Telluride on NBC’s Today Show

Off Season in Telluride

It is the first week in May and the weather was beautiful yesterday and raining and sleeting today.  That is typical off-season weather in Telluride.  Yesterday my wife, Becky, and I took a wonderful hike up Bear Creek which takes about two hours round-trip from our condominium.  There is still snow in a couple of places but easy to walk through no more than 20 or 30 feet in both locations.  Many locals love it here this time of year because it is easy to get into restaurants without any reservations.  The hiking is fantastic and the locals all know which trails are dry and which ones still have a little snow on them.  This year the snow pack was so low that most of the trails are opening up about a month early.  This time of year the weather can be 34° in the morning or 44°.  The weather in the surrounding communities is usually fantastic from Grand Junction to Moab to Durango where you will generally see temperatures in the low 70s to 80s.  It is a fantastic time to travel to those locations for hiking, biking or golfing.

In the early eighties I can clearly remember this time of year where there were no restaurants open.  The only place you could get a meal rather than cook at home was to go to the grocery store called Rose’s.  It was so slow in the early eighties that some days you would not see a single car parked on Main Street and the evenings were very, very quiet.  Memorial weekend is the traditional kickoff for summer, with the Mountain Film Festival and the opening of the golf course in the Mountain Village.  Off season is a fantastic time to see Telluride in a very different light.  Spring is mud season due to all the snow melting with the off season from about mid-October to mid-December.  It also happens to be a great time of year to look at and purchase real estate.  You can get in to see just about any home or condominium because there is no one renting them this time of year and sellers are usually pretty motivated.  Off season is very special to locals and as a second home owner you should try this to see how peaceful it is here.  We have included a picture of Bear Creek just for proof that Becky and I actually made it up to the waterfalls.

Best to all of you and see you this summer.
George

Survey: Deals for investment, vacation homes robust in 2011

Demand for vacation and investment housing rebounded in 2011, together representing 38 percent of all housing transactions for the year. In its 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, the National Association of REALTORS® reported vacation home purchases totaled 11 percent of the total market, up from 10 percent in 2010. Investment housing sales surged to 27 percent of the market, up from 17 percent.

In transaction volume, vacation sales increased 7 percent to 502,000. Investment purchases jumped 64.5 percent to 1.23 million. The rise in investment acquisitions reflected the availability of bargain prices, combined with a trend in rising rental incomes. In fact, 41 percent of investment buyers in 2011 bought more than one property, the NAR survey showed.

Investors and vacation home buyers also brought cash to the table. In 49 percent of the investment deals, buyers paid in cash, while 42 percent of vacation-home transactions were cash deals. Also, the median age for investment-home buyers was 50, with earnings of $86,100, who made purchases within 25 miles of their residence.

Hope you find this information of interest.  This information came from NAR Resort and Second Home Committee, which I chair. This is from their annual study about 2nd homes.

Best to you,
George R. Harvey, Jr.

Are you receiving my Best Buy in Telluride Real Estate?

THE HARVEY TEAM WEEKLY BEST BUY

For three years we have sent out our suggested weekly Best Buy in Telluride real estate to about 75 of our preferred clients.  These properties are usually 40% to 50% off their original asking price from four or five years ago.  They can be houses, condominiums, vacant lots or ranches.  They also may be the listing of any broker in the Telluride region and with prices ranging from $100,000 to $5 million or more.  The goal is to offer the very, very best bargain priced properties regardless of who lists them in the Telluride region. 

If you would like to receive these weekly Best Buy suggestions just email us and we will add you to the list.
 
If you would like to see a sample, go to www.TheHarveyTeam.net and click on “Best Buy This Week”.

Please feel free to contact me via email or cell with any questions you may have.
 
Best to you,

 

Email George…The Harvey Team’s Website…George’s Credentials

Colorado Association of Realtors – Vail Meeting 04/20/2012

Last week I was in Vail, Colorado for the spring meetings of the Colorado Association of Realtors.  This is a group of 300 Realtor leaders from all over the state of Colorado.  As some of you know, I have been involved with the Realtor organization for over 20 years as a volunteer, last week was no exception.  Being able to network and learn from the top brokers in the state of Colorado I believe is a clear asset for my client’s as sellers or buyers.  

We discussed issues of disclosure like the current controversial fracking of natural gas and crude oil.  We also heard reports on the greening of the MLS which is basically an effort by the Colorado governor Hickenlooper to promote green energy and the disclosure of energy efficient homes throughout the Multiple Listing Services available in Colorado.

Additionally, we had a forum on risk management with our guest speaker Marsha Waters, the Director of the Colorado Real Estate Commission.  She continues to notify us that the 90% of complaints to the Real Estate Commission are about property management.  She points out that if you are going to handle short sales and bank owned properties and perform management functions for those banks, you probably need to increase your errors and omissions insurance, have a property management agreement with those banks that are requiring those services and be sure that your managing broker at the company you work knows about these activities.  

We also discussed legislation being proposed in the state of Colorado.  The legislature has been in session since the first week in January and has about another month of work yet to do.  Generally, there are about 600 bills that are introduced each year and about 20% of them affect real estate in some form or fashion.  

I enjoy sharing with you these activities hoping that my continued efforts to improve my skills as a broker and networking with other successful brokers provides a benefit to my clients.  Until next week, please call with any questions about my attending these Vail meetings for the Colorado Association of Realtors.

TMRAO announces summer flights to Montrose – Enhanced service from Dallas & Houston

Headed to Telluride soon?  Well, here is some great information I found while reading the Telluride Daily Planet regarding enhanced service/connections through Dallas and Houston, Texas.

“The Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization announced the schedule for summer air service from Dallas and Houston to Montrose this week.

United Airlines will fly between Houston and Montrose on Wednesdays and Saturdays, June 9 through Oct. 6. American Airlines will offer daily flights between Dallas and Montrose from June 9 to Sept. 4. These flights are aimed at drawing more visitors to the region.

For more of this story, click on:   http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2012/04/11/news/doc4f7f5ee34babe690843014.txt “

Changes to our Tellugram Blog

We have decided the change up the Tellugram Blog format and not only cover real estate but cover local activities, tourist information, politics, humor, our favorite restaurants, and recreational activities.  We are making this change to make the Tellugram Blog more interesting and useful.  Yes, we will still post regular real estate information about the market in Telluride, other resort markets in the U.S. and around the world.  We hope you like the changes and find them interesting.  Looking forward to your feedback about our opinions, recommendations and witticism from time to time.

Thank you.