ASPEN, Colo.—There might be an upside to the downturn in real estate in Pitkin County: more people are interested in selling their land for open space.
The county has received more calls from prospective sellers. Pitkin County Open Space and Trails has about $7 million to buy land for recreation, open space, wildlife habitat or its scenic values.
Dale Will, the program’s director, attributes some of the increased interest in selling to the weak real estate market. One property under review is directly tied to the credit-market crash.
The open space program is funded by property taxes. The two-year lag between property valuation and open-space tax collection means the county will collect taxes based on the high valuations of the real estate boom for two more years.
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Information from: The Aspen Times,
