Friday, November 30, 2012

New Website

My new website will be up and running sometime on Sunday, Dec. 2.  For a sneak peak visit:

http://www.nancyyearout.remaxagent.com

Let me know what you think.

Nancy Yearout

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sold Properties Surpass 2011 Totals


Last week the number of residential sold properties in Summit County surpassed the 2011 year end total and this week the total number of sales in Summit County gained 2%...in one week the county went from 13% gain in sold properties to today’s 15%!

 

Countywide is up 15% and the North Side of the county is almost at a 20% gain and the South Side is at a 9% gain.

 

The average sold price for Summit County Residential sales fell 1 tenth of a percent and today is up 0.4%. The North Side of the county dropped a bit more and is now at a 3.5% improvement and the South Side remains at minus 0.6%. It will be interesting to see what the next five weeks will bring as we wind the year down.

 

Active listings today are down -14.7% and the total residential properties in the county that are under contract are up plus 7.5%. The 7.5% is primarily due to two situations this past week: 1. The number of properties that went under contract surged by 33% and the number of properties that sold went down by 22%.

 
Learn more detail at http://WeeklyREActivity.com

Monday, November 26, 2012

Plastic Bags or not?

The town of Breckenridge is calling for public input on a possible town policy to curb or eliminate the use of plastic bags.

Officials are hosting a public open house at 6:30 tonight at the Breckenridge Recreation Center Multi-Purpose Room to generate feedback from the community on the issue.

Members of the Breckenridge Town Council are considering a law that would impose a fee or outright ban single-use bags within the town, but want to receive thoughts and input from local residents before taking action.

“During 2010 and 2011 several hundred community residents participated in developing the SustainableBreck Plan,” Mayor John Warner stated in a recent release from the town. “One of the actions identified in the plan was to reduce single-use bags in our community. As we explore the issue further, we learned that both plastic and paper bags have significant negative environmental impacts. We want ideas from the community on how to reduce use of single-use bags.”

The open house will include data on the impacts of single-use bags and other information to assist the public in getting a better overview of the issue, according to the Breckenridge statement.

Additional info is available at SustainableBreck.com

Friday, November 23, 2012

Frisco Adventure Park Up and Running

The Frisco Adventure Park kicked off its third season Thursday debuting its tubing hill operations with nearly 600 people, a record-breaking opening day attendance, celebrating the sunny Thanksgiving Day.

In the first year of operations, the tubing hill was more popular than expected, according to tubing hill staff. Since the first season, the tubing hill's reservations have continued to increase.

“We have seen great growth from the first season to last season and expect to see growth this season,” said Jennifer Printz, guest services manager. “With the beautiful days we're going to have, the tubing hill is one of the few places to find snow to play on. I know a lot of people would like to see a snowstorm and ski runs opening up like crazy but we don't — this is the best alternative for sure.”

Mike Immer from St. Louis, bringing with him a group of 11, a handful from Los Angeles and “the balance” from Missouri, said the activity was great for the whole family but he was disappointed with the amount of snow.

“In general we're disappointed that there's not more snow. We arrived here 15 years ago for a similar vacation and there was a ton, it's a little disheartening that there's not more snow,” he said.

Snowmaking operations for the tubing hill began Oct. 15 but having the conditions to open, has been a challenge, Frisco Adventure Park operations manager Josh Olson said.

“It's been a bit of a struggle with the temperatures and weather we've had — we've only had one cold week for snowmaking since we started,” Olson said. “But we're really happy being able to open on Thanksgiving, we scraped it together and managed to get it open and we're pretty excited about that.”

Even with the lack of snow in the county, the holiday spirit among the families that traveled far for Thanksgiving weekend and the employees working the holiday, was abundant.

Park employee Brayden Pappenfort from Silverthorne benefited from the good graces of his colleagues who let him go home early after not feeling well Thanksgiving morning.

“This is a great job and I'm so thankful for everyone I work with,” Pappenfort said. “It's really fun to be out here on the holiday, everyone looks like they're really having a lot of fun.”

The hourly rate to go tubing at the park is $25, and Frisco residents receive a 20 percent discount on all park activities. A 10-punch transferable pass is available for $199. The tubing hill is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m., and Monday from noon to 5 p.m

The tubing hill measures 600 feet in length and will have three lanes open today with the option to expand to eight to 10 lanes if there's enough demand. Some lanes are faster and longer than others, according to Olson.

