A strong August has pulled us even with last year for dollar volume with the average transaction amount improving 7.7%. We have seen a very recent uptick in the upper end of the market but the market drivers remain homes and condos in Town under $3m and condos in the Mountain Village under $2m as buyers remain focused on the convenience and stability of Town and the values that exist in the flush MV condo market. Historically in recessions, Telluride has always been “last in, first out” and “as the stock market goes, so goes Telluride”. But during the economic crisis and its aftermath, the truth is Telluride has been “all in at the same time with the rest of the country, but now possibly last out...?” At present, Telluride, as well as Aspen, Jackson and Vail, are lagging behind other high profile luxury markets. The Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the West Coast are already reaching new heights. Those areas are close to huge urban feeder markets and properties nearby serve as both weekend retreats and second homes. Whereas Telluride is a vacation, second home resort market, not the easiest for weekends...and in this post-recession world, people are more conservative and there appears to be a greater desire to stay closer to home. The most recent nine months (Oct. 1, 2012 - Jun. 30, 2013) have experienced the greatest fluctuation in Telluride real estate dollar sales from peak Q4 2012 to valley in the 1st Half 2013 in the almost five years since the crisis hit. Reason? The carry-over effect of the unprecedented strength of Dec. 2012 sales motivated by tax and capital gains changes for 2013 may be largely responsible for stealing the wind out of 1st Half 2013. It is worth noting that properties priced well, sell well. Some sellers are expecting higher prices because of the positive national real estate trends but buyers don't see the comparable sales to support the price increases the sellers expect. The next few months will be very interesting. The market looks poised for another run like last year. Telluride Properties continues to gain market share and our average transaction dollar amount is roughly 20% higher than the market average. Our elite 15 brokers is 9% of the brokerage community yet we garner 25% of the market activity, a direct result of our efforts to be the best versus the biggest. This trend will continue due to our focus on progressive industry technology capturing buyers early in their search process ahead of other firms and our philosophy of working with sellers who are willing to price their property to market. Below are a few interesting links to consider: 1- Season's Pass info 2- Telluride/Montrose Winter Air Service 3- That's A Wrap- Telluride Film Festival Article with highlights 4- Here is a link to a recent Telluride Watch article regarding Ski Area "improvements" and reciprocity at Solitude in Utah. This article was written by Brian O'Neill, Director.