Getting your player ready...
The Wall Street Journal, in an article today titled “Vacation Homes: Why It May Be Time to Buy,” listed Aspen as one of four “Blue Chip” markets and Vail as one of four “Depressed Markets.”
Aspen found itself in the company of the Hampton, Hilton Head and Santa Barbara. The WSJ also described Aspen as a “luxury market bellwether.”
Vail was grouped with Miami Beach, Martha’s Vineyard and Palm Beach. One broker in Vail said that sales activity has slowed because of fears “the other shoe is going to drop.”
What also interested me was that Aspen also had the highest overall prices of the eight markets profiled, at a median price of $781,000. It also showed the smallest five-year decline of any of the markets, down a mere 2.6 percent. Palm Beach, Fla., was at the other end of the spectrum, with the median price falling 66.5% to $254,000 from $758,000 five years ago. And Miami, with a median price of $130,000, down 57 percent from $302,000 five years ago, sounds more like a short-sale in Aurora than a home in a glitzy resort.