The park has two snowmaking machines to maintain an adequate snow base throughout the season and a snowcat to groom the lanes.

The adventure park and tubing hill slid off its inaugural season Dec. 12, 2010, with snowmaking operations and construction still under way. Since then, the hill has opened Thanksgiving Day.

This season, tubing hill staff anticipates opening five to six tubing lanes, all with different gradients, to accommodate tubers and the beginner ski and ride hill by Christmas.

“If Mother Nature cooperates and we have the right conditions, our goal is to have those areas opened by Christmas,” Olson added.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Ski Areas Gear Up for Thanksgiving

Local ski areas are gearing up for Thanksgiving weekend making preparations to open additional terrain and features, with Keystone's tubing hill and night skiing operations slated to open today.

The ski area will also open The Alley, Dercum's Dash and Ina's Way trails bringing the terrain tally to 170 acres with access to nine trails and seven lifts.

Schoolmarm will be open top to bottom with access to Mountain House and Peru lift. Keystone A51 Terrain Park will have A-51 lift access, night skiing and riding will begin and tubing at Adventure Point.

Breckenridge Ski Resort officials announced the opening of Peak 9 slated for today, adding the QuickSilver Super6, Peak 8 SuperConnect, and the Village Carpets giving access to Silverthorne, King's Way, Lowest Sundown Access, Crosscut, Lower Sawmill and Spruce trails.

Officials plan to open additional terrain on Peak 9 and Peak 8, including a double jump line in the Park Lane Terrain Park for today as well.

Peak 9 will be open with full base area services, including ski & ride school and on-mountain dining at Ten Mile Station and The Maggie.

With the added terrain, Breckenridge Ski Resort will offer Thanksgiving skiers and riders 145 total acres for the weekend.

After opening the American Flyer Lift Nov. 17, Copper Mountain has six lifts running and 129 acres of skiable terrain including: American Eagle with access to the Bouncer, Main Vein and Rhapsody trails; the newly opened American Flyer with access to the High Point trail; the Excelerator Lift with access to the Ptarmigan trail; the Gem and Pitchfork lifts with access to the Green Acres beginner's area and the Easy Rider lift with access to the learning area as well.

Loveland Ski Area tallies are also up to 123 skiable acres open to holiday traffic.


Thanksgiving festivities

Breckenridge Ski Resort will host a Thanksgiving dinner at Sevens Restaurant, located at the base of Peak 7. The Thanksgiving Prix Fixe menu includes the traditional holiday spread, according to a press release.

The resort will also give holiday goers an option for Black Friday along Main Street with various deals at shops around town.

At Keystone Resort, Thanksgiving weekend marks the start of the season's Kidtopia programming with '80s-themed tubing tonight, Meet and Greet with Keystone's Ski Patrol Avalanche Dogs Thursday, the Riperoo parade Saturday, and Keystone's house DJ at Dercum Square ice rink Sunday.

Keystone's Kidtopia programming, newly offered as a daily service this season, is expanding from special event weekends to daily programming all season long in tow with the ski area's offer of free skiing for kids under 13 with the purchase of lodging at the resort.

“Keystone offers a family ski experience unmatched in the industry,” said John Buhler, vice president and general manager of the resort. “With the introduction of a Kids Ski Free offer that's really restriction free, we're letting families travel as their schedule allows, granting them convenient and affordable access to our world-class resort and taking Keystone's commitment to families to the next level.”

The new Kids Ski Free offer bolsters the ski area's numerous efforts targeting families. Keystone has developed several programs and facilities this year that cater to young skiers and riders.

In Keystone Village, the annual holiday light installation kicks off Thanksgiving Day.

Copper's seventh annual Gobbler Chase Snowshoe Race is slated for Saturday. All proceeds from the race will go toward the Copper Environmental Foundation, supporting youth environmental and education projects in the community.

All race participants should plan to meet in Burning Stones Plaza at the Race Registration Tent prior to the start of the race at 11 a.m. The approximate 5k course layout will take the participants toward Union Creek, through the beautiful Copper wilderness on the Colorado Trail, and eventually back into Burning Stones.

Monday, November 19, 2012

I-70. Let's Study it to Death

Transportation officials are passing on an opportunity to partner with a private engineering firm to implement a series of improvements aimed at reducing traffic on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.

