This is the weekend we have all been waiting for, the fall colors in full swing! Get outside and enjoy the golden colors and the sunshine, but beware of cooler October temperatures early in the day. Season is slowly winding down, but local restaurants and hotels are offering off-season specials before the close down to prepare for winter.
Stop in French Alpine Bistro for 40% off fondue, raclette, and other favorite menu items. This popular lunch and romantic date night spot closes Sunday, October 13th until Winter season. Check out the savory and sweet crepes as well. On Sundays, head over to Clark’s Oyster Bar for $20 Fried Chicken night. The price includes fried chicken and sides. Lucky for locals, Clark’s will only be closing for a few days during the off season, October 28th-31st. Another local favorite, Kenichi, is offering 50% off sushi rolls during their daily Happy Hour from 5pm to 6:30pm. For more information on Off Season Hours and Specials, visit www.eataspen.com
Local hotels are also offering discounts and package deals for off-season guests. If you’re looking for a staycation, The Little Nell offers a Colorado resident discount. This spectacular hotel also offers spa add-ons as well as wine cellar packages for the off season as well. The Little Nell’s two restaurants, Element 47 and Ajax Tavern are also offering specials on food. Ajax Tavern has a prix fixe menu of an appetizer, entree, and dessert for only $37. Element 47 has the same offering for $47. For more information, check out www.thelittlenell.com
Another longtime favorite is the Aspen Square Hotel, known for its central location, condominium-style rooms, and breathtaking views of Aspen Mountain. This is the spot to be after a day of leaf peeping, plus 30% off rates! Head over to www.aspensquarehotel.com for more information.
Happy fall season! The colors are spectacular in the Roaring Fork Valley now; it’s my favorite time of the year. I wanted to share with you an update on the Aspen Real Estate Market in general and more specifically Aspen Square Real Estate. There have been no sales this year at Aspen Square Hotel compared to five in 2011.<!--more--> The last studio sale was at $600,000. There are currently four studio units listed from $699,000 to $799,000, three top floor north facing units and one south facing, second floor studio. Aspen Square is projecting a 10% sales increase this year, which will further strengthen owner’s return, which is already one of the strongest in the Aspen market.
This summer two bedroom unit 119 was listed for $1,450,000, which is aggressive in light of the sales last year of two bedroom units 105 and 115, which had similar finishes at the time. Unit 119 was listed at $1,734.45 a square foot compared to the last nine sales sold price per square foot of $1,332.94. If you remove the highest and lowest sales the last seven sales sold price per square foot is $1,332.94, which is probably closer to where we are today. Unit 119 listing has expired and there are currently no other two-bedroom listings. There will be a new Aspen Square two-bedroom listing coming on the market soon. It is top floor, south facing unit with nice finishes and a strong rental history. I think it is a good value. If you want to sell today you must be priced correctly, staged right, and marketed aggressively.
Showing activity has been extremely busy the past months. Our town was virtually sold out in July and August. Retail and Occupancy numbers in Aspen were both significantly up compared to last year. Our town was full and people fell in love with being in Aspen again. Many people were looking at real estate this summer and are now pursuing offers. While we are still trailing last year by about ten percent in terms of overall dollar volume and transactions I an optimistic that we will close the gap in the coming months and end the year slightly ahead of last year, which was a little better than 2010. July transactions were up about 9% compared to July 2011 and dollar volume in July increased almost 100%. I believe that we are headed in the right direction overall, but it is still painfully slow.
There have been 85 core condo closings the past year in downtown Aspen at an average sold price of $1,505,760, sale/list price of .91, average sold price per square foot of $984.49 and average agent days on market of 338 days. There were 74 sales during the same time period a year ago at an average sold price of $1,790,361, sale/list price of .88, average sold price per square foot of $1,269.85 and average days on market of 333 days. More transactions are taking place today, trading at lower prices on average. There are currently 186 condo listings in Aspen, 120 in the downtown core. Inventory continues to decrease.
I hope this is helpful information. Please call or email me anytime with questions. I’m with the number one company in the Roaring Fork Valley Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s. We have four offices in Aspen alone. While the overall market is down about 10% in terms of dollar volume Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s is up about 8% year to date. Call or email me anytime with questions. Thank you for keeping me in mind. Enjoy the fall season. It’s a great time to be in Aspen and Snowmass!
