Source: Telluride Consulting

The San Miguel County real estate market closed out its incredible year with the months of August through December all exceeding $125M each month in dollar volume. The total dollar volume for ‘20 set an all time record in the county with $1.16 billion in sales, a 54% increase from the previous all-time high set in ‘07 at $756.6M. The number of transactions in ‘20 totaled 814 compared to 631 in ‘07, a 29% increase. Overall the region saw a boom in real estate sales through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, something never before seen in the area’s history.

The top three dollar volume states for buying in CO in ‘20 (excluding CO) were: Texas ($320M), Arizona ($91M) and California ($77.5M), with buyers from Colorado coming in at $288M The year finished strong with a 166% increase in dollar volume for the month compared to the prior 5-year average of December sales. Comparing Dec. ‘20 to Dec. ‘19, there was a 95% increase in total dollar volume and a 51% increase in total number of transactions. Year End 2020 MARKET OVERVIEW YTD DOLLAR SALES 95% INCREASE over 2019 The year-to-date (YTD) 2020 number of transactions (814) is up 51% over December 2019 (540). The year-to-date dollar sales for December ‘20 reached $1,161,696,436, a 95% increase compared to $594,325,462 in December ‘19. The YTD average sales price per unit for 2020 is $1,427,145 compared to $1,100,603 in 2019, a 30% increase.

Buyer’s were purchasing much of the available vacant land around the county in October, with 26 vacant land sales Oct. ‘20. With Single-Family Homes and Condominium inventory in the Town of Telluride and Mountain Village significantly reduced due to market activity and cost per squarre foot at all-time highs, it appears many buyers are now looking for vacant land to build. Highlights from the month of November included 16 Condominium sales in Mountain Village at an average sales price of $1.5M and 8 Single-Family Home sales in Mountain Village at an average sales price of $4.5M. Vacant land sales indicate that many investors are wanting to build dream homes to escape the cities.

Source: Telluride Consulting 

Source: Telluride Consulting

JANUARY 2020:

• San Miguel County closed out a record-breaking year of real estate sales with the largest dollar volume month the county has ever seen with $96.9M in sales compared to December 2019.
• Downtick in dollar volume of sales in early 2020 to $48.6M
  • Common as many are trying to buy or sell at the end of the fiscal year for tax purposes
  • Jan ’20 was well above Jan ’19 with a 123.7% increase in dollar volume and 38.7% increase in number of sales for San Miguel County
  • Compared to the prior year average we are up 53% in total dollar volume and 14.3% increase in number of sales for January
• The Telluride market had a great start to the new year with $33M in sales compared to only $12M in Mountain Village the first month of Q1. However, Mountain Village and the surrounding county is a potential buyer’s market for Single Family Homes and condos with much lower price per square foot.

FEBRUARY 2020:

• February was another strong month for real estate in the county. The total dollar volume and number of transactions were up for February 2020 from both the prior year and the prior 5-year average. They were also higher than any February from 2015-2019. The total dollar volume (+45%) and total number of transactions (+13%) both showed an increase for 2020 YTD compared to the prior 5-year average. February represented the fifth straight month that dollar volume of sales per month exceeded that of the prior 5-year average for the same time period.
• By February of 2020, Telluride continued to be a place buyers were looking with $60M in sales Feb ’20 compared to $29M in sales Feb ’19.
  • Price per square foot of Telluride condos reached an all-time high of $1,252, mainly driven by the Telluride Transfer Condo sales.

MARCH 2020:

• We have yet to see how the global pandemic, COVID-19 will impact the local real estate market, but it is inevitable. The effects on the market will likely be seen beginning in May. The good news is there was a 38% increase in dollar volume in Q1 ’20 ($151.84M) compared to the prior 5-year average for Q1 ($110.06M). There was also a large uptick in the number of Telluride vacant land sales in March, 9 sales totaling $4.8M.
• For Q1, Telluride is seeing an increase in year to date dollar volume and number of sales. Mountain Village is seeing decreases in both number of monthly sales and number of year to date sales. In March there was strong activity in Telluride and Mountain Village Single Family Home sales and Vacant Properties in the remainder of the county (Elk Run, The Preserve, Ski Ranches and Aldasoro).
• Telluride continues to be a hot market with $86M total sales in Q1 2020 compared to $52M total sales for Mountain Village. Price per sf of Telluride Single Family Homes are at an all-time high of $1,272, mainly due to 3 Single Family Home sales in March at an average of $1,521 per sf. There were 4 Single Family Homes that sold in Mountain Village in March, with a combined average sale price of more than $5M, indicating a demand for larger homes with expansive views, ski access and high-end furnishings.

The Telluride Real Estate market is enjoying a strong 4th Quarter of 2019. The market is responding to the value in Mountain Village properties compared to the higher prices in Telluride. Inventory is a bit depleted. The outlook for Telluride Real Estate continues to remain favorable as a lifestyle influenced long term investment. 

Here are the recent Local, State and National Governmental updates relevant to Telluride Real Estate

Issue 300 Passed in Telluride

The Town of Telluride now has a short-term rental tax as voters approved Ballot Issue 300 on 56 percent of the ballots, according to complete but unofficial results in early November. The new 2.5 percent tax will feed into the town’s Affordable Housing Fund, pushing the total tax on short-term rentals from 12.65 percent to 15.15 percent. The tax does not affect hotel rooms.

Election Results – Telluride Has a New Mayor

Telluride’s new mayor DeLanie Young defeated incumbent Mayor Sean Murphy by a 53-41 margin that was sufficient to negate the need to set instant runoff voting (IRV) protocols into action. David Oyster finished a distant third with 6 percent.

In the Telluride Town Council race, Telluride voters sent the incumbent, Lars Carlson, back to work on Town Council and gave Adrienne Christy a handy second-place finish and a seat on council with 39 percent and 38 percent of the votes, respectively. Carlson was the top vote getter with 459 votes to Adrienne Christy’s 429.

Young, Carlson and Christy took the oath of office Nov. 19.

Proposition CC Fails at the Statewide Level

Proposition CC, a statewide initiative that  asked voters to give up statewide TABOR refunds indefinitely was defeated in early November by a 55% - 45% margin.

• A "YES" vote would have allowed the state to keep revenue above the current limit instead of issuing TABOR refunds on years when the state collects too much. The money from CC would have been added to the general revenue where it would be spent on things such as schools and roads.
• A "NO" vote keeps the current structure in place where the state would have to issue TABOR refunds for revenue above and beyond the required limit.

Voters were NOT being asked to give up your state-issued income tax refunds. This only deals with excess money the state collects that is currently required to be refunded to voters.

TABOR

Not every year, but in some years, Colorado must refund you money because of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which you might know as TABOR.

Voters passed TABOR in 1992. The Constitutional amendment requires the state and local governments to get voter approval before enacting new tax increases or bonds, and it puts a cap on how much tax money Colorado can collect and spend. The rate is based on inflation and population. If the state collects too much, you get back money.

Proposition DD Passes Statewide by a Razor Thin Margin

Colorado voters have approved a ballot measure legalizing sports betting and taxing it to help fund a state water conservation plan. Proposition DD passed 50.7% - 49.3%. It had bipartisan support and only token opposition. The election was so close that the outcome could only be determined after each and every vote was tallied.

The measure allows Colorado's 33 casinos to start offering wagering on professional, collegiate, motor and Olympic sports in May. Both in-person and online wagering are allowed.

Colorado can legalize sports betting because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018. However, Colorado law explicitly makes sports betting illegal. DD attempts to make it legal, while at the same time initiating a new voter-approved tax on the revenues from sports betting, to be spent on Colorado's Water Plan.

National News - Agencies Increase Residential Appraisal Threshold

On September 27, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively “the Agencies”) adopted a final rule increasing the threshold for requiring an appraisal in residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Federally related transactions under $400,000 will require an evaluation, rather than a full appraisal, to determine value of the real estate in question. A federally related transaction is a non-Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac transaction and a non-federal financed transaction, such as loans under the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Housing Service or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Source - Telluride Realtor Association Government Affairs

The Town of Telluride proper continues to be a robust real estate market with all listed inventory now over $1,300/ft average. 

The market is seeing the value in Mountain Village homes. The sold price year to date 2019 of Mountain Village homes is 89% of the Listing price where the rest of the market is at 94% of original listing price. 

San Miguel County, CO Total year to date dollar volume is down 8% and total real estate transactions are up 4%.

Please contact me for additional information or specific questions.