Two companies, Parsons and HDR, Inc., submitted co-development proposals in August that laid out plans to make the expensive task of resolving mounting traffic issues in the corridor financially feasible. Citing concerns about the risks involved with each of the proposals, Colorado Department of Transportation officials declined them both.

“We want to go into this slower than just both feet at the same time,” CDOT project manager Jim Bemelen said.

CDOT paid each of the firms $125,000 for the rights to the ideas in their proposals. Bemelen said the stipend is typical and likely wouldn't cover the firms' costs for generating the proposals.

The Parsons plan, deemed to be the better value of the two, proposed constructing a toll-based two- or three-lane reversible express lane facility that would run from

C-470 to Silverthorne, as well as new tunnel bores at both the Eisenhower and Twin Tunnels in the first of three phases of improvements. Phase II calls for express lanes to be extended to Vail. Phase III would have pushed those lanes out to Eagle and included a high-speed rail system if it was determined to be feasible.

HDR pitched an all-lane tolling approach.

“Either one could work,” Bemelen said.

But officials had concerns with both. Though Parsons plan was deemed to be the better value, it called for the new lanes to extend all the way to Summit County in the first phase of development to make the project financially feasible. But CDOT's record of decision, the result of years of studies and investigations required ahead of the improvement project, didn't cover such a broad solution.

“That's the part that had us nervous,” Bemelen said.

Stakeholder objections and uncertainty of revenue projections if the project were scaled down were also cited as concerns.

The I-70 mountain corridor, where weekend traffic frequently stacks up with tourists commuting between the Front Range and the mountains, has been a point of debate and discussion among mountain communities and transportation officials for several years.

After extensive study, CDOT released a programmatic environmental impact statement released in March 2011 recommending a plan that included a series of solutions to address the growing traffic problems in the corridor. The estimated $16-$20 billion package of improvements included a high-speed rail, highway improvements and new lanes and more strategic approaches to improving traffic.

In July 2011, Parsons submitted an unsolicited proposal for a co-development agreement for improvements on the corridor. CDOT opened the process up, inviting other firms to submit proposals as well. Only one other firm did.

The details of both proposals have been kept under wraps to protect proprietary information until transportation officials reached a decision.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

U.S. Forest Service wants comments on Tenderfoot Mountain Trail

After making significant improvements to the Tenderfoot Mountain motorcycle trail system proposal, the U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on the project that would allow 21 miles of recreation terrain.

Ken Waugh, recreation staff officer for the Dillon Ranger District, said the trail will succeed in managing areas that are ridden unmonitored.

“User-made trails currently throughout Tenderfoot Mountain are steep and not sustainable,” Waugh said. “We want to change the persona of the trail from a unruly area to one that offers motorcyclists a nice ride through the woods.”

The route would be open to four-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles September through November, and open to motorcycles and all non-motorized uses June 20 through August.

About seven miles of trail near Tenderfoot Mountain were dropped from the proposal to decrease impacts to Canada lynx habitat.

To avoid impacts to the Keystone Stables horseback riding operation, approximately one mile of trail in the Frey Gulch Creek area would be constructed and maintained for hiking and horseback riding only.

The total size of the project area is now 1,800 acres; previously, 4,000 proposed acres included the Oro Grande Trail and other trails and areas that are no longer considered in the proposal. The total acreage the trail tread would occupy is less than 8 acres.

To maintain four-wheeled motorized access to Tenderfoot Mountain for big-game hunters, a route would be designated as open to full-sized motorized access for the first mile, then ATV use for 1.4 miles.


Trail system details

The proposed project, located in the Dillon Ranger District at the juncture of the Straight Creek and Frey Gulch trailheads, would create an approximately 21-mile singletrack system including 13 miles of new trail construction and approximately 8 miles of reconstruction and rehabilitation of existing trails.

The trail system would offer a winding trail less than 5 percent in steep grade with challenging, narrow, rocky and winding areas, Waugh said.

When the assessment is released, a 30-day comment period will allow members of the public to weigh in on the findings. Following the comment period, the Forest Service will assess all questions and concerns before deciding official, Scott Fitzwilliams with the Forest Service, opts for the approval or denial of the 21-mile trail system.

