Summit County is not experiencing the over abundance in inventory and low sales that the news media is portraying in other parts of the country.  In fact, we currently have $3 million  dollars in pending sales and currently  have inventory levels of 4-5% for sale.    This is normal in comparison to last year at this time.

Summer is just around the corner and that is our busy season here, so if you are thinking of buying, now is a good time. Mortgage rates are at 6% for a fixed 30 year loan. Search the MLS for free.  If you would like help on your property search, please contact Leah Baxter at leah@leahbaxter.com or 970-389-6367 direct.

In the quaint mountain town of Frisco, Colorado spring has finally arrived!!!! Frisco is in the center of Summit County and is a wonderful small town with world class restaurants.  The snow if finally melting and I’m sure many of the locals as well as myself are thrilled.  Even though it has been an epic season for skiing and riding and other snow sports, we are definitely ready for biking, hiking, camping, fishing, boating, etc.

On May 17th, the town of Frisco will host the annual town clean up day followed by a BBQ at Walter Byron park.  The Marina Season Opener is scheduled for May 24th at the Frisco Bay.

Frisco is located 1 hr/minutes from the west side of Denver.  It is convenient to Copper Mtn. (5 minutes), Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, and 25 minutes to Vail.  It is a charming town with world class restaurants, local shops, bike paths that will take you all over Summit County, and a great marina to go sailing and boating.

If you are interested in property in Frisco, check out this beautiful duplex that has awesome views of Mt. Royal.  For any more property information in Frisco or Summit County please contact  leah@leahbaxter.com  or search the MLS for free on my website www.leahbaxter.com.

Keystone is in the preliminary plans of a huge redevelopment of the Mountain House base area.  The Keystone Citizens League who represent property owners at the resort, is in full support of the plan.The Mountain House base area is the original base area for Keystone, so it is definitely up for redevelopment

The development plans would include total improvement which would cover 88.4 acres. Out of the 88.4 acres 48.4 would be slated for redevelopment and the other 40 acres would be designated for recreational trails, public transit, open space, wetlands and interpretive  facilities.

The area that houses the existing cafeteria, ski school, and ticket offices would  also be redeveloped.  Vail Resorts would be in charge of this redevelopment process.

  Now would be a good time to purchase real estate in Keystone.  If you are looking for a nice large two bedroom property that overlooks the golf course in Keystone, click here.

For more information on properties in Keystone or Summit county please contact leah@leahbaxter.com.  or check out my website www.leahbaxter.com to search the MLS for free.

Other major festivals happening in Summit County to celebrate the end of the season are the Breckenridge Spring Massive Festival.  This will occur between April 1-April 20.  There will be live entertainment, FIS ski races, spring shopping sales and much more!

While you are in Breckenridge, why not take a look at some Mountain properties, because summer is right around the corner and if you have not spent summertime in the Rockies, you are missing out!  It is absolutely gorgeous and plenty to do for everyone! 

Give Leah Baxter a call 970-389-6367 or email at leah@leahbaxter.com.  www.leahbaxter.com

Now is a great time to buy in Summit County .  I know the news media is portraying doom and gloom for the housing market, however, they are basing their information on major cities.  We are not a major city.  We are a resort community.  People love the mountains to relax and play.  Our economy is not based on the national economy.  People choose to come in for fun or because they want to live in the mountains.

Interest rates are low,our prices are not going down, so don’t wait, because we are not in a housing bubble.  Our market continues to be strong and the sales prices continue to rise slowly, but steady. 

Source:  National Association of Realtors via Associated press:msnbc.msn.com & data research Associates. Believed to be accurate but not guaranteed.

Contact Leah Baxter at leah@leahbaxter.com or www.leahbaxter.com for more information on purchasing in summit county.  Search the Summit County MLS  free.

Now that you have chosen your land, have done a lot of your preliminary investigation, it is time to choose a builder. 

