocolate, put on some comfortable gear, and walk to the mountain where I’ll hopefully ski some powder. Rather than hop on a plane and pray to Ullr, the god of snow, all the way to Colorado in hopes of a big storm, I will open my shades daily to find snow falling and walk to the ski lift. And lastly, having grown up skiing in the Midwest and New England, I will ski dry, fluffy, grippy snow every single day, rather than wet, icy snow like back home. (Let’s be serious, people who have lived in Colorado for a long time take for granted that the snow here is, in fact, perfect all the time.) Having considered all these dream-like lifestyle perks, there are four things that excite me the most: EpicMix, Gear, La Nina, and “Casual Skiing with Friends.”

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With Wolf Creek opening last week, and A-Basin opening yesterday, I thought it would be the perfect time to do a recap of last season.

Let’s be honest: If you missed this past season at Breckenridge Ski Resort, you probably missed the best ski season this town has seen in decades. April 24 marked the last day of the season, and we still had a 101″ base. That’s about eight and a half feet! With more than 500 inches from Nov.–April, it was truly EPIC! And, to top it off, A-Basin didn’t even close until July 4^th. Now that’s something to talk about!

Just having fun on the first big powder day of the season. 13"!

This year’s snowfall on the mountain was absolutely mind-blowing. I couldn’t even keep track of how many 10″+ powder days we had. Besides the amazing snow, my favorite part about this year was being able to jump in on the fun of Vail Resorts’ release of EpicMix. EpicMix RDF passes not only track all of your vertical feet on the mountain, but digitally capture your ski and ride experience and share it with friends and family via Facebookand other social media sources. I know I watched Shawn C. and Charles A. ride their way to more than 7 million vertical feet apiece!  And, I was all about tracking my feet on Facebook, finding out where my friends were on the mountain, and comparing stats with everyone. I don’t know how we skied for so long without it!

Up on Art's Bowl in Breckenridge

Get in on the fun next year! Epic Passes are already on sale at snow.com. With the incredible snow from ULLR and an extra-fun ski pass that forced all my big-talking friends to “back it up” with stats, the 2010/2011 ski season was one of my all-time best. Trust me: You don’t want to miss next year! 

This past Thursday, the Summit Mountain Rentals crew and I went on a team hike up the Sawmill Creek Trail. The trail winds up along the Snowflake chair, which I consider to be a hidden gem in Breckenridge and one of the best ways to get up the mountain if you are lucky enough to be staying on 4 O’Clock Road.

The Whole Team outside of The BOEC

Along the way we stopped by the Griffith Lodge at Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center where, Nugget, our resident black Labrador obliged us with some aquatic entertainment while swimming after one of his most preferred targets, a stick!  The trail takes a turn under the Beaver Run Chair and the Peak 8 Super Connect. While walking on what is usually a snow covered landscape, my winter itch became that much worse!

Our ultimate goal was The Lodgepole Bar and Grille for lunch and laughs. Along the way we were immersed in the beauty that is late September in Summit County. With the fall colors at their peak, Mother Nature offered us a splendiferous palette of gold, red and amber, with the mighty Lodgepole Pines lending their usual opposition of deep forest greens. Everyone was in high spirits and I saw it as a great way to get to know everyone and welcome myself into the Summit Mountain Rentals family.

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WELCOME!

Hello and Welcome to “Breckenridge Unwrapped.” This site provides information, commentary and discussion about events, activities and other cool stuff in Breckenridge. We are all local residents or locals by association — second-home owners, business owners and regular visitors. Breckenridge is an awesome place to live and visit, with world-class skiing in the winter and great activities in the summer. We will be talking a lot about why we are here and hope you will provide commentary or maybe even a post of your own. Breckenridge is one of the those rare places where the only residents in town are those that choose to be here. We look forward to sharing that passion and love for the area with you.

Come visit, write, or just read about why we love Breckenridge, Colorado!