Sunday, July 29, 2012

From the Wall Street Journal - Strengthening Home Prices

Home prices in the second quarter rose from the year-ago period for the first time since 2007, according to a closely watched index, the latest indication the housing market is starting to recover.
The report, which is scheduled to be released Tuesday by real-estate firm Zillow Inc., found that for the quarter ending in June, home values were up 0.2% from the same period in 2011.
While other indicators have shown home prices turning up since the spring, most examined short-term changes from one month to the next. Other indexes reported gains in median sales prices, which can be skewed ...

Full article here: 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443295404577545200776537294.html
 
For more information on this or Telluride area real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or http://www.telluriderealestatecorp.com/

Monday, July 16, 2012

Four More Telluride Luxury Properties to be Auctioned by Concierge Auctions


On September 8th, Concierge Auctions, in cooperation with TREC and Christie’s International Real Estate, will once again host a luxury auction in Telluride, Colorado.  Four properties will be auctioned, including an 8,700-square-foot single-family home in Mountain Village, and three luxury condominiums in the See Forever complex (one a stand-alone 3-bedroom cabin); two properties will be auctioned without reserve.  Concierge Auctions is the nation’s foremost luxury real estate auction firm. They’ve built a transparent, white glove service that helps buyers locate and purchase stunning, one-of-a-kind properties. They help sellers and agents of those homes market their properties globally, find qualified buyers and produce guaranteed transactions within 60 days. This is truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity, not to be missed.

For more information, please feel free to contact us at 970-728-3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or visit http://www.telluriderealestatecorp.com/

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Telluride Daily Planet: Telluride's Real Estate Market is Picking Up

Published in the Telluride Daily Planet, July 3, 2012:

Local housing markets pick up

Markets seeing recovery after years of downturn

By Collin McRann
Staff Reporter
Published: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 6:08 AM CDT
A string of stronger housing sales this spring is prompting optimism that a sustained real-estate recovery could be on its way to local markets.

The first five months of this year saw spring real estate sales jump to their highest levels since 2010. Despite the number of units sold being down about 10 percent from this time last year, sale values were up around 3 percent, according to San Miguel County data from Telluride Consulting.

“The simplest reason is we’ve been in this recession now for four to five years, and we have been slowly selling off the inventory,” said real estate broker George R. Harvey. “There’s been very little construction, so the buyers have been picking over the good deals for years now. It’s just a matter of time before those sales start to tip the scales a little bit.”

Currently there are around 67 units on the market in both Telluride and Mountain Village. Harvey said houses have been the strongest sellers, with condos coming in second. The Telluride market has also been the strongest, but other markets could see an increase in sales this year too.

Harvey said the Mountain Village market has been soft, but he thinks the local real estate market bottomed out around two years ago, and a slow recovery has since been in effect.

“It’s really hard to put your finger on the pulse of the market,” said T.D. Smith, managing director of Telluride Real Estate Corp. “We are still influenced by global economic circumstances. If there’s bad news, people are less prone to invest in lifestyle and second homes. What we’re seeing right now is less talk of gloom and doom, and in general inquires are picking up.”

Smith said he really started to see an upturn in February, with the best increases over last year during April and May.

Since 2007, the number of springtime real-estate sales hit a low in 2009 with 85 units sold, but the number has been steadily increasing with 174 units sold this year and 193 units sold last year. In 2007, a banner year for the local real estate market, 285 units were sold.

However, sale values have been across the board. So far this year’s sales have totaled $118.8 million, middle of the range compared with 2009’s low of $75.9 million and 2007’s high of $313.2, according to Telluride Consulting.

Some of the stronger numbers in Telluride have been attributed to the sale of distressed properties and foreclosures. Dirk De Pagter, managing broker for Telluride Real Estate Brokers, said some of the uptick in sales can be attributed to distressed properties and foreclosures, but he also said some sellers have been more realistic on their pricing.

“One problem we always have in Telluride is difference between the bid and the ask,” de Pagter said. “The sellers were asking too much and the bidders were not bidding enough. But in the last few weeks you can definitely feel a change in the sentiment. More contracts being thrown around and there’s more dialogue between buyers and sellers.”

Getting a loan to buy a property is also more realistic for qualified buyers than it has been in the past few years.  Harvey said banks are being cautious about making bad loans, but qualified buyers can more confidently find a loan now as opposed to three or four years ago.

“I think those buyers who are looking for those screaming deals better do it this year,” Harvey said. “I’m fairly confident in saying that the tide has been and is turning. There’s not a lot of time left for those really screaming deals. They’ll still be good buys, but I think this is the last year of that.”


For more information on the trending Telluride real estate market, please contact us at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or http://www.telluriderealestatecorp.com/

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art Auctions Set New Records


CHRISTIE’S LONDON JUNE AUCTIONS OF POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART REALISE £148.2 MILLION / $231.4 MILLION / €185.1 MILLION

Highest Total Achieved for a Series of Post-War & Contemporary Art Auctions in Europe
Strong Day Sale results illustrate demand at every level of market
 
London - Christie's June auctions of Post-War & Contemporary Art in London realised £148,283,125 ($231,469,957 / €185,159,232) - the highest total for a series of Post-War & Contemporary Art Auctions in Europe.
The top price of the week was paid for Yves Klein’s Le Rose du bleu (RE 22), pictured right, which sold for £23,561,250 ($36,779,111 / €29,428,001) – a world record price for a French post-war artist at auction.
In total, four works sold for over £10 million (five lots for over $10 million), six for over £5 million (nine lots for over $5 million), 21 lots sold for over £1 million (30 lots for over $1 million). 
Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: “We are now operating in a truly global art market where the demand for masterpieces defines the collector’s passion. Bidders and buyers from most continents are seeking to build collections of the highest quality and our outstanding results this week show that Europe is reinforcing its role as a global market centre for the greatest post-war and contemporary art.
 
For more information on this or Telluride area real estate, please contact us at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com or http://www.telluriderealestatecorp.com/.