Aspen’s luxury housing market became animated as the ski season kicked off during the fourth quarter of 2017, lifting sales prices up by double digits, according to a Douglas Elliman report released Thursday.
The niche luxury market, the top 10% of single-family home and condos sales, registered six transactions during the final three months last year, just one more than the same period last year.
Meanwhile, sale prices saw double-digit growth. The median sales price of the six homes was $13 million, an 18.2% increase year-over-year. Meanwhile, the average sale price for these six luxury homes rose 13.1% to $14.5 million, according to the report.
The threshold, or the minimum price to make the cut for Aspen’s luxury market was $11.885 million, the highest among the major luxury markets across the nation, according to Jonathan Miller, chief executive of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, who prepared the market report for Douglas Elliman.
By comparison, the entry threshold was $3.9 million for the Hamptons, New York, and $10.6 million for Palm Beach, Florida, the runner up in terms of luxury threshold.
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The most expensive home sold in the fourth quarter in Aspen was a six-bedroom, 9,162-square-foot house at the base of Aspen Mountain. It was closed early October for $22.5 million, according to Mr. Miller.
The house was first listed for $30.95 million in 2016 and reduced to $29.25 million before the sale, according to records on listing site Zillow. The new owner, a limited liability company as shown in property records, took advantage of strong rental demand during the ski season, putting the home back on the market for $12,500 a month right away, listing records show.
The market vitality was also evidenced in the faster moving pace. The luxury homes spent an average of 281 days before finding a buyer, compared to 394 days in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Luxury listing inventory shrank from 124 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 76 by the end of 2017, a 38.7% decrease. As a result, the absorption rate, which measures the time period it takes to sell all the homes, dropped to 36.2 months from last year’s 62 months.
"Aspen’s luxury market really strengthened in the last couple of quarters," Mr. Miller said. "Listing inventory at the high end fell as overpriced listingswere leaving the market, the same narrative played out across the country."
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In the nearby Snowmass Village, new luxury condos and hotels have sparked a lot of buyers’ interest, which is also driving up resale prices, said Stephen Kotler, chief executive of Douglas Elliman’s Western Region.
Median sales price of the luxury segment there, totaling six sales for the top 10% market, jumped 21.1% year-over-year to $4.45 million.
"Aspen/Snowmass Village is becoming much more a year-around market, as people are interested in spending time there beyond the ski season," Mr. Kotler said.