Summit County’s luxury real estate market remains strong headed into 2022

Summit County’s luxury real estate market remains strong headed into 2022

by Luxury Real Estate

Jan Leopold, broker for Re/Max Properties of the Summit, helped sell this home, pictured in July. The home is on Slalom Drive in Breckenridge, and according to the Summit County Assessor’s Office, its sale price was $2.5 million.
Jonathan Huffman/Courtesy photo

The reason why so many people are interested in purchasing a second home in Summit County isn’t a mystery. The area boasts plenty of recreational opportunities year-round, the scenery is impeccable, and it’s the first big stop along the westbound Interstate 70 mountain corridor, boasting four ski resorts.

These perks combined with the pandemic’s boost in remote working has created a hot real estate market in Summit County all year long — and especially so for the luxury market.

Jan Leopold, broker for Re/Max Properties of the Summit, said that in 2020, there was about twice as much inventory on the market than there is today, and in 2019, there was nearly 4.5 times as much as there is today. The low amount of inventory creates a strong seller’s market, and Leopold said many of these buyers are making cash offers.

According to data from the Summit Association of Realtors, Leopold said there were about 110 units on the market as of mid-November, and 63 of those were considered to be luxury or priced at $1 million or more. This means most of the inventory that is available is considered luxury.

In total, sales for luxury units were the strongest in the third quarter of 2021, according to Land Title Guarantee Co.’s monthly reports. The third quarter of the year raked in nearly $500 million in gross volume for sales priced at $1 million or more. Second quarter was close behind with about $420 million in gross sales. First quarter lagged behind at just more than $240 million.

Land Title’s reports show that Breckenridge consistently has the highest volume in transactions. However, Marc Warshawsky, Realtor for nationwide real estate firm Compass, said Silverthorne is usually a close second, followed by Frisco. Warshawsky said he believes Silverthorne’s strong market is due not only to the town’s growth, but also its prime location in the county.

“It’s very desirable from a lot of perspectives,” Warshawsky said. “Silverthorne has a lot of great views, and Silverthorne is right off of (Interstate) 70. It is the closest, easiest access to Denver, to the airport. It’s the first town you arrive to, and then if you’re not living in Breckenridge, Silverthorne is actually the most conveniently located to everything else.”

So far this year, Warshawsky’s biggest sale was a $2.8 million home with five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms in the Highlands at Breckenridge. He said most of his buyers are looking for homes in the $1 million to $3 million range and that most are not moving to the county full time but are looking for a vacation home. Similar to Leopold, most of Warshawsky’s buyers are coming from Texas, Illinois and Florida.

Leopold said about half her business is in luxury real estate. Her highest sale so far this year was a $2.7 million home with four bedrooms and 3 1/3 bathrooms in Breckenridge. She’s been selling in the county’s real estate market for over 20 years and said she’s seeing a change in the kinds of homes most desired as of late.

“Big is back. … We used to have the bigger homes before the Great Recession, and then people started looking toward smaller homes and building smaller homes,” Leopold said. “So big is back with the open floor plans designed for multigenerational gatherings, a compound that their extended family can come to for vacation.”

Like the more affordable residential real estate market, buyers might have to exercise patience if they are looking for a specific piece of property. Not only is there not as much inventory on the market, but according to the Summit Association of Realtors, the average number of days a unit was on the market in Breckenridge in October was 31, which is down 72{d4d1dfc03659490934346f23c59135b993ced5bc8cc26281e129c43fe68630c9} compared to the same month last year. The association reported last year that the average number of days a unit was on the market until it sold was 112.

5 Tips for Buying a First Investment Property

5 Tips for Buying a First Investment Property

by Investment Property

NEW YORK, Dec. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Real estate investing can be a smart financial move to diversify a financial portfolio. But buying a first investment property can be challenging, and there are many financial implications to consider beyond just how much the property will cost. That’s where these five tips for buying a first investment property come in to help make the process seamless.

1. Keep Your Debt Manageable

It’s normal to take on debt when purchasing a first investment property, but new investors will want to make sure their existing debt is under control before making the commitment. Having too much outstanding debt can make it harder to qualify for a mortgage, and you don’t want to take on loans that you’ll have trouble repaying.

