Edwards: Fewer buyers for Miller Ranch homes

EDWARDS, Colorado — In the past, there would be almost 30 potential buyers in line for a Miller Ranch home, and first person in line would get the house, said Kim Williams, Eagle County deed-restriction manager.

This year, a tighter, more “conservative” lending market has resulted in less buyers who are able to finance one of the 282 deed-restricted homes in Edwards, she said.

“Now we have to go several people down the list,” she said.

It has been so much harder to get qualified and financed buyers, that in one case, a single-family home, usually reserved for families of three or more, went to a two-person family.

“We just didn’t have enough buyers for the home. It’s a family of two working on three, though, and I doubt that will happen again,” Williams said.

Rough lending market

The diminished buyer pool and difficulties in getting a loan are part of a nationwide trend, said Lori Pohl, vice-president of First Bank in Avon.

Foreclosures have affected the market all over the country, and now it is hitting the Vail valley and its deed-restricted, affordable homes. Lenders are now looking more carefully at credit histories and debt-to-income ratios.

“The foreclosures have caused banks here and across the country to tighten down on credit guidelines, and that’s hitting everyone across the board, not just people who make a certain amount,” Pohl said.

Those tighter restrictions hit first-time homeowners the hardest, said Cris Nolan, lending officer with WR Starkey Mortgage in Edwards.

“Previously, nearly everone could get a loan, and that’s not the case now,” she said. “Usually everyone has to come with $3,000 down, and that’s the problem with locals. They don’t have that cash.”

Local residents should take advantage of downpayment assistance programs, which can loan residents up to 10 percent of the cost of the home or $50,000 for downpayment, she said.

Still, sales at Miller Ranch are on track with previous years. Williams said she expects to see the same 10 percent turnover rate she saw last year.

By the Numbers Average number of buyers per Miller Ranch home 2007: 27 buyers 2008: 13 buyers Appreciation Rates on Miller Ranch homes (based on average wage increases) 2006: 6 percent 2007: 4.2 percent 2008: 3 percent Source: Eagle County Housing Department

Miller Ranch sales on track

While sales are still going strong, the rate of appreciation on the homes is not.
Appreciation on Miller Ranch homes are capped at 3 percent to 6 percent per year, and are tied to U.S. Deptartment of Labor wage statistics. The slowdown in wage increases are reflected in home appreciation rates, Williams said.

Homes appreciated at 6 percent in 2006, 4.2 percent in 2007, and 3 percent this year. This year’s wage increase was actually only 1 percent, but Miller Ranch’s deed guarantees a 3 percent appreciation each year.

To attract more buyers, Miller Ranch may start more aggressive advertising in partnership with the Vail Board of Realtors in addition to their existing advertising in the Vail Daily and on the development’s Web site.


Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at (970) 748-2928 or mwong@vaildaily.com.