The new year is a great time for Aspen business owners like Karin Darley, whose French Alpine Bistro sits in the heart of Colorado's affluent resort town.
“The most lavish ski parties in the world are held here,” Darley says of the town where she has lived for 13 years. “People hire ski instructors for over $1,000 a day just to get them safely to and from their parties on the mountain.” They also buy all the latest luxury ski gear, she says, not to wear on the slopes but to show off at get-togethers.
Brittany Rockhill, a local real estate agent with Douglas Elliman, describes Aspen as a “curated snow globe” with designer boutiques, historic architecture, and “mountain views at all times,” with few things taller than 28 feet. Aspen's 7,000 full-time residents are accustomed to the roughly 1.4 million tourists that descend on their picturesque town during ski season, many of them ultra-wealthy Americans who find solace in this gilded frontier amid the vast Colorado wilderness.
A-list movie and pop stars, who attract the attention of the paparazzi, usually rent for only a week or two, but big-name CEOs who are in town seasonally often fly under their radar, Mr. Rockhill said. Local appraiser and broker Randy Gold of the Aspen Appraisal Group calculates that Aspen is home to more than 100 millionaire homeowners, many of them repeat buyers, including the owner of a Tampa-based network of car dealerships, who added a seven-bedroom, 21,000-square-foot mansion to his portfolio last May for $76 million.
Even upscale Aspen hasn't been immune to the broader real estate slowdown. Data from Aspen and Glenwood Real Estate Information Services shows 187 homes sold there last year, down from 404 in 2021. The median sales price in the final three months of the year was down 15% compared to the same period in 2022. Still, total sales last year exceeded $2 billion, with the average price just under $10 million.
However, high-value sales are still on the rise, with 2023 expected to see more sales over $60 million than in previous years.
Rockhill said that while there is typically one sale a year, there were five last year for properties between $60 million and $76 million. “These properties stood out with their ski-in/ski-out access and size, which is rare in Aspen,” he added.
It's now much harder to build a big, luxurious home in Aspen. Pitkin County's latest building cap, introduced in November, lowered the maximum size of a new home from 15,000 square feet to 9,250 square feet as a measure to reduce carbon emissions. The cap is expected to be lowered again this year to 8,750 square feet, a continuation of decades of downzoning to limit the environmental impact of the town of Aspen's growth. “If you owned land and thought you were going to build a 15,000-square-foot home there one day, you no longer have that opportunity,” Rockhill said. “A lot of owners who are leaving town miss out on what's happening while they're gone.”
The guiding principle behind the various changes to land-use rules, as expressed by the Pitkin County Advisory Committee, is that “as the house gets bigger, things should get more challenging. The responsibility that the house has to take on in reducing its burden and giving back to the community should increase.” Sotheby's agent Tim Estin says that for property owners, “there's a growing sense that land-use rules are becoming more restrictive.”
Those wanting to build a larger home can even build two homes on one lot, exceeding the 9,250-square-foot limit combined, Estin says. “If the lot is large enough and the land use codes allow it,” he adds. “In the historic West End, a 12,000-square-foot lot would allow you to build two linked homes or two detached single-family homes. And in West Aspen's Cemetery Lane neighborhood, where lot sizes are typically larger, a typical 15,000-square-foot lot could allow you to build a single-family home with two detached homes that share a common wall or garage wall,” he suggests.
No home in Aspen has ever sold for more than $100 million. A 10-bedroom home near the ski gondola was listed for $100 million last year, but it sold for $65 million, far less than the $100 million it listed for. Still, it's the most expensive property in downtown Aspen. But the most expensive property in town is currently on the market: a single lot with a main house, guest house and caretaker's house, listed for $105 million. The combined living space is about 17,000 square feet.
“This could be the first $100 million sale,” says Stephanie Kroll of Compass Aspen Real Estate. “Most buyers would agree that the ideal Aspen home is a well-designed, renovated single-family property that's close to town, has a great layout, privacy and great views. Several homes on Red Mountain are good examples and will sell for at least $10 million,” she says.
Of course, capping home size might stop billionaires from snapping up Aspen's modern mansions, which would be good news for residents. Although the town has an affordable housing program for local workers, “there's very little free-market housing you can buy with the wages you earn working in town. Subsidized single-family homes are [house] “A new build in Aspen can still cost more than $1 million,” said Roger Marolt, an accountant and local newspaper columnist who worries the town is losing its soul as the super-rich move in. “Aspen is already home to billionaires,” he said.
“The city is divided into two very distinct groups: millionaires and billionaires and working people who live in government-subsidized housing,” he says. Some people who have lived in subsidized housing since the 1970s and '80s are “cashing in.” “The super-rich are buying up old houses and restoring them as architectural masterpieces, but most are for show rather than for living in.”
Meanwhile, Marolt said, doctors and lawyers can no longer afford to buy homes in Aspen. “It's a new dilemma: how do we house professionals in the workforce?” Marolt also laments the closure of some of Aspen's local bars and restaurants, including Red Onion, Jimmy's and, due out late next year, Mi Chora. “There's really very little left to close.”
Restaurateur Darley said his is the only independently owned restaurant left downtown because many of the restaurants are now owned by large investment groups. “Some restaurants have been offered offers they can't refuse, while others can't afford the commercial rent,” Darley said.
Neighboring Snowmass has traditionally been a popular choice for homebuyers looking for a better deal. With modern housing and “family-friendly arcades and bowling alleys,” Snowmass stands out from Aspen's Michelin-star restaurants and museums. “But luxury apartments are about half the price of Aspen, and the new hub village has created interest,” Estin says. Others who work in Aspen commute an hour or more from towns like Rifle and Carbondale.
But for people like Wendy Kunkle, president and owner of Kemo Save, an upscale Western-style clothing store in Aspen, living in the suburbs is a lifestyle choice. Her home, in the small residential community of Missouri Heights, 28 miles northeast of Aspen, sits on eight acres and has views of Mount Sopris. “I bought it in 2018, before the real estate boom, for $1.8 million. It's probably worth about $3 million now, but I have no plans to sell. I love the views, the wildlife in the yard, and having space for my dogs and kids,” Kunkle says.
Meanwhile, Darley recently bought her first home in downtown Aspen: an 850-square-foot, one-bedroom condo for $3.2 million. “It needs some renovations, but it's in a great location at the base of Aspen Mountain,” Darley says. “Some people will say it's too expensive, but Aspen has always been considered too expensive, and prices continue to go up.”
At least it's convenient for work: “This is our busiest time of year, and champagne is flowing at lunchtime,” Darley says. “Champagne showers are popular in Aspen among people who can afford to just splash around, but at my bistro we prefer a more elegant approach and actually drink it.”
At a glance
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The average sales price of a single-family home in Aspen in November was $9.15 million, or $1,696 per square foot. The average price in downtown Aspen was $14.8 million.
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According to the Estin Report, total home sales in Aspen and Snowmass Village were down 20% last month compared to December 2022. Listings remain at an all-time low.
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Buyers in the city of Aspen pay a real estate transfer tax (LET) of about 1.5 percent, most of which goes into the affordable housing fund. Some areas, including parts of Red Mountain, are exempt. Snowmass Village's transfer tax is 1 percent.
On the market
House, S Willow Court, $19.7 million
This 5 bedroom ski-in/ski-out property is located in Tyhack on Buttermilk Mountain. Just a short drive from downtown Aspen, this property has over 7,000 square feet of living space and was renovated 2 years ago. This property is available for purchase through Knight Frank.
Penthouse, E. Cooper Avenue, $65 million
Three-story penthouse in downtown Aspen with stunning views of Aspen Mountain. With more than 4,900 square feet of living space, the four-bedroom property has a private elevator and three outdoor decks, including a rooftop terrace with a hot tub. Via Compass.
Residential, Ute Avenue, $70 million
Seven-bedroom home in downtown Aspen. With over 16,700 square feet of interior space, this home couldn't be built today due to size restrictions. The property also features three clay tennis courts, a movie room, bowling alley and an indoor pool. Via Douglas Elliman.
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