The BJ Adams Team Real Estate on Higher Ground
Spring 2020
Have you ever felt it could all go away if you blink. If you never stop running, you won’t fall behind so you think. And you wonder in your heart, If you’re still not who you are, Who are you? Nothing’s as it seems till it all falls apart. If you have a dream, go chase it. If you feel hope, don’t waste it. If you find love, embrace it. And never take a single breath for granted. Granted, by Josh Groban
One upside to the completely scrambled
life that is my world in sleepy Snowmass, now virtually vacant, is the time I have to walk – either up the mountain, the two miles between office and home, or around the golf course. While I’m amazed at how many people are still skiing or snowshoeing up the slopes, I’m equally surprised how precious few I run into wandering around anywhere else. It’s easy to slip into a reverie, and the music I bring with me is so good for a mind which is predisposed to anxiety and worry, even in the best of times. I have dozens of playlists, depending upon my mood, but the other day, I just chose to shuffle ALL of the songs (thousands) to see what would come up, This ballad by Josh Groban, which I’ve not heard in a couple years, showed up yesterday. I wish I could embed its soaring notes into my writing (if you don’t know it, go find the “Official Lyric Video” on YouTube). This is only a fraction of the lyrics, but it’s one of the best pieces of music I’ve heard for these times. The lines speak to the opportunity the virus has given all of us to rethink where we’re going when this craziness is all behind us. “Maybe our brightest days still wait for us in the unknown.” (continued on following page)
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Whatever else will be said about the current epidemic, and it will be volumes, it will go down in history as one of the most creative, engaged, inspired periods in generations. Every day, I am blown away by what both the average Joe and the thoughtful celebrity have come up with to make us laugh, to make us sing, to pick up the phone or write a letter, to keep things in perspective, to show gratitude, and to remind us of our humanity and our responsibility to care for each other and our planet. In this sense, modern technology and social media have been lifesavers for most of us during these stressful, scary weeks. If you’re working from home like millions of other Americans and are going out of your mind with restlessness or, worse, are “sheltering and fretting in place” trying to calm your uneasy mind or keep children entertained and learning, you are not alone. Collectively, we are all growing weary of the uncertainty. Here are 5 Rescue Remedies I’ve found by inhaling all that has come my way through television, blogs, Instagram and Facebook which may soothe your frazzles, dry your tears, inspire you, make you giggle, give you some things to do, to learn, or to simply have fun in the long days ahead. You’ll also find here my thoughts on the local real estate market – where it had been going until March 15 when Governor Polis abruptly closed all the ski areas in Colorado, and where it might be headed this summer when, hopefully, we’re on the other side of this crisis. If you need anything or have any questions during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. If ever there was a time to pick up the phone or write an e-mail or send a text to just connect with friends and colleagues, to be sure they’re OK, to let them know you’re OK or, if you’re not, to reach out for help and support, this is it. This will be the diamond, always formed under pressure, which will be revealed when all this scary coronavirus is behind us – our renewed appreciation for each other and a commitment to be forever kind and generous. Stay positive. Stay healthy. Stay Strong
1. Bring Aspen to Your Living Room From the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, check out ways to experience Aspen on line. Their link includes virtual yoga and exercise classes from some our favorite studios, curated music lists, recipes you can try out at home from great local restaurants, online virtual tours of our favorite places in the valley, meditation apps and ski movies. Go to aspenchamber. org/blog and search for “Bring Aspen to Your Living Room.” Also, Erica Robbie, a staff writer for the Aspen Daily News, wrote a great story in the 3/31 issue of the paper about all the entertainment available from various local arts organizations called: Host of Local Organizations Offer Free Entertainment. Find her story on line – her ideas include:
• Art Studio workshops from the Aspen Art Museum. • At-home performances from Aspen Music Festival and School. •O nline classes from Theater Aspen, like Broadway dance classes, auditions techniques, etc.
• Weekly podcasts from the Aspen Institute, called “Aspen Ideas to Go.” • Curated lists of books, articles, podcasts and videos from Aspen Words. •A nderson Ranch releases a custom mandala every week. Watch for more virtual initiatives from the Ranch in coming weeks.