A lot of people try to do it themselves and save money by not utilizing a builder.  If you have a lot of time, patience and energy to do it yourself, than by all means go for it!  There are a lot of details that you will need to be on top of , and if you don’t have a set group of sub-contractors at your disposal, than your project could end up costing you more money in the long run.  It is hard to find good sub-contractors that are loyal to individuals in Summit County because they are generally busy working loyally for builders.

When you choose a builder make sure they have been in Summit County for a few years  and understand the process here.  Please see the following article on How to Choose a Builder.

For more information contact Leah@leahbaxter.com or www.leahbaxter.com.

Once you have found that special piece of land and you have discovered that it is buildable, now it is time to design the home.  It is best to find the land before you design the home, because than you can take full advantage of views, sunlight,  and the contours of the land.

There are several avenues on designing your home.  One is going on the internet and picking a stock drawing of a home, which is generally inexpensive.  However, beware that when you begin the building process, if there are problems with the design, you don’t really have anyone to come out to the site and fix the design problem.  Also, stock drawings do not necessarily take into consideration the essential elements of utilizing natural sunlight,  views, etc.

This may work alright in a suburb in the city, however, in the mountains, it can get  very cold in the winter, and to conserve  energy, you probably want to get the most out of the sun as much as possible.  Since  69% of our days are sunny, you want to be able to capture that heat from the sun. 

Also, when choosing an architect, it is important to use someone that is local, they have a lot more clout than someone who is out of state, and can be your alloy when you may have obstacles in your way, such as the permitting process.  See the article on Choosing an Architect.

For more information contact Leah Baxter or email at leah@leahbaxter.com

The first thing you need to do is find the right parcel of land.  There are a lot of variables in land in Summit County.  Do you want to have a septic system and well system?  Do you want to already be connected to City water and Sewer? Is the land located on wetlands, and if so, is there any way to build on these wetlands?

The difference is going to be in the price.  If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on land, than you are probably going to need a septic system and well system.  When you begin to look for land, you want to make sure that it is buildable.  One way of doing this is going to the Summit County Building Dept. and doing some preliminary investigation.  The Building department can give you an idea if this is possible if you have a parcel of land that you are interested in.  Just because the land is for sale and is located in a neighborhood, don’t assume that it is buildable.  Look before you leap.

The safer route is to buy land that is already on water and sewer, than this is one less thing that you have to worry about.  You still need to to your due diligence on whether or not it is a big enough parcel for you to build that dream home. 

There are a lot of restrictions on height, how far is it from the road?  There are certain requirements that you must adhere to when designing your home. Contact Leah Baxter or email at leah@leahbaxter.com for more information.

Yes, it is still possible to build that dream mountain home at a ski area.  One of the latest developments is at Copper Mountain.  This development is called Slopeside.

If you are familiar with Copper Mountain, Slopeside is located in Lewis Ranch and is right next to the Union Creek Chairlift.  There are only thirteen large building envelopes, which are all ski in ski out.   These lots are big enough to build a 5,000-8,000 square foot home.  The master planned community has been approved for a future gondola. 

There is an affiliated construction company that will help you build your high-quality home.  One of the home sites has a  beautiful model home that was featured in the Summit County Parade of Homes.  This particular property won several awards on Best Interior Design and Finishes, Best Kitchen, Best overall floor plan, Best interior decorating, and the list goes on. 

Click here for previous article on building.

If you are interested in finding out more about building your luxury ski-in ski out masterpiece, please contact Leah Baxter at Leah@leahbaxter.com or www.leahbaxter.com. 

 A new development that is scheduled for completion in January 2009 is called The Crystal Peak Lodge.  This luxury development  is a ski-in/ski-out village located at the base of Peaks 7 and 8 in Breckenridge. 

It is conveniently located to the BreckConnect gondola and within steps to the anticipated relocation of the  Independence Super Chair .  There are 46 luxury ski in-ski out 1-4 bedroom residences.  The initial offering of the residences have sold out, however, there are seven resales available ranging from a one bedroom priced at $875,000 to a 2 bedroom priced at  $1,550, 000.

The amenities that will be available are as follows: