When developer Richard Dean bought 18 unfinished resort condos near Winter Park back from a bank last spring, he was taking a chance that, even at prices 30 percent to 40 percent lower than when they’d first come on the market, Denver buyers wouldn’t be ready to get back into mountain properties yet.
Now that guessing game is over: Since Aug. 1, when visitors got a look at the newly finished units in Fraser, 10 of the 18 have disappeared to contracts.
Tomorrow and Sunday, you can come see The Timbers and its final eight homes, priced from $179,000 – many of them the two- and three-bedroom plans that make the best fit for families with kids or grandkids, or who invite friends up for skiing.
They also have the add-ons that have won those sales away from other, older properties in the shadow of Winter Park: They’re totally new, each finished this season. All come with a garage that has high ceilings for hanging bikes or a canoe along with the kind of top-shelf finishes that buyers see on nicer new homes down in the metro area: slate-tile fireplaces, kitchens with granite tile and knotty alder cabinets, stainless appliances, detailed bedroom suites with their own, private deck or patio, a washer/dryer – along with both a 10-year warranty and one-year interior warranty.
According to Realtors Cliff Anderson and Peter Gach of Real Estate of Winter Park (they’ll show you through tomorrow, 1 mile east of the Safeway in Fraser), real estate professionals in Grand County who’ve brought buyers to The Timbers are talking about these. “They’re all saying the same thing,” says Anderson. “When you look at the other stuff on the market, the value of being brand new and of having garages and builder warranties makes for the best value now.”
Most are totally single-level – including a three-bedroom unit, 1,220 square feet with no interior stairs, starting at $219,000, garage included. Adding to the offers is The Timbers’ protected setting on a forested hillside that gives privacy, and views over the trees to the Continental Divide and 12,804-foot Byers Peak from some main-level living areas. Homes are close to a trailhead for mountain biking and cross-country skiing that leads into the National Forest; and a free Fraser ski shuttle to the base mountain at Winter Park passes directly by the entryway during season.
Meanwhile, Dean and Dave Putnam at Stone Aspen Builders have spritzed up the infrastructure, redesigning the drainage from what the original builder left in 2009; adding rocks, aspens, spruces and perennials; creating wider pads for snow removal; and detailing the walks and surrounding landscape. Even if you visited last month, you’ll see more improvements, says Anderson. “This is the weekend to come look at these while the aspens are at full color,” he adds.
“You’re looking at about a month or a month-and-a-half of decent weather to visit, close and start to enjoy ski season here,” Anderson notes. To make that even more appealing, Dean will include a full-season ski pass for two at Winter Park with each home sold (or you can take that as a credit toward $1,000 in special upgrades).
To visit, take U.S. 40 through Winter Park into Fraser, right at the stoplight, east on Meadow Ridge to Cranmer and right .7 mile.
Mark Samuelson writes on real estate and business; you can email him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com. You can see all of Mark Samuelson’s columns online at DenverPostHomes.com.
if you go
WHERE: The Timbers, one-, two-, two-bedroom-plus-study, three-bedroom condos with garages, all new; greatly reduced prices; Winter Park season passes for two with sale; close to trails, ski shuttle bus. 410 Cougar Ave., Fraser; from I-70 take U.S. 40 west 30 miles, through to stoplight in Fraser at the Safeway, right on Meadow Ridge/County Road 804 .7 mi. to Cranmer/County Road 834, right .7 mile to Spinner.
PRICE: One-, two-, three-bedroom condo with garage from $179,000 to $255,000
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
PHONE: 970-531-1005 (Cliff Anderson) or 303-358-4385 (Peter Gach)
WEB: REWinterPark.com or TimbersCondos.com