• All the local art galleries which are offering virtual tours. • Colorado Ski Country is offering links to free ski films. •T he Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) is releasing
short videos which present a different nature challenge you can do in your backyard every week. 2
2. Laughter is Still the Best Medicine Most television late-night hosts, now without their studios and live audiences, have become really creative with content they’re delivering from their homes via their YouTube channels. This is daily viewing which you can tap into whenever you find yourself slipping in spirit. Some of the best, found on YouTube or actually airing in their typical timeslots: The Tonight Show: At Home Edition | Jimmy Fallon. Airing at his normal time. Like the other comics, Fallon has conscripted his family to operate the camera and create the graphics and provide the music. He’s also using his show to highlight charity causes particularly needing our help right now. The 3-18 edition with Lin-Manuel Miranda [at the 5:41 minute mark] is hilarious as they share their challenges with homeschooling their young kids. Lin-Manuel: “I agree with Shonda Rhimes’ tweet, ‘Every teacher should make a billion dollars a year.’” A Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Initially this just aired for about 1015 minutes on YouTube, but the program’s now expanded, with guests, and is airing at its normal time. One of his best clips was on 3-18. His twist on the cancelled Kentucky Derby with “his thoughts and feelings lining up at the gate on the ‘mind track’” is side-splittingly funny. He has some of the best comedy writers working in television today. Seth Meyers | A Closer Look. Airs 2-3x a week, recorded from Meyers’ home. The videos are released digitally on the Late Night with Seth Meyers YouTube channel. Trevor Noah | Daily Social Distancing Show. Airs Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central, and features in-depth interviews with guests knowledgable about the crisis (Bill Gates, Dr. Anthony Fauci). John Krasinski | Some Good News. This new show highlights positive news from around the world amid the pandemic, much of the content is sent in by fans. The first episode featured Michael Scott himself, from The Office, which show just celebrated its 15th anniversary. In its first day, SGN attracted 3 million views and 350,000 subscribers! Jimmy Kimmel’s Quarantine Minilogue | Jimmy Kimmel Live – From His House. Airs weeknights, in its normal time slot. “Since I have nothing to do and the fact that since you’re watching this makes me assume you have nothing to do, I’m going to shoot a mini monologue every day until we get back from my house, where I am currently incarcerated. Thank God for television, my blood type right now is Disney positive… we’ve watched Frozen II more times than the animators who drew it have watched Frozen II.” - Jimmy Kimmel Again, you just can’t watch these guys and not laugh your head off – such a good thing to do before nodding off to dreamland.
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3. Read a Book Aspen Words recommends these to lift your spirits: The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik Rising Strong by Brene Brown The Shipping News by Annie Proulx The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle There are other curated lists of books on their website, aspenwords.org, about friendship and laughter. For other ideas, Google Oprah’s Books Are My Secret For Fighting Coronavirus Anxiety [from the April issue of “O Magazine”] Beginning April 2 and for the next 10 weeks, on her ImaginationLibrary. com website, and streamed on Facebook every Thursday at 7 pm, ET, Dolly Parton will be reading bedtime stories to children in a new series called, “Goodnight with Dolly.” Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter the family’s income. Launched in 1995, Parton’s library gives away one million books per month (!) to children around the world. Now, that’s a celebrity who is committed to making a difference. Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, has just launched an online Potter hub to keep children entertained and educated during the pandemic. You can find it on the wizardingworld.com website. My favorite genre is the memoir, and I’ve been inspired this last month by the grit and determination shown by Colin O’Brady’s The Impossible First, his triumphant 900-mile crossing of Antarctica in late 2018, without support and completely human powered – a treatise on mindset; John Tesh’s Relentless, an unexpectedly deeply moving story of his life of achievement and challenges, most recently cancer, and Winter 2020 Aspen Words author, Christopher McDougall’s Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of A Hero about a rescue donkey McDougall rehabilitates from near death and trains to run one of the most challenging races in America, the International Pack Burro Race in Leadville. Support our local bookstore, Explore Booksellers, by ordering over the phone, by e-mail or on the web. Have your books shipped or pick them up on their porch the same day. explorebooksellers.com 970-925-5336
4. Rescue A Shelter Animal Stave Off Loneliness by Saving a Life Animal shelters and rescue organizations always rely on volunteers to care for dogs, cats and other pets while they are waiting for adoption. Consider giving one a forever home and expect jubilance in your household for months and years to come. In the Roaring Fork Valley, call the Aspen Animal Shelter (dogsaspen.com) or Lucky Day Animal Rescue (luckydayrescue.org). Doing something bigger than yourself will take some weight off your shoulders during these times.
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5. Daily Podcasts to Quiet Your Mind or Get You Out of Your PJs There are literally hundreds of podcasters out there right now, all claiming to have the antidotes to coronavirus anxiety and panic. Some of the very, very best: Ten Percent Happier Live, hosted by ABC weekend news anchor, Dan Harris, who, after suffering a nationally televised on-air panic attack some years ago, wrote 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress without Losing my Edge, and Found Self-Help that Actually Works and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. Harris, in addition to his anchoring duties, has developed a subscriber-based 10% Happier app featuring guided meditations and practical teachings from well-known mindfulness experts – tenpercent.com. Several weeks ago, the Ten Percent team began pushing out Ten Percent Happier Live. From their website: Freaking out? You’re not alone— and you’re not malfunctioning. We’re in a moment of uncertainty and anxiety. Hence our new experiment: Ten Percent Happier LIVE. Every weekday, we’ll offer a free live sanity break, featuring our host, Dan Harris, and some of the world’s best meditation teachers, streaming from their homes to yours. We’ll start with a five minute meditation, and then take questions from the audience. We’ll be streaming live on YouTube at 3PM ET every weekday. If you miss us live, you can catch past episodes on the Ten Percent Happier app. Stay Connected with Mel Robbins, live every weekday on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn at 12 pm, ET – a show designed to bring listeners both connection and simple strategies to build the resilience needed to meet this collective moment of stress and anxiety. Mel Robbins is the best-selling author of The 5-Second Rule and the host of the nationally-syndicated Mel Robbins Show. She is a powerhouse of a motivator and the first to admit her own challenges to her audience which
makes her so relatable. Funny, inspiring and very watchable.
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“When you feel negative, name 5 things you can touch or see, name 4 things you are proud of that you have done this week, name 3 people you are going to reach out to this weekend, name 2 things you’re going to learn, and say this mantra: ‘Right now I am okay, if I have a positive attitude, I’ll win.’” A Mel Robbins 5-Second Rule in action. Other notable podcasts: The Tim Ferriss Show, the #1 business podcast on Apple’s platform – always intelligent, always provocative. Brené Brown’s brand new Unlocking Us, already the world’s #1 podcast. Her recent interview with author David Kessler on grief and finding meaning is timely and very healing. And then there’s the lovable Cal Fussman, a former writer for Esquire, whose podcast is called Big Questions. He’s one of the most curious persons I’ve ever run across – he speaks with such joie de vivre, you can’t help but smile while listening to him.
n every one of my pockets, I have a tissue. Like many of you, three weeks into this Stay Home atmosphere, I am emotionally and spiritually exhausted. We are all grieving our isolation, the loss of normalcy, the loss of control over our environment, our inability to make more of a difference to our neighbors, to our colleagues, to all our first responders and the increasing terror they experience every day. I cry often over this, and I also cry for those I know who have lost loved ones they couldn’t be with to say goodbye. I cry for those who can’t be near their families now because they can’t leave their homes or their communities or aren’t allowed into the hospitals or nursing homes where their loved ones lie alone. I cry for those in my own community who are hanging by threads, desperate for economic assistance which may, or may not, be available to them in the coming weeks. The anguish is overwhelming – it requires daily taming. Two new songs hit the airwaves last week, Jon Bon Jovi’s “If You Can’t Do What You Do, You Do What You Can,” whose verses, after the first one, were written by fans. And Thomas Rhett’s soul-stirring “Be A Light.” They are rescue remedies for me – perhaps they’ll be for you, as well.
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Highlights from the 2019-2020 Aspen/Snowmass Real Estate Market Overview Total dollar volume in 2019: $1.852Bk, less than a 1%
change from 2018 which was slightly higher. 2019’s numbers reflect a much improved sales segment over $5M.
Aspen SF Homes: # of sales, up 29%, and dollar volume
up 39%. Median sales price, $6,000,000. Avg price per sq ft, $1400, the same as it was in 2008! Listings, year-end, down 6%. Strongest neighborhoods: East Aspen, Red Mountain, West End and West Aspen. The Smuggler area and Woody Creek were down in 2019. Overall, 1½-2 year supply (vs. 2½-3 years in 2018).
Snowmass SF Homes: # of sales, up 26%, and dollar
volume, up 55%. Median sales price, $3,700,000. Avg price per sq ft, $920 (the avg price in 2008 was $1200/ft). Ridge Run, Melton Ranch/Wildridge and Woodrun were best performers. The Divide, Two Creeks and The Pines continue to suffer from inactivity. Listings, year-end, down 18%. 1½-2 years, current supply. “With the new energy surrounding the now real development of Base Village, Snowmass is on a very positive trajectory.”
Aspen Condos: # of sales, down 8%, and dollar volume
down 28%. Median sales price, $1,500,000. Avg price per sq ft, $1620. Listings, year-end, down 11%. .5 to 1 year, current supply. “Since 2017, Aspen condominiums have been firmly in a seller’s market.”
Snowmass Condos: # of sales, down 19%, due almost
entirely to fewer sales in The Viceroy, a result of much less
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Presented by Randy Gold MAI, SRA to the Aspen Board of Realtors on February 20 Except where otherwise noted, all figures are for Pitkin County, and reflect year-end differences between 2018 and 2019
product to sell. Dollar volume, up 1%. Median sales price, $750,000. Avg price per sq ft, $790 (the peak avg price per sq ft was $1050 in 2008). “Base Village continues to positively influence the Snowmass condominium market, particularly for product located near the Village and Base Village core.”
Mid-Valley Highlights (Basalt-Missouri HeightsCarbondale): Robust “seller’s market” here because of
low inventory. 2019 saw the most sales since 2007, and were up 6% over 2018. “Missouri Heights made a comeback with substantial increases in sales and prices. Carbondale prices reached unprecedented highs.”
Luxury Houses (defined by Gold as over $5M): 2019 saw
a significantly improved market, driven largely by sales in the $5M-$6.99M range (37 vs 18 in 2018) and by those over $10M (23 sales, a 44% increase over 2018). On the supply side, inventory is mostly dropping: $5-6.99M (down 34%); $7-9.99M (down 12%); $10-19.99M (down 9%). The supply of $20M+ listings, however, is essentially unchanged – 7 to 10 years’ worth. Gratitude to Randy Gold for permission to share these excerpts. A thorough analysis of the 2019-20 Aspen/ Snowmass marketplace is available for purchase – if you are at all interested in statistics and in an in-depth review of the market’s various segments, this report is well worth the purchase. You can order it on his website, aspenappraisalgroup.com.
The Roaring Fork Valley Real Estate Market: Keeping Perspective Buyers Still Buying | Sellers Still Selling While real estate activity obviously slowed down when Colorado’s ski resorts were closed by the governor in the middle of one of the busiest sales months of the year, it is still percolating, The pot has not gone cold. Indeed, as of 3/31, Aspen and Snowmass home and condo closed transactions were on pace with last year at this time, and we’ve seen some pretty big transactions in the last two weeks – six over $10M in Aspen, three over $5M in Snowmass. In the Roaring Fork Valley (Aspen–Snowmass–Basalt– Missouri Heights), since March 8, 13 properties have gone under contract (ranging from $80,000 to $9M) and 41 have closed (from $380,000 to $21 million). As of this writing (4/3), there are 61 pending transactions in the valley which will likely close within the next 60 days – 8 of them are over $8M; 60% are over $1M. These numbers are reassuring and do not reflect panic in the marketplace. While some pending transactions did fall apart the latter half of March, inventory in Aspen is less than, or on par, with this time last year. In Snowmass, inventory has dropped 16% amongst SF homes and 27% amongst condominiums. And for the first time in several years, Base Village didn’t dominate the market in the first quarter of 2020 – in 2019 at this time, SBV sales accounted for 52% of our condo sales; this year, only 34%.
What does the Future Hold? It’s way too soon to call the market for the remainder of 2020, of course, but these are some of the potential trends: If we’re on the other side of the pandemic by early summer, we’ll likely see inventory grow some, as owners begin to feel optimistic there will be buyers for their properties. Some sellers, whose listings are on the market now, may be more motivated than they were previously to just move on to their next chapters – that will be reflected in reduced prices or instructions to their brokