La Plata County’s median home prices declined slightly in 2011, but sales numbers are continuing to inch upward, according the Durango Area Association of Realtors’ year-end report.
Countywide, home prices dropped almost 3 percent from $310,000 to $301,849 while units sold increased 14 percent from 630 to 718 as compared with 2010 numbers.
Demand for homes at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort saw the greatest increase, climbing 141 percent compared with 2010. The Realtors association recorded 29 home sales in 2011 compared with 12 the year before.
Sales of Bayfield rural homes also stood out with a 63 percent increase compared with 2010. A total of 83 homes sold in rural Bayfield last year. Meanwhile, sales of Bayfield in-town homes stayed relatively stable, hovering just above 30.
Almost across the board, the median sale price of homes and condos dipped in 2011. The decline in prices reflected a shift in the supply toward lower-priced homes, said Jarrod Nixon, a broker associate with Coldwell Banker and the president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors.
That’s been especially true for Durango Mountain Resort condos, said Cathy Craig, vice president and managing broker at Durango Mountain Realty. Condo prices at the mountain declined 24 percent compared with last year to $204,500. Craig said the real estate agency sold almost all of its inventory in the $300,000 to $500,000 price range in 2010, causing lower-priced properties such as those in the Cascade Village and Tamarron Resort developments to dominate the listings last year.
Durango in-town homes and Durango Mountain Resort homes bucked the trend of sliding prices, with increases of 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
In Durango, the rise reflects a slightly smaller inventory, which is driving up median home prices, Nixon said.
Durango’s numbers are an encouraging sign because the city always tends to outperform other parts of the county, Nixon said.
The commercial side of the market is starting to turn around, as well, though it typically lags behind the residential market, Nixon said. There were 21 units sold in 2011, a 91 percent increase compared with 2010.
Because of the seasonality of Durango’s real estate market, year-end real estate numbers are always more accurate than the association’s quarterly reports, Nixon said. He said the numbers indicate a positive trend, pointing to a 28 percent increase compared with 2009 in units sold countywide.
“Things are moving consistently, and I believe we’re going to continue to see increases,” Nixon said. “But I do think it will be moderate.”