Other user-created, non-system trails in the area would be closed and rehabilitated, Waugh said. The trail system, if approved by Fitzwilliams, would be managed for all non-motorized uses as well as for singletrack motorized uses.

The goal is to change an unmanaged, expanding system of mostly steep, eroded user-created trails to a managed, finite system of sustainable, well-designed trails.

The trail system allows for more representation of motorcycle recreation in the multi-use national forest, officials say. Currently, recreators are limited to riding forest roads, creating trails that often don't comply with Forest Service management goals.

“The purpose of this comment period is to provide an opportunity for the public to provide early and meaningful participation on a proposed action prior to a decision being made by the responsible official,” said Jan Cutts, district ranger. “It is very important to note that this proposal does not include the Tenderfoot or Oro Grande trails, which are only open to non-motorized uses.”

An open house will be hosted at the Dillon Ranger Station from 2-6 p.m. Dec. 5. District staff will answer questions about the proposal.


Enforcing appropriate trail use

The trail would be patrolled by Summit County Off-Road Riders as part of the Trail Ambassador program with the Friends of the Dillon Ranger District.

Volunteers would patrol the trails by motorcycle and speak to other recreators about forest stewardship with an emphasis of staying on the trail.

The trail system would also be patrolled by forest protection officers, with one patrol during the week and one during weekends.

At the start of the system, at the juncture of the Straight Creek and Frey Gulch trailheads, a Stay the Trail education trailer would be present two times per year, according to the education and law-enforcement plan for the project.

Stay The Trail Colorado began in 2003 when a small group of off-highway vehicle enthusiasts promoted a new approach to land-management issues.

The approach focuses on the education of responsible trail use to develop stewardship of public lands. Since its first brochure was published in 2005, the program has grown into a resource that both the public and the land-management agencies can count on to educate the public and protect natural resources in Colorado.

Monday, November 12, 2012

6 Inches of Snow Over the Weekend

A storm that hit Summit County late Saturday night stayed strong through Sunday, delivering between 5-7 inches of snow to powder-hungry ski resorts across the county.

Copper Mountain saw 7 inches of fresh powder as of Sunday afternoon, with flurries continuing off and on. Keystone Resort and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area each got a healthy blast of 6 inches, while Breckenridge Ski Resort saw 5 inches of snow, ramping up its opening weekend festivities.

All the resorts were reporting powder and man-made snow conditions on the slopes Sunday afternoon.

The storm brought an unexpected bout of wind and bitter cold temperatures, with highs only climbing into the single digits across the county on Veterans Day and expected to dip below zero Sunday night, according to forecasts available Sunday afternoon.

But weather watchers expect the sun to return today and continue through the better part of the week. High temperatures are expected to climb back into the low 20s today, but ongoing wind will make it feel as cold as -19. Gusts of up to 22 mph are expected today, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.

Tuesday is warmer, with a high near 32 and sun in the forecasts, but the wind is expected to keep up through the first part of the week.

The next opportunity for snow is Saturday, according to 10-day forecasts.

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Breckenridge Colorado Ski Resort Opens Tomorrow


BRECKENRIDGE, CO SKI RESORT OPENS TOMORROW, 11/09/12!

Yes, Breckenridge brings up the rear of the 4 Summit County ski resorts to open. 


Breckenridge Ski Resort Website > http://www.breckenridge.com/

Monday, November 05, 2012

Closed Properties up 15% from 2011


The number of properties getting ready to close versus this time last year are up 11% and the number of properties that have already closed are up 15%! The year in Summit County is winding down rather well...

 

This past week the county had -33% fewer new listings, -5% fewer properties going under contract and 20% more properties sold.

 

If our market holds at the current improvement and each year following this one remains at this year’s percent improvement Summit County will regain its peak number of closings by the end of 2017!

 
Congratulations to all as RE/MAX Properties of the Summit is clearly the leader in Summit County for the number of transactions closed; in fact, number two would have to improve by an additional 145 closed transactions year to date just to catch up! In Frisco, #2 would have to more than triple their number of closed transactions to just catch up...more on this later this week.


This week stats and graph links.

 




Thursday, November 01, 2012

River Mountain Lodge, Breckenridge, Colorado 80424

This is a great studio unit in a great location and is priced to sell NOW.

Below is a short video of the property:




Contact me today for more information:  970-453-7000 or email:  nyearout@colorado.net