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| 12/28/2007 12:38:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Two real estate offices upbeat about Park County market
Danny Ramey
Intern
While real estate sales nationwide have been sluggish over the last year, Park County real estate has not fared as poorly as other parts of the country.
Existing-home sales are likely to total 5.67 million this year, a 12.5 percent drop from the 6.48 million in 2006, according to a Dec. 10 press release from the National Association of Realtors. And existing-home prices should be down 1.9 percent to a median of $217,600 for all of 2007, said the release.
That's actually not too different from the latest analyzed data from Park County, but that only goes through the first half of the year. That data showed that the number of homes sold in the county for the first six months of 2007 was 281, down 15 percent from the same period in 2006. The average price for a Park County home was $241,375, down 0.3 percent from a year ago.
Nevertheless, the county is seeing pockets of success and optimism.
View from Fairplay
For example, United Country-Park Real Estate in Fairplay is having the best revenue year in its five-year history and is in the top 5 percent of United Country offices across the country.
"We've had an excellent year," said owner and broker Linda Kukulski Miller. "Our revenue is up 64 percent from the previous year."
Sales have begun to slow down since Nov. 1, but Miller, who has been in the real estate business for eight years, attributed the slowdown to normal weather-related fluctuations in the South Park housing market and other factors.
United Country-Park Real Estate's sales figures from this year have been enough to reach the Summit Silver Award level from its parent company, Kansas City, Mo.-based United Country Real Estate. The awards are based on an office's total gross commission.
The Summit level is the highest an office can reach and has four tiers: bronze, silver, gold and elite.
United Country-Park Real Estate may be able to reach a higher tier yet this year since the Summit Silver Award level was reached with sales through Nov. 1, leaving two months of sales still to be counted.
Overall, Park Real Estate is ranked 33rd in total gross commission out of 680 United Country offices in the country.
"We have several great offices in Colorado," said Kyla Barcus, the public relations manager for United Country.
Miller believes that the South Park and Park County real estate markets have remained relatively strong because the area can offer the "Colorado mountain living experience" that many prospective home owners are looking for.
According to Miller, South Park offers the highlights of high country living and the convenience of having a ski area close by, but at better prices than places such as Breckenridge or Vail.
"I see the market continuing to grow," she said.
According to Barcus, United Country focuses on what she called "non-urban" areas or "smaller cities and small towns."
Thanks to its focus on non-urban areas, many United Country offices nationwide have been able to avoid the full effect of the softened real estate market.
"Some offices did well [this year]," said Barcus, "but others saw a definite decline."
In fact, United Country as a whole experienced substantial growth over the last year, according to a press release from the company.
"According to CEO Dan Duffy, United's company-wide sales volume is equal to that recorded through the third quarter of 2006, which was United's highest grossing year in over 80 years. The company has experienced sales volume increases in more than half of their regional markets," said the press release.
Barcus attributed the company's growth to a couple of factors: The company helped launch more than 100 new franchise offices over the last year; and the company has been investing in new technologies and services in local offices.
Neither Barcus nor Miller see United Country's growth and sales volumes decreasing going into 2008.
"We're very optimistic about the coming year. We've seen a lot of growth, especially in Fairplay and Alma. There are exciting things on the horizon for this community," said Miller, "We're all really happy to be in real estate right now."
Bailey/Pine Area
The real estate situation on the other side of Kenosha Pass is similar to that of South Park in that the market appears to be stronger than last year.
"Is there a large inventory and a lot of vacant homes? Yes, but it's less than this time last year," said Ron McInnes, one of five owner/brokers for the Keller Williams office that opened in Conifer in August.
All five owners of the new office have a wealth of real estate experience. McInnes has the least experience, with seven years, while three of his fellow owners have more than 20 years of experience and the other has 14 years of experience.
The four other partners are Kevin Wilson, Doug Welker, Steve Lichen and Craig Marks.
All five, including McInnes, were with Remax Alliance in Conifer before opening the new Keller Williams office.
Despite what many call a weak housing market, the five decided to buy a Keller Williams franchise and start a new office because they "felt that although the market is slow, we see it as absolutely cyclical. There are active buyers, but buying activity is slow," said McInnes.
The slow market also gives the office the opportunity to get its name out and let people know it's there before the market improves and the demand begins to grow again.
Keller Williams also has an advantage in that the office is almost entirely made up of established agents along the 285 Corridor. So the office already has "faces that people can trust," said McInnes.
The new office coverage-area includes Pine, Bailey, Conifer, Morrison, and Bergen Park.
McInnes stresses how different the mountain market is from the metropolitan market, where much of the negative news is focused.
"In the city there are lots of foreclosures," he said, "but not up here."
Additionally, according to McInnes, the interest rates are still favorable to buyers - at about 6.2 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan.
Overall, McInnes doesn't think anyone with a good credit score will have any problems getting a good mortgage or buying a house.
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