March 2004 |
| Breckenridge
News Breckenridge is getting grayer every year. And it’s not just because the long time locals can see the top of the hill, many people are choosing to retire here. The fact that many ski areas have raised the age for senior discounts tells you there are more of them all the time. While the younger crowd has been getting all the attention with the X-games and such, ski areas haven’t forgotten those over 50. Breckenridge now offers “Prime Time”, a three-day seminar with experienced instructors tailored to 50+ skiers. It includes video analyses, NASTAR and social events. For more information go to: Snow.com. Also, the international ski club for over fifty’s, The Over The Hill Gang, now has 10,000 members. They meet Tuesdays at Breckenridge and weekly all around the state. More information on this wild group can be found at http://www.othgi.com . Finally, the 23 rd Senior Winter Games were held in Summit County last month, bringing hundreds of athletes in their 50’s to their 80’s together for some intense competition. Events included speed and figure skating, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, and biathlon. Some of the competitors have been at it for the whole 23 years. So if you want to retire while staying young this here’s your place. For the X-generation the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge ski and snowboard races will hold the finals at Breckenridge April 3 rd . The finals of the rail jam are that day too, so don’t miss it. More information at: http://www.mountaindewvc.com . It’s all part of the annual Spring Massive festival celebrating the best April skiing in the world at Breckenridge. More information on everything going on this summer is at: http://thealtitudenews.com/Schedule.html, as well as: http://www.bestoftherockies.com. |
| THE
NEWEST TOOL FOR SELLERS OF REAL ESTATE The first impression a buyer has of a home is usually when they decide if it makes the short list or not. Other factors may play into the final decision but from my experience, if a buyer is turned off at the front door there is no way to get them back. To make sure your home gives the best first impression consider hiring a “Home Staging” service. These folks are trained in making your home look its best so buyers will keep your home on their “yes” list. I had a home listed for many months, within a few weeks of home staging it went under contract. I was sold forever. If you are in the Denver area I recommend contacting Carolyn Brake at Colorado Home Staging, Inc. She even told me she would come to the mountains as a favor if I asked. Call her at: 303-766-1186 or email: Carolyn@centerstagehome.com . She has a multitude of other services including decorating, organizing and assistance with moving in to your new home. According to a study by the industry, staged homes sell quicker and closer to the asking price than non-staged homes. Stand out from the competition; I think you will find it money well spent. |
| WHY
I LIVE HERE… Did you know that the National Ski Areas Association has an environmental charter? The Sustainable Slopes outreach day to spread their message was held February 21 throughout the country. This year’s theme marked the second season of Keep Winter Cool, a joint effort by Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Ski Areas Association. Global warming is a bottom line issue for the $3 billion ski industry and its employees, protecting the winter climate is obviously crucial for more than 11.5 million U.S. skiers and snowboarders. Read more about the association and their environmental stance at; http://www.nsaa.org/ . The Summit Huts Association provides scholarships for the Summit School system, the Colorado public school system, and the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center to defray the cost of hut nights provided for experiential education programs held in the Summit Hut system. These scholarships provide funding for the venue for adventure, education, retreat and recreation in a pristine, high alpine environment for dozens of local and statewide students. The Summit Huts office is located at 524 Wellington Street in Breckenridge. For more information visit online at http://www.summithuts.org/ , call 970-453-8583 , or SummitHuts@Colorado.net |
| SCHOOL
NEWS… The Summit school board rejected a plan to build a new middle school near the high school, opting instead to make massive renovations to the existing middle school, build a new vocational/technical facility at the high school and make significant renovations to Summit High School and Frisco Elementary School. The board has proposed placing both a mill levy and a bond issue on the ballot in November. Kudos as our school board continues to look to the future. Currently under consideration by the school board is our new superintendent’s recommendation to the school board to cut back the mandatory physical education at the middle school in order to expand the academic class time. She is advocating replacing 2.4 PE teaching positions with literacy instructors. When the childhood obesity rate has doubled in the last ten years it seems like this is counter productive. I know that I feel much more attentive and creative when I have daily physical activity. Well over 150 people showed up to the school board meeting and the majority was there to voice their opposition to the superintendent’s viewpoint. The majority view was that physically active kids are more productive, happy kids. The final vote was postponed until a task force’s report on the middle school was finalized. The task force recommended cutting back from 43 minutes four days a week to 60 minutes twice a week. This is a compromise that seems to be getting support from all the parties involved. A final decision is still pending from the school board. The task force also recommended that the International Baccalaureate program be opened up to all interested students in the middle school, something the staff there has already voted in favor of. |
| SNOW
NEWS…IS GOOD NEWS The big news around here lately has been the addition of snowcat skiing to Keystone. With the addition of the 860 acres of open bowls above North Peak, Keystone has leapfrogged to be the largest ski resort in Summit County. For $65 on top of a lift ticket you get four hours of, hopefully, untracked powder with just a couple of dozen other fanatics. There are several bowls and lines to choose from that accommodate upper intermediate to experts. It’s a perfect way to get away from the weekend crowds or to make fresh tracks long after they gone on the lower mountain. If it sounds like you call; 970-496-4FUN for reservations. Like last year, a prolonged dry spell in January has weakened the snowpack and with 24 to 40 inches of new snow, the avalanche danger is now "considerable" in the backcountry. Twenty-nine avalanches were reported February 14 th in the northern mountains, 22 in the central mountains and 64 in the southern mountains. The 11th Annual Snowshoe Shuffle will take place on Vail Mountain on April 3, 2004. The Shuffle is a fundraiser for the Vail Valley Medical Center Foundation, and the Women's Cancer Coalition. All proceeds from the Snowshoe Shuffle benefit cancer education, prevention, and early detection programs in Eagle County and the surrounding area. Funds are used for educational materials, free or low-cost health screenings, wellness seminars and free detection exams for women. For more information call 970-476-2451. |
| TRAVEL
TIPS…YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST TIME! After spending six months surrounded by snow and stung by the wind-chill of a Rocky Mountain winter the allure of the tropics is undeniable. As we arrive at the airport in Denver the chill is still there on an unseasonably cold day in the flatlands. The air conditioning of the plane keeps our bones from thawing and we try to remember what it was like the last time we were really warm. Even transferring planes in LA fails to relax us; the artificial coolness in the terminal must feel good to the locals. Nearly eight hours on the plane and our muscles seem unusually stressed as if on the brink of shivering. The plane again is air conditioned for warm climate folks who live their lives chasing the coolness. We are beginning to feel a little worn, and then out the porthole we get our first glimpse of Haleakala, the volcano that formed the eastern half of Maui, so lush and green rising from the deep blue of the Pacific. It’s bigger than we ever imagined, climbing abruptly from the foam of the waves crashing on the rocks and suddenly piercing the clouds that are nowhere else in the sky except as a halo around the “house of the sun”. This is definitely not Kansas, or the snow covered peaks we left behind. We circle around between the two peaks that make up Maui and as we come in for our final approach we spot a whale so clear under the brilliant tropical water. Then as if to say “aloha” he pulls off a full breach, completely out of the water, finishing with a spectacular splash. My heart is racing and my wife is out of her seat with excitement. As our plane comes down on the tarmac the vast fields of sugar cane stretching to the slopes of Haleakala seem to dance the hula in further welcome. Stepping through door of the plane the heat and humidity hits us like a blast furnace and momentarily takes our breath away. Within a few seconds that warmth we have been seeking takes over and a sense of relaxation and tranquility is spreading through our bodies. As we quickly forget the stress we sought to leave behind we find our senses begin to grab our attention. First the smell of fresh flower leis hit our olfactory, and then the variety of colors and the beauty of the traditional Hawaiian greeting amaze us. We notice we can almost taste the sea as the salt air becomes apparent. Finally the noise from an unbelievable number of birds touches us with the song of the tropics. That is the first thing I miss when I get back home, waking up that first morning in my own bed and not being greeted by hundreds of birds celebrating the sunrise. Somehow the barking dogs and the neighbors’ cars starting is just not the same as a Maui beginning to the day. You never forget your first trip to Hawaii. It stays in your mind, your heart and captures your soul. You will always feel that connection for having lived the dream you have held for so long. To have experienced a place so unique and out of the ordinary of your daily existence means you’ll never regret the trip or wish you had spent the time and money otherwise. Contact me or go to http://www.BestOfTheHawaiianIslands.com if you need further tips on where to stay, eat or play. |
| INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITIES Tech stocks fell for the sixth time in seven trading sessions February 4th, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 52.07 points to 2014.14, led by the crash of Cisco Systems, which fell $2.33 to $24.08 . "It is striking that after the longest, strongest bull market in history, the average American built more wealth owning a home than investing in the stock market.” Denver Post, March 14, 2002. Sounds like investing in the stock market is pretty stressful, watching the daily ups and downs probably causes lots of ulcers and heart attacks. Americans today have the opportunity to live into their eighties in an active and healthy manner. In the next decade this could increase by twenty years. What could prevent someone from achieving this? Many say that stress will shorten your life faster than just about anything else. Where do you want to invest your savings, in a stressful stock portfolio or in a vacation home that will give you years of memories with your family and add years to your life? Let’s see, what would I rather do: wake up to the financial pages or to six inches of fresh powder; spend time watching the financial channel or my golf ball sailing through the mountain air? America's healthiest states in 2003: Minnesota New Hampshire Utah Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut Iowa Maine Colorado Hawaii -Rocky Mountain News, 11.18.03 Colorado remains first in its ranking as the least obese state in the nation -New York Times, 02.01.04 See you on the slopes . Contact me and we can discuss things. |
MARKET
CONDITIONS REPORT Corporate spending grew by a nearly 7% annual rate in the fourth quarter and consumer spending grew at a 2.6% annual rate. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the U.S. grew at an annual rate of 4% in the fourth quarter. With the economy climbing back interest in mountain property is climbing too. Real estate sales, by county, in 2003 and 2002: ....................... 2003 ... .…….….. 2002 Eagle ........$1.47 billion…..…$1.5 billion Grand ...….$141.3 million …..$95.3 million Pitkin .........$1 billion .......…...$965 million Routt ......…$337 million ..…..$608 million Summit ...... $735 million .…..$583 million Summit, Pitkin, Eagle and Grand counties receive nearly 70% of Colorado's skier visits and about 60% of all residences are second or third homes, and the second homeownership trend will continue according to a study released by the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments. The study indicates the growth rate of second-home purchases will increase over the current rate of 5%, with the most likely purchasers between the ages of 55 and 64. Top symbols of wealth: Second or vacation home ..................45% Vacations twice or more a year ...........36% - USA Today, 02.12.03. As the inventory shrinks prices will start to rise. Now is the time to buy. We still have many properties that have been on the market for a long time-this means motivated sellers, not for much longer though. Interest rates are still low, under 6% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Don’t wait ‘till prices start going up again, Contact Me Today! |