Aspen Cheap -- $475,000 for 355 sq. ft Studio

So what's the least you can spend for full ownership of your Colorado dream hideaway in Aspen? Looks like some studios have shown price drops to below $500,000, including this one on the Original Curve of Main Street (in what's known as Aspen's "Core"). The online offering from Morris & Frywald shows a handsomely redecorated space including a full bed, although it is not clear whether that's the living room couch artfully made up or a separate piece of furniture within the 355 square feet.

Note to buyers: the MLS for places like Aspen and Vail is chock full of listings that seem to be going nowhere. Price drops, anyone?

Vail's Four Seasons said to be on track for winter opening

One of the biggest new projects still under construction in Vail, Colorado is on the fast track to a "winter" finish line. The building includes a 121-room hotel, 19 fractional residences and 16 whole-ownership condominiums.

A few days ago, I toured the site, which is located not far from the main Vail roundabout, and can be seen clearly from Interstate I-70. Jeff Meier, the director of sales for Playground Destination Properties Inc., the official sales agent, showed me the 10-story property. Although it is huge (500,000 square feet), some of the massiveness is concealed by having four of its floors below the level of the inner Vail Village road. When completed it will have a spa and pool at that lower level.

The building has been framed and the pool area as well as the lobby and spa were being worked on when I visited. The 1/12th fractional ownership interests come with 21 days of primary time. Four Seasons is offering 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units priced from $405,900 to $715,000.

Will Four Seasons be ready for the 2009-2010 season? Playground (which is a part of Intrawest, an ironic choice at Vail considering that the ski resort arm of Intrawest is a big competitor of Vail) would not be pinned down on a specific month, saying only that it expected to welcome its first guests "this winter."

New Westin Riverfront: Beaver Creek & Vail Nearby

The new luxury Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa at the base of Beaver Creek mountain resort in Colorado (how's that for a view, above?) now offers ski travelers a deluxe spot to settle when they are mainly interested in skiing Beaver Creek runs, but also want easy access to those at Vail. The Westin is not way up the mountain. It's actually in Avon, on the Eagle River, with a front door gondola to take skiers from the ski valet to the first BC lift. The location also makes it a lot easier to access the runs at Vail, just 9 miles away. Condos are priced from $395,000 to $2.1 million. The Westin officially opens Oct. 15.

Vail Upgrades Breckenridge Lodging

Breckenridge, the Colorado ski resort that has featured mid-price lodging compared to Vail and Beaver Creek, is in the midst of an upgrade. "We are well on the way to transforming Breckenridge real estate landscape and are very excited with our ski-in, ski-out projects ... including Crystal Peak Lodge at the base of Peak Seven," CEO Rob Katz said yesterday in a 3d quarter earnings conference call. All 46 units under are contract and closings on these units are expected this winter of 2008, he added.

The latest project at Breck is Rock Resort’s branded One Ski Hill Place, above. (Vail owns Rock Resorts.) Said Katz, it "will create a unique luxury experience at the base of Peak Eight. To date, we have released 70 units of the total 88 units with an average price per square foot of $1,246, a 29% -- 29% in excess of Crystal Peak released just a year ago."

Breckenridge once was an old mining village and some historic buildings, like those below, remain.

Vail Real Estate: No Slowdown

Upbeat news from the Four Seasons, now under construction in Vail, apparently not much hurt by national real estate troubles. Fractionals (1/12th shares) are still selling at a brisk clip, says Jeff Meier, senior director of sales and marketing, who adds, “About 18% of our buyers have come from outside the United States.” The project between Vail Village and LionsHead is an amalgam of 120 hotel rooms, 16 whole-ownership units and 19 fractionals. First release fractional prices: $379,000 to $689,000. Completion is set for 2009.

Near Vail: Cordilllera's New Paramonte

Cordillera, the luxury community in the Colorado mountains in between Beaver Creek and Vail ski resorts, is going fractional. It is selling 1/8th shares in its new Paramonte residences, which are 3 BR, 3 1/2 furnished homes. Prices start at $400,000 -- not cheap, but Cordillera has a sterling reputation and ownership base. (Resales on existing houses are listed from $1.2-million to over $5-million.) Fractional buyers are guaranteed a minimum of 28 days per year as well as additional time subject to availability. Cordillera is known for its spa and four golf courses, among other amenities.

Heart of Vail: Willow Bridge Fractionals

Real estate market woes? What woes, says Vail, Colorado, which is in the midst of a building boom. Among the new properties coming on stream: fractionals at One Willow Bridge Road beside Gore Creek in the heart of town, where 1/7th interests are available in a 2-BR unit, priced at $650,000, and in 3-BR units for $850,000. Sound like mucho dinero? Not when you consider that whole ownerships were priced starting at $3.6-million and that it will be managed by the well-known Sonnenalp Resort. There will be access to the Sonnenalp, which is a block away. So far, says a spokesman, 72 percent of buyers are from the East Coast. Note that there is a similarly named development even closer to the ski lifts called Willows of Vail, which is not quite finished yet.

Fly Like an Eagle-- as in EGE

Word to the wise vacation home owner, renter or guest heading for Aspen, Vail or Beaver Creek -- Eagle Airport is a dream compared to DEN (you know, the one with the white prairie schooner motif and a security screening center that sometimes resembles Times Square on New Year's Eve ). And it's way bigger than Aspen's private-jet parking lot. I flew out of EGE last week on American to La Guardia in NYC via Dallas; like punching Staples' red "Easy" button. EGE is clean, big and fairly empty. No endless security lines snaking around the lobby..... much less risk of bags lost.... Closer to Vail than DEN (30 minutes max via rental car or shuttle bus) ... and a longer but reasonable shuttle run to Aspen. If you've come to hate what I call "flying the unfriendly skies of Greyhound," look for EGE flights. During ski season and summertime there are nonstops from many hubs.

Boomers Search for "Middle-Class Luxury"

Realtors from around the U.S. and elsewhere who specialize in second homes and resort real estate converge are meeting this week in Vail, CO this week and at least one speaker reports that condo hotels, fractionals, and timeshares are still doing well in the strongest markets. Bob Waun, CEO of Vacation Finance, told the group that the baby boomers are still fueling these purchases. They "are seeking unique alternatives that make fiscal sense and create ownership opportunities that are not burdensome. Many Americans do not want just one second home, they want one in multiple locations," Waun told the National Association of Realtors Vail symposium. "Luxury is a new middle-class expectation," he declared, and "making it affordable requires thinking outside the box of traditional ownership."

Battle Mountain May Drive Real Estate near Vail

"Local real estate experts suspect the development of a private ski resort on Battle Mountain" not far from Vail, Colorado, "might drive up property values in Minturn," the town at the base of the proposed resort, according to a story in the Vail Daily. But the paper notes that earlier resorts developed by the same Ginn Company did not do much for real estate prices Florida and North Carolina.