Even with more than $3 billion in sales, the Vail Valley real estate market took a step back in 2023

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If Eagle County’s 2023 real estate dollar volume had immediately followed 2019, it would have been a new record. Instead, it represents a significant drop from the pandemic years.
According to full-year data from Land Title Guarantee Co., the sales dollar volume for 2023 in Eagle County was $3.02 billion. That would have been a banner year following the $2.27 billion dollar volume posted in 2019. But the 2023 dollar volume is just 70% of the $4.28 billion record posted in 2021, and 85% of the $3.58 billion recorded in 2022.
Meanwhile, the number of transactions has been declining even more. In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 2,572 transactions despite the market essentially shutting down during the second quarter of that year. The following year, there were nearly 2,800 sales. For 2023, that number fell to 1,525 transactions, a 46% decline.
Michael Slevin, owner and president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colorado Properties, said the transaction numbers are likely due to a combination of higher mortgage interest rates and lack of supply. Those higher mortgage rates have hobbled both buyers and sellers, with sellers looking at higher rates for their next homes.
But, Slevin said, there’s still plenty of interest in Eagle County real estate.

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“For a property priced well, we’ll see between three and five offers, at all price points,” Slevin said, adding his firm recently saw multiple offers for both a property in Beaver Creek and one in Gypsum.
Still, the days are over for cash offers with no appraisals or inspections.
“Buyers are much more critical,” Slevin said. “They’re not willing to settle for just anything.” That’s more in line with the market in 2019, he noted.
Matt Fitzgerald is the Vail Valley president of Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate. Fitzgerald noted that the overheated market of 2020 and 2021 was fueled in part by near-zero interest rates. Rates are nearer 7% these days, close to historic norms, but still far above the low rates of the past several years.
Fitzgerald said buyers who can afford them may be getting more used to those rates. This February’s for-sale inventory was up nearly 20% from 2023. There were 340 units on the market last month, while the second month of 2023 had only 287 units listed for sale.
• $3.02 billion: 2023 real estate dollar volume in Eagle County, 85% of the previous year.
• 1,525: 2023 real estate transactions in Eagle County, 77% of the previous year.
• 4%: Number of 2023 transactions priced at $500,000 or less.
• 8%: Number of 2023 transactions priced at $5 million or more.
Source: Land Title Guarantee Co.
And, Fitzgerald noted, rates have dropped a bit, even as prices have stabilized or continue to rise slightly.
People still have needs when it comes to home buying, Fitzgerald noted. And, he added, the Vail Valley remains an attractive place to live or visit.
“The fundamentals are still quite strong,” he said.