Market Analysis: Aspen Single Family Homes

As of August 25, 1998 there were 136 single family homes listed in zone 1 (Aspen core) of the Aspen MLS, as depicted in the following histogram. The price range of available properties varied widely from $479,000 to $10,957,000 with a median price of approximately $3 million and mean of $3.38 million.

Of the properties listed, 28 or approximately 20% were under contract. As may be expected, the lower portion of the market is very active. Of the 12 listings under $1,000,000 half were under contract, and of the 43 listings under $2,000,000 12 were under contract. Properties at the lower end of the market include a disproportionate share of small condominiumized duplexes and fix-up properties.

As illustrated by the following graph, price per square foot of gross living area also varied widely from $235 to $2,616 per square foot. The average asking price was $690 per square foot. The wide variance in price per square foot is the result of differences in property location, quality, age, size, and amenities.

The size of the available Aspen homes reflects an astounding range from 584 to16,215 square feet. The average home was 5,028 square feet of gross floor area. Unit values were commonly in the $500 to $1,000 per square foot range, but significantly higher unit values were not uncommon for properties smaller than 4,000 square feet in size.

A final element of comparison analyzed for the MLS data was property age. For analysis purposes, property age is defined as the actual age of the home, or the date of its most recent renovation.

The highest unit values were reflected by the most recently built or renovated properties - older properties exhibiting slightly lower unit value per square foot.

As illustrated above, the trend in recent construction has been the construction of much larger homes. However, data from the other graphs indicate that the newer, larger properties are selling at unit values equal to or exceeding that of older, smaller homes.