JenEngel

Join friends and family for all of the excitement on the 4th of July in Aspen. Below is a schedule of not-to-miss events while here for this patriotic holiday.

The old-fashioned 4th of July celebration starts off Thursday in Snowmass Village. A free concert performance by Karl Denson and his Tiny Universe starts at 6:15pm on Fanny Hill with fireworks to follow at 9pm.

On Friday night, a free concert at Cooper Street Mall is scheduled and Boogie’s Bash for the Buddy Program will be held on Mclain Flats. Tickets can be purchased and more information can be found by clicking here.

Saturday begins with an 8:00am start for the Boogie’s 5-mile race. There is also the family/canine 1-mile walk that happens at 9:15am. All proceeds go to The Buddy Program.

The Kid’s Carnival is in full tilt from 10am-2:30pm at Paepke Park, complete with a silent auction and lots of games.

The 4th of July Parade starts at high-noon. Click here for a route map for the parade, but one of the best places to see the parade is near the judging platform in front of The Hotel Jerome.

Not one, but TWO, picnics are held for the Aspen public starting around 1pm. The 14th Annual AVSC picnic will be held in Koch Park and the 5th Annual 4th of July picnic hosted by the Aspen Art Musuem will be held at the museum next to Rio Grande Park.

Starting at 4pm, the Aspen Music Festival will be playing at Benedict Music Tent located in the West End. They will play patriotic tunes to keep you in the mood for this wonderful holiday.

Another free concert will be played on Saturday evening at Cooper Street Mall starting at 8pm, and fireworks will be lit from Aspen Mountain starting at 9:15pm.

The 4th of July in Aspen is a great time for everyone.  Enjoy!

Aspen Highlands Bowl

After a warm dry spell, another storm system has moved into Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.  4-8 inches of snow is expected in the Aspen area on Thursday.  Aspen Highlands Mountain received 13 inches of new snow on Tuesday morning and received 16 inches in total over a two-day period.  Snowmass reported 7 inches of new snow early Tuesday and 11 inches total over two days, while Aspen Mountain received 4 inches on Tuesday and 8 inches total for Monday and Tuesday.

Snow is likely to continue Wednesday and Thursday, with a 30 percent chance for snow on Friday.  Get out there and enjoy the fresh powder during the last couple weeks of ski season!  Aspen & Snowmass Mountains close on Easter Sunday which is April 12th, and Aspen Highlands & Buttermilk Mountains close April 5th.

Great news was received last night for the Base Village at Snowmass.  The developer Related WestPac got its long-awaited final approval Monday night for a luxury condominium hotel that will be operated by the five-star Little Nell Hotel in Aspen.  (more…)

Effective 3:00 pm Friday, January 31st, Joshua & Co. took ownership of Resortquest’s Coates, Reid and Waldron real estate operations in Aspen & Snowmass.  Joshua & Co. immediately opened in the former offices of Coates, Reid and Waldron in Snowmass and will share those offices with ResortQuest.  ResortQuest will retain and continue to operate its vacation rental division.

Joshua Saslove, founder and CEO of Joshua & Co., characterized the acquisition as a momentous move in the local real estate industry.  This is the company’s fourth upper valley location as it currently operates two offices in downtown Aspen and one at Highlands.

According to the SnowMass Sun, Joshua Saslove said “The interesting part about Snowmass is it’s got a considerable amount of new product it’s able to bring on line.” With regard to the current state of the economy, he added “This will pass. When it does, without question, Snowmass will be one of the top ski resorts in the country. And the community is developing its own vitality as well.”

Joshua & Co. was founded by Joshua Saslove in 1992 and specializes in Luxury Real Estate sales, Exclusive Rentals, Ranch Properties and Estate Management and Concierge Services for a discerning clientele.  Joshua & Co. is the exclusive Christie’s Great Estates affiliate in Aspen/Snowmass, CO.

Land Title Guarantee Company released this week their report on the 2008 real estate market for Aspen and Pitkin County. Many were expecting bad news for the Aspen real estate market, so it wasn’t a surprise that some of the figures for 2008 were the lowest since 2003.

The sales volume for all of Pitkin County was $1.37 billion, a 46% drop from last year. Keep in mind that 2006 was a record high year for Pitkin County with a sales volume of $2.6 billion, and 2007 was just slightly lower at $2.5 billion.  The sales volume for 2008 was at the same level as both 2003 and 2004  which were $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.

The silver lining for 2008 was the median sales price for single family homes. Pitkin County’s single family median home price was $5.1 million, up 10% from 2007. Single family home prices went up 4% in Aspen and 7% in Snowmass Village, and Basalt real estate showed a16% increase for single family home sales in 2008.

From this report, we can confirm that real estate in Aspen, just like the rest of the world, will go up and down in sales prices and volume. Yet, the first rule in real estate–location, location, location–will always apply, making Aspen luxury real estate always in demand.

Which county in the U.S. can claim 10 real estate transactions totalling over $160 Million in a recession? Pitkin County, home to Aspen, Colorado and Snowmass Village, Colorado. 2008 is the first time in four years that real estate sales in Pitkin County did not top $2 Billion, but buyers and sellers are still making deals in Aspen. Following is a list of the top 10 real estate transactions in Pitkin County based on the purchase price.

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Winterskol-2009 Powder Days & Stellar Nights

This week marks the 57th annual Winterskol celebration in Aspen. Founded by a group of locals looking for a reason to have a party the second week of January, Winterskol consists of a myriad of events and the admission is cheap or free! (more…)

Even though Snowmass Village is usually overshadowed by its posh neighbor, Aspen, the mountain village tucked between Owl Creek and Brush Creek has a very distinct character. The ski resort is one of four owned by Aspen Skiing Co. But while the other three Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Ajax, aka Aspen Mountain) are in or around Aspen, Snowmass is 8 miles down the road — and a world apart. (more…)

Skiing on Aspen Mountain

Aspen Mountain (and all other area mountains – Snowmass, Highlands & Buttermilk) has received at least 30 inches of snow in the past seven days.  (more…)