That means looking at all current debts, including car loans, student loans, credit cards, etc., and making an appropriate debt repayment plan if needed. If an investor is holding a lot of high-interest consumer debt, it may make sense to delay purchasing an investment property until the debt is in a more manageable place.

2. Build a Rental Emergency Fund

Many investors are savvy enough to know they’ll need to make a down payment and cover closing costs and other real estate fees. But something can go haywire and require a repair at the rental, just like something can go wrong at someone’s primary residence. That means establishing a new emergency fund is key.

Many real estate investors recommend a rental property emergency fund that covers three to six months’ worth of expenses, including the mortgage payment, taxes, etc. That way, the account can cover cash flow if the place isn’t rented for a few months.

3. Think Heavily About Location

When it comes to real estate, location is king. Investors looking for a first property may be inclined to look at more “up and coming” areas, which is a great strategy for getting a place cheap.

It’s worth spending time to find a great location as it can determine everything from how the property is run (Airbnb, long-term rental for college students, etc.) to what the investor can expect to sell for down the line.

4. Get Insurance in Check

There are several kinds of insurances someone should consider when they purchase a rental property. Of course, homeowner’s insurance tops the list as it’s required by many mortgage lenders. But other kinds of insurance like landlord insurance and life insurance are worth looking at too.

A whole life insurance policy can provide a death benefit payout, which could help cover the remaining mortgage if the policyholder passes away before it’s paid off, and this type of policy can accumulate an accessible cash value amount. And at a time when a lot of money may be flowing out, extra savings are never a bad thing.

5. Decide if Landlording Is on the Agenda

Real estate investors have options when it comes to buying a first investment property. They can manage the rental property themselves as the landlord or pay a property management company to do it.

It’s worth digging into what being a landlord entails and the legal responsibilities associated with doing so. The cost of hiring a property management company could dig into profits, but the benefit of not having to worry about day-to-day management may end up being priceless.

The Bottom Line

Buying a first investment property is an exciting time. And when done properly, it can prove to be a fruitful financial move. Tips like paying off debt, building a rental emergency fund, finding the right location, getting insurance in check, and making a property management decision can help put any new investor on the right track.

***

Contact: carolina.darbellesv@iquanti.com

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

State Fire Marshal issues tips for fire safety during holiday season

State Fire Marshal issues tips for fire safety during holiday season

by Home Decoration

The National Fire Protection Association reports that more than two of every five home decoration fires occur due to decorations being placed too close to a heat source. More than one-third of home decoration fires are started by candles.

The NFPA also reports that U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 780 home structure fires per year that began with decorations between 2013-2017.

More than half of home decoration fires in December are started by candles. Candle fires peak in December followed closely by January. The top three days for home candle fires are Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve. Before you head to bed or out for the evening, make sure to extinguish all lit candles, the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal wrote in a press release.

“The holidays are here and that means many will be decorating their homes. Hanging up decorations is fun, but keep in mind, holiday decorations can increase your risk for a home fire,” Illinois State Fire Marshal Matt Perez said in a statement. “It’s important to follow and practice fire safety measures so that you and your family can enjoy a festive and fire-safe holiday season.”

This year, OSFM will once again be hosting the Keep the Wreath Red Campaign at offices in Springfield and Chicago, along with at the Quinn Fire Academy in Chicago and the Illinois Fire Service Institute in Champaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of fire safety during the holiday season (Dec. 1 through Jan. 2). Unfortunately, OSFM wrote, last year 17 lives were lost in fire-related incidents during the holiday season in Illinois.

The “Keep the Wreath Red” campaign began in 1954 in Naperville to raise awareness about holiday fire safety. Wreaths will be placed and lit with red bulbs outside of the OSFM offices in Springfield and at the Thompson Center in Chicago. White light bulbs will replace the red bulbs when a fire-related death is reported in the state.


“The goal of the campaign is to strive for zero fire-related deaths during the holiday season,” Perez said.

With that in mind, here are some tips to stay fire safe when celebrating the holiday season:

• Be careful with holiday decorations. Make sure decorations are either flame retardant or flame resistant. 
• Keep lit candles at least 12 inches away from decorations or anything that can catch fire. 
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
• Extinguish all lit candles before going to bed or leaving the house.
• Check to make sure your lights are rated for indoor or outdoor use or both. 
• Replace any light strands that have worn or broken cords. Make sure to read the recommendation for the number of light strings you can string together. 
• Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
• If you have a real Christmas tree, make sure to check water levels daily! It is not unusual for a tree to drink two gallons of water the first day it is in the stand. 
• Keep real Christmas trees away from a heat source. It can dry out the tree quickly. 

Make sure also to clean your oven after Thanksgiving before preparing the next holiday meal. In case of an oven fire, turn off the oven and keep the door closed until it is cool. Clean cooktops often as left-over grease can catch fire. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, but Christmas and Christmas Eve follow closely behind, OSFM wrote.

If you are planning to host family and friends during the holidays, make sure they are aware of your fire escape plan. Show them where all the exits are in your home and make sure they are aware of a meeting spot location in case of fire. Illinois residents should continue following the COVID-19 prevention protocols from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Master Gardener: Helpful garden tips for December | Home and Garden

Master Gardener: Helpful garden tips for December | Home and Garden

by Home And Garden

I’ve been thinking about plants of the late Pleistocene era, and the animals that ate them, described in a pictorial essay by David Bryant in the fall 2021 issue of Flora, the California Native Plant Society’s quarterly magazine. Among them are Joshua Trees, California lilac, manzanita, grasses, sedge, rush, Pinyon pine, juniper, and sycamore, to name a few. I’ve also been thinking about one of the biggest trends in gardening this year: “regenerative landscaping,” which is broadly defined as future-looking, considering all the creatures of the garden, recognizing that more than just humans use the space. As gardeners out in it, we know this mixed-use firsthand, but it can be valuable to take some time occasionally, such as in the slower winter months, to reflect, observe, appreciate, and plan. This doesn’t mean allowing total destruction by pest insects and herbivores. It means learning what is a tolerable threshold, using modern methods of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and letting go of perfection.

Must we have an attitude of battle, or can we learn to share the garden, even making friends and allies with creatures beyond the hummingbird and butterfly? Can I learn to appreciate the Western ground squirrel?

While doing all this pondering, there are a few tasks we can do in December:

PLANTING:  Finish planting most species by mid-month. Bare-root planting begins in December and can extend through winter. Plants that are frost sensitive should not be planted until spring. Even for frost-hardy species, use a layer of mulch to protect plant crowns and roots from freezing. Finish planting bulbs for spring color. In the edible garden, in addition to perennial herbs, you can still transplant seedlings of most cool-season vegetables. Also plant bulb onions, asparagus, and rhubarb. These last two are perennials, so you won’t be harvesting them until well into next year. You can also plant lettuce and related salad green seeds in cold frames.

MAINTAINING: Watch for frost warnings and protect your sensitive plants. Plants will survive better if kept moist but not overwatered. Remove old fruits, called “mummies” left on fruit trees. Water citrus trees well this month if the rains aren’t steady to have a good crop next year. Also, deep water your other trees during a dry spell that lasts more than two weeks, even if they are dormant.

You can begin to prune your winter deciduous trees, shrubs, and fruit vines, or wait until January, especially if plants aren’t fully dormant and safety isn’t an issue. Don’t prune if frost is expected within the week. Force your roses into dormancy by removing leaves that haven’t fallen Mow cool weather lawns, which should be actively growing now, at three inches. This also applies to over-seeded lawns.

If you had major problems with aphids, mites, scale or whitefly on your fruit trees or roses, spray with dormant oil spray after the leaves have fallen to kill overwintering adults. Handpick slugs and snails or set out iron phosphate as a bait. You must replace iron phosphate after a rain, but it is not toxic to people, pets, and beneficial insects and won’t harm soil microorganisms either. In late December, spray early blooming peach and nectarine trees with copper fungicide to control peach leaf curl.

See any white moths around your winter veggies?  The moth is looking for good spots to lay her eggs, which will hatch into the cabbage looper and eat holes in the leaves, sometimes decimating the crop. You can’t do much about the moth, but seeing the moth is a signal to start looking under the leaves for the next several days to snag the small, green caterpillars before they do much damage. Large plants can survive some damage, but seedlings can be devoured. Chemical control is BT (Bacillus Thuringieis). Be sure to spray plant leaves thoroughly on the tops and bottoms.

Remember many caterpillars, especially on ornamental plants, do little harm and turn into desirable moths and butterflies. And all Lepidoptera are food for birds, lizards, toads, and other creatures in the food chain. Use common sense and a little tolerance for damage to encourage a healthy garden full of interesting life, even in the urban neighborhood.

Finally, keep up with cool season weeds so it doesn’t become a tiresome and overwhelming job later. Common household white vinegar or commercially formulated non-systemic organic herbicide can be kept in a labeled spray bottle in the garden to zap weeds on sunny days. Or lightly hoe them out. You can also try piling on more mulch and shading them out, which works well in these weak-sun days.

CONSERVING: Leave a pile of branches from trees and shrubs for birds to shelter in.

And don’t forget the water. Small creeks as part of a water garden design, mister-style sprinklers, or a bird bath with fresh water are all popular with our wild bird friends. When getting ready to prune trees, examine the high branches of large trees for bird nests and avoid pruning if hawks or other birds are nesting.

If you haven’t already done so, cut the flowers off tropical and other non-native, orange-flowered milkweed varieties. The Monarchs that stick around because of a ready food source will not survive the cold winter; they need to migrate south. You may want to consider replacing it with a native milkweed. On the other hand, we have so many hummingbirds that do not migrate, it is okay to continue to provide them with hummingbird feeder food through the winter.  

I hope you have wonderful winter holidays, full of beneficial garden companions and delightful surprises.

Call us: Master Gardeners in Tulare County: (559) 684-3325, Tues & Thurs, 9:30-11:30

Instragram at: @mgtularekings

House Hunting in Greece: Seaside Splendor on Tinos Isle for .8 Million

House Hunting in Greece: Seaside Splendor on Tinos Isle for $1.8 Million

by Real Estate News

This five-bedroom property sits on a hillside in Ktikados, a village near the southern coast of the Greek island of Tinos, in the Aegean Sea. Built in 2006 of local stone, the property has a main house with two bedrooms, plus two small guesthouses separated by a garden with olive and fruit trees, on just under half an acre.

Tinos, about 75 square miles in size, is bigger but much quieter than neighboring Mykonos, the popular tourist destination known for its party atmosphere, said George Kasimis, the head of Aegean sales at Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, which has the listing.

“Tinos is one of my favorite islands,” he said. “The whole island has a sophistication that’s developed over the years around culture and religion.”

Most homes on the island are owned by Greeks, and the architecture tends to reflect its long tradition of stone craftsmanship, he said.

This home’s main entrance opens into a spacious foyer with double-height ceilings. An archway to the right frames the dining area, which has a lounging nook at one end. The living room is a few steps down to the left. The walls, all exposed stone, are lined with arched windows. The floors are ceramic tile.

A large contemporary kitchen with sleek gray cabinetry is off the dining room. An adjoining prep kitchen has a pantry and a bedroom for staff above.

A wide wooden staircase in the foyer leads to an open mezzanine, currently set up as an office. The two upper-level bedrooms each have an en suite bath, a large private balcony and sea views to the south.

A small corridor next to the kitchen leads to a stone grotto covering a portion of the outdoor swimming pool. An opening in the grotto allows access to the rest of the pool, which is surrounded by stone arcades that provide shade from the sun. The pool area has a shower, a built-in barbecue and a traditional stone oven.

Behind the main house is a smaller two-story building with a sitting room, kitchenette, bedroom and bath on the ground floor, and a second bedroom and bath above. The garden area is behind this house, and at the far end is a barbecue/dining area and the second guesthouse, this one with a single bedroom and bath.

The property has a one-car garage and three outdoor parking spaces.

The village of Ktikados has two authentic Greek taverns and some small markets, Mr. Kasimis said. Other necessities can be found in the town of Tinos, about a 15-minute drive. Mykonos Airport, the closest international airport, is accessible via a ferry ride from Tinos that takes 20 to 30 minutes.

Tinos island, with fewer than 10,000 residents, is a pilgrimage site for the religious faithful visiting the Holy Church of Panagia Evangelistria, a 19th-century Greek Orthodox Church built in honor of the Virgin Mary. It was one of the first large structures built by the government after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire.

“People crawl from the port to the church, if they are very religious, and there they light a candle as high as their height,” Mr. Kasimis said. “It’s a very important site for Tinos.”

After 10 years of deep recession and staggering debt, Greece is now rapidly recovering, with both the economy and real estate market showing signs of renewed strength.

“All the macroeconomic figures are getting better and better,” said Antonis Markopoulos, co-founder and chief executive of Prosperty, a real estate start-up that uses a digital platform designed to make transactions faster and more transparent. “And after not spending during the pandemic lockdown, people are seeking to put their money into a safe investment like real estate.”

Mr. Kasimis said 2021 was the best year yet for Greece Sotheby’s, which has been operating since 2016. “We made four or five times more sales in 2020 than 2019, and this year is even better,” he said. “People are buying like there’s no tomorrow.”

The pandemic lockdown created positive momentum in the market, as people began looking to real estate as a safer investment than currencies or commodities, agents said. Mr. Markopoulos said that apartments in the center of Athens, Greece’s capital and financial center, are in particularly high demand among local buyers, as well as from international investors.

“There is massive demand for short-term rentals, so the yield investors can get is extremely high,” he said.

Depending on the neighborhood, apartment prices in the city center range from 1,500 to 3,500 euros a square meter ($158 to $368 a square foot), he said.

The suburbs to the south of the capital are also drawing considerable interest from international buyers, in part because of a massive resort development planned for the site of the former Ellinikon International Airport, he said.

The strengthening demand for housing is reflected in rising prices. As of the third quarter of this year, apartment prices countrywide were up 7.9 percent over last year, according to data from the Bank of Greece. In Athens, prices were up 9.8 percent.

Wealthy Greeks who have lately prospered from the shipping industry are helping to move the high end of the market, said Yannis Ploumis, the general manager of Ploumis Sotiropoulos Real Estate, an affiliate of Christie’s International. Sales have been strong on the islands of Mykonos and Porto Heli, where his agency sold a $27 million estate last month, among the highest prices ever recorded there.

On Tinos, which also has a large Catholic community, “the strong religious aspect has prevented the island from becoming a party island,” Mr. Kasimis said. While sellers are mainly Greek, buyers these days are largely foreign, and the island is becoming “a quiet suburb of Mykonos,” he said.

The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel advisory warning against travel to Greece because of a recent surge in Covid levels. Travelers to Greece must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test upon arrival. Proof of vaccination is also required for entry to most businesses and public services.

Greece has long been popular with foreign buyers, most of whom come from within the European Union, agents said.

But Mr. Ploumis said his agency is also working with buyers from the Middle East, Turkey, Britain and the United States.

There are no restrictions on foreign buyers in Greece, aside from certain border areas where government approval is required, Mr. Ploumis said.

Residency permits are available to buyers from outside the European Union through the government’s Golden Visa program, which requires an investment of at least 250,000 euros ($283,000) in a property. The permit may be renewed every five years for as long as the buyers own the property. Permits are also available to foreigners who make a minimum 400,000 euro ($452,000) financial investment in Greece.

So far this year, the government has issued more than 9,300 residence permits, up from 8,575 last year, with most of those going to investors from China, Turkey and Russia, according to Enterprise Greece, the country’s official trade promotion agency.

Buyers should always hire a lawyer to perform proper due diligence, Mr. Ploumis said.

Greek; euro (1 euro = $1.13)

Buyers pay a transfer tax of 3 percent of the purchase price. Legal fees are around 1 percent, and notary fees are about 0.25 percent, Mr. Ploumis said.

The agent’s commission is split between buyer and seller, with each typically paying 2 percent of the sale price, he said.

The annual property taxes on this home are less than $1,000, Mr. Kasimis said.

George Kasimis, Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, 011-30-6973-555-350; sothebysrealty.gr

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Miami Luxury Broker To Sell Metaverse Mansions

Miami Luxury Broker To Sell Metaverse Mansions

by Luxury Real Estate
Another Miami luxury broker journeys into the metaverse for sales

Prestige Realty Group’s Tony Rodriguez-Tellaheche

UPDATED, Dec. 7, 8:10 p.m.: As seasoned real estate and stock experts warn investing in metaverse assets is a fad, another luxury broker is jumping into the virtual mansion sales business.

Tony Rodriguez-Tellaheche, owner of Miami-based Prestige Realty Group, told The Real Deal he’s going to handle some listings for a start-up cryptocurrency company that wants to sell 8,888 digital luxury homes in the metaverse.

Rodriguez-Tellaheche is partnering with Vancouver-based Keys Token, which launched its digital coin last month, trading at an opening price of roughly 0.002 cents. The token’s price peaked at roughly 30 cents and has since tumbled to 10 cents, according to several cryptocurrency trading websites such as Coin Market Cap and Coin Gecko. Keys Token has also self-reported a market cap of $109.6 million, the Coin Gecko listing states.

That’s roughly the same dollar amount for virtual land sold on metaverse platforms The Sandbox, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels, and Somnium Space during the last week of November, including $450,000 worth of cryptocurrency a buyer dropped on a virtual plot next door to an exact digital replica of rapper Snoop Dogg’s California mansion, according to media reports.

Rodriguez-Tellaheche joins Oren and Tal Alexander with Douglas Elliman, who operate in Miami, as well as in New York, as the first residential real estate brokers looking to cash in on big ticket metaverse listings. The Alexanders formed a partnership with Republic Realm, a metaverse developer that recently threw down $4.3 million on virtual real estate, the largest transaction in the digital space to date.

Despite Keys Token’s shaky start on the coin trading exchanges, Rodriguez-Tellaheche said once the platform gets off the ground, significant demand will arise for the company’s digital currency and virtual mansions.

“When the CEO approached me about being one of the exclusive brokers, I was all in on it,” Rodriguez-Tellaheche said. “I am already getting tons of messages from people who want to be first in line to buy one of these meta mansions.”

Of course, the mansions can only be purchased by people who own Keys Tokens. The firm has produced 1 billion coins that will increase in value when investors use Keys Tokens to conduct deals in the metaverse and in real life, according to a press release. The company plans on charging a 3 percent fee on every Keys Token transaction.

Rodriguez-Tellaheche said he doesn’t have an inventory list yet, but each buyer will be able to create and build a mansion based on his or her lifestyle and tastes. “The mansions are the first phase,” he said. “Once those are sold out, they will create other collections [of virtual properties].”

Still, some experts are not sold on the concept of metaverse real estate. Whether it’s the start of another tech bubble like the dot.com boom of the early 2000s, or the launching of a whole new institutional investor-grade asset class remains to be seen, they say.

Fane Lozman, a Palm Beach County-based real estate investor and day trader who twice won U.S. Supreme Court cases against the city of Riviera Beach, told TRD that demand for virtual homes in the metaverse is likely capped by the number of Gen Z’ers and millennials who have successfully traded cryptocurrencies into multimillion-dollar fortunes.

“This is something for the under-30 crowd of online guys making millions of dollars in crypto,” Lozman said. “Getting a metaverse mansion adds to them being online legends that they can’t be in real life. A lay person may not understand why they will pay $750,000 for an NFT [non-fungible token], but for these guys, it gives them credibility.”

If nothing else, Rodriguez-Tellaheche’s foray into the metaverse is a good marketing tool, Lozman added. “He can say, ‘I’m the guy who can sell you a mansion in real life or in the metaverse.’”