Median Home Price $1 million

Million Dollar Homes Flood Basalt Market

By Mitzi Rapkin, 5-22-06

That old theory of what goes up must go down is true in the Aspen area real estate market. No, you can’t buy a home in Aspen for the reduced price of a few hundred grand, the prices aren't going down, but the high price of housing which is always up in Aspen is going down (valley).

A report in today’s Aspen Times says that the average price for a home in Basalt (what used to be Aspen’s working class haven) is now above $1 million.

Real estate agent Wendy Lucas did an analysis for the Aspen Times and said, “the prices are getting higher and higher.”

She got her data by examining sales and listing prices of homes through the Aspen Board of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service.

The average price of the 27 homes that sold in and around Basalt through mid-May was $695,000. The median price of 19 homes currently under contract is $899,000. And to top it off, the median price for 19 homes currently listed for sale is $1,195,000.

There are still opportunities (not many) to buy a single family home for under $500,000 but if it goes on the market, you have to swoop on it like a starving vulture, it usually receives several offers the day it goes on the market according to Matt Harrington, co-owner of Harrington Real Estate.Currently, the least expensive one bedroom condominium listed on Wendy Lucas’ website is $377,000 for 703 square feet. For $305,000 an interested buyer can buy a mobile home in Basalt but they must fill out an application with the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority to make sure they don’t make too much money.

The prices in Basalt only accentuate the call of many for affordable housing. The inevitable push for those wanting a home is to go down, down, down valley to Glenwood Springs in Garfield County, and even that isn’t cheap or even very affordable.

Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt said, “Aspen has the billionaires, Basalt has the millionaires and we’ve got the working stiffs.”

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