I hope you had as much fun over the Thanksgiving holiday as our family did. Laurie and I spent our turkey day in Denver with our kids and our two adorable two-year-old grandchildren, Leighton and Gannon. What a ball! Of course, I ate too much turkey. Now I’m trying to work it off just in time to gain it all back at Christmas.
Another exciting development on the home front: my tree house is done! Now that the roof is on, the building is complete. All I have left to do is stage it. Here are a few pictures:
Holiday business around town was good but not great. The ski area is open with marginal snow, but we’ve still got more than anyone else in our region, and it is snowing up on the mountain as I write this. I’ve been asking around town about the opening date for Walmart, and April 1st is the most common rumor.
In Chamber news, I just found out Cindi Galabota, our new Chamber director, is moving on to a new position at one of our local banks. In her short time as director, I thought she did a great job, and I wish her well in her next endeavor. It seems like the Chamber and the Town Tourism Committee are getting along well in their shared space at the Visitor Center. I understand the Chamber is still seeking to move out of the shared building so they can have a larger location. I hope the Chamber Board will ask for input from their membership before taking any action. In my opinion, the current shared location is where they should stay. If they need to expand the building, I believe they have adequate room to do so.
Now, what’s going on in the real estate world? Business continues to improve. Overall sales are up 15% over last year. Condo sales are quite strong. I’ve had three condos go under contract in the past few weeks. Home sales in the $300,000 to $400,000 range are up 47% over last year, and vacant land sales are also strong. Bank repos are almost non-existent with the exception of vacant land. While the market continues to improve, it is still not enough to tip the scales in favor of the seller. We are still in a buyer’s market. That being said, I am having a great year, and I expect that December will give us a strong finish to 2014.
As most of you know, I am continuing to expand my marketing efforts in order to better serve my customers. To further this pursuit, I’ve got a favor to ask those of you who have done business with me in the past. I’m looking for client and customer reviews on the real estate website Zillow. I am not the biggest fan of Zillow, due to the fact that they have challenges producing accurate information about our small and unique town. But, the reality is that regardless of my opinion, Zillow is the #1 most popular website for people shopping for real estate. If Zillow is where the buyers are, then I need to be there as well, so I can better serve my clients. If you would be willing to take a few minutes to give me a review on Zillow, it would help increase my visibility there, and I would be deeply grateful. You will be asked to provide your email address, but there will be an option to not receive any communication from Zillow, so you don’t have to worry about getting a bunch of spam if you don’t want it. If you’re willing to help me out, just click here to get started. Thank you!
Driving around town these last couple of days, I am struck by the beauty of our town at Christmas time. Downtown is looking really nice this year, and I know that I am lucky to live in such a pretty place. What a blessing.
Merry Christmas!
GRI, CRS
2011 & 2014 Realtor of the Year
Phone (970) 731-4065
Fax (970) 731-4068
Cell (970) 946-3856
Email: [email protected]
