Despite closures and restrictions due to the pandemic, Summit County’s real estate market had a record-breaking 2020.
Summit Realtors data show real estate sales in the county amounted to more than $2.06 billion, which is the first time in history the county has surpassed $2 billion.
“We have never done that before. It’s really amazing,” said Dana Cottrell, former board president of Summit Realtors and a broker with Summit Resort Group. “All of us felt it. We were all so busy because we went from nothing to hanging on by the seat of our pants.”
The total 2020 sales volume was 32% above 2019’s numbers, which came out to about $1.5 billion. If you asked Realtors in March if they expected the county to break $2 billion in 2020, many would have said, “no way.”
The pandemic essentially put a pause on all real estate sales for the majority of March and April. It wasn’t until Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order April 27 allowing for one-on-one showings that agents began to see one of the busiest summers on record.
Many of the sales were driven by people buying in the luxury market, which tends to start at around $2 million to $2.5 million. The county saw a total of 1,264 sales priced at or above $1 million in 2020, which is a 45% increase from 2019, according to Summit Realtors data.
“A lot of those properties even just five years ago that were selling for well under a million are now selling for well over a million,” Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties real estate agent Leah Canfield said. “Just by the nature of our rapidly appreciating market, a higher percentage of our homes are worth over a million now.”
While the increase in prices is a reason for the increase in sales volume, there’s something to be said about how the pandemic made a mountain lifestyle seem more appealing.
“We live in this beautiful place that has all kinds of recreational opportunities from summer to winter,” Cottrell said. “We just have so many options for people to not just be stuck in your home.”
