Telluride Estate News: 2016 Market Update

24 Jan Telluride Estate News: 2016 Market Update

Telluride Real Estate News twins with Robert Stenhammer, an associate broker with Telluride Real Estate Corp./Christie’s International Real Estate.

With a BA in business, an MBA in hospitality and tourism, and over 20 years of experience in the fields, Robert’s expertise encompasses real estate, hotels, vacation rentals, resort management, community relations, government affairs, and destination marketing. In his past life working on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Robert wrote often on those subjects for local media. In addition to his  real estate position, he also works part-time for the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, where his title is “Office of the CEO” and his focus is on government affairs and community relations, a role which comes down to helping make Telluride the #1 resort in the world.

In his weekly column, (narratives and video), “Telluride Real Estate News,” Robert leverages his extensive knowledge of market factors (global, national, and regional) and the Telluride lifestyle to bring readers fresh, informative – and insider – real estate news to use today.

Robert Stenhammer

Let me start by saying that nowhere on earth compares to our Shangri-La. Looking back at 2016 in Telluride, I continue to be reminded each and every day of the majesty and awesomeness of the place I am lucky to call home. Among my personal highlights: floating over Colorado Avenue in a hot air balloon with my daughter Mackenna; skiing steep and deep powder on the mountain; enjoying lots of time on the greens at the Telluride Golf Club; all the summer music festivals; chasing waterfalls and wildflowers on long, leisurely hikes. The Telluride Cars & Colors Festival, for example, paired with two back-to-back Neil Young concerts in Town Park, was about as good as it gets.

And this incomparable Telluride lifestyle could be yours too.

Daughter Mackenna (16) and Robert float over Colorado Ave in the New Mexico “Izia” balloon.

Highlights of 2016 Telluride real estate market: 

Due to an unstable stock market, low energy prices, and concerns about the election, the year started out slightly sketchy, however, in the end, the Telluride real estate market – including the Town of Telluride, the Town of Mountain Village, and the surrounding San Miguel County – enjoyed a satisfyingly stable 2016.

Compared to 2015, total sales for the region were nearly on par in terms of dollars and volume: $452.8M in contracts closed or just 2% below the prior year, while the number of sales was up 1%.

Mountain Village saw an improvement in high-end luxury home sales. In 2015, only one home sale topped $5 million; in 2016, that number increased to six home sales over $5 million – an indication that mountain luxury resort properties are an increasingly attractive purchase.

The consistently low supply of inventory in the Town of Telluride continues to be a major contributing factor in a mild slowdown, with the number of sales down nearly 20%, but dollar volume only down by 11%, signaling what remains a very desirable market. And with heavy construction going on all over town, new inventory will for sure come online in 2017.

Given the rise in energy prices and a strengthened DOW (impacting key Telluride buyer market segments), the overall outlook for 2017 looks positive.

In the remainder of San Miguel County, single-family home sales are up 64%, with the Ski Ranches and Aldasoro neighborhoods appearing to be the most desirable because of their proximity to Telluride and Mountain Village, plus the open spaces and incredible views these neighborhoods have to offer.

Condo/townhome sales are down 6% in the remainder of county as overall inventory is low due to the limited zoning of condos. Land sales are down slightly at 8%. That decrease along with the large increase in single-family homes sales suggests regional buyers are currently favoring turn-key properties over new construction.

What appears to be good economic conditions, a fact supported locally by the number of properties under contract to date in 2017 – according to the Telluride Multiple Listing Service, currently $96M in sales – confirm that the Telluride market is off and running.

Contact me any time for additional information about the Telluride region market conditions and how you can join my family and me in living the Telluride dream.

More about Robert Stenhammer:

Daughters Sammy (18), Mackenna (16), Robert and Wife Heidi.

Originally from Minnesota, Robert has enjoyed a 20+-year career in luxury resort, real estate, hospitality, and tourism. He has been a licensed real estate broker since 2009.

Robert began his resort management career in the ski resorts of Colorado, where he directly oversaw the management of over 2,600 vacation rental properties, 40 homeowner associations, retail, food and beverage, real estate, hotels and resort operations during his stints with Vail Resorts and Intrawest.

He lived in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for seven years, serving on the Board of Directors for the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce & VCB. He chaired the Accommodation Tax Committee for the Town of Hilton Head Island, got his brokerage license and was a regular hospitality, tourism, and real estate columnist and contributor for the Island Packet newspaper and Hilton Head Monthly magazine.

In his former duties as executive vice-president for Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, Robert Stenhammer was responsible for hotel and vacation rental resort lodging, Mountain Village retail operations, golf course operations, the Telluride Conference Center, Telluride Concierge Luxury Transport and the exclusive Telluride Ski and Golf private members club.

Daughter Sammy (18), Robert, Daughter Mackenna (16) and wife Heidi.

In his new job for Telski, Office of the CEO (Bill Jensen), Robert is charged with helping to make Telluride the #1 resort in the world by working in government affairs and on strategic partnerships and new initiatives for the resort, including housing, access, and sustainable development for a better future.

As a broker, Robert  leverages his intimate knowledge of the market and executive-level communication skills and service experience to exceed his clients’ real estate objectives.

Off-hours, Robert takes advantage of the active Telluride lifestyle His home is in Mountain Village, where he lives with his wife Heidi and daughters Samantha (18) and Mackenna (16).