According to Treavor Thelke, Land Title Guarantee, 2007 Eagle County real estate sales reached nearly $3 Billion, setting an all time record and surpassing the previous record set in 2005 by more than $160 Million. In addition, 2007 sales totals exceed the highest overall sales price ever in Eagle county with the average price for all transactions at $1,101,375, nearly 25% over last years average sales price!
In depth analysis of the the statistics, however, shows some developing trends that mirror the wider national market.
1. While the dollar volume reached an all time high, the overall number of transactions were 2,688 - the lowest since 2003. This tells us that the upper end of the market is where the strength is - helped along by 96 transactions over $4 Million. The lower end of the scale has slowed.
2. Most of the year 2007 gain occured in the first 6 months of 2007 where the numbers showed marked dollar volume increases over 2006 corresponding months of between 117% to 169%. The last three months of the year showed a dramatic monthly decreases in dollar volume over 2006 at 92%, 72%, and 81% respectively - a definite indication that the real estate market cooled in the last three months of the year.
IN SUMMARY: 2007 was a record setting year in the Valley for real estate sales - a result of a very, very hot 1st quarter and high demand for the upper end properties. The lower end of the market (under $3,000,000) slowed significantly throughout the year. It appears that the first quarter of 2008 will show a continuation of this trend.
Please feel free to contact me for more discussion on this subject and specific backup for my conclusions at 970-390-7600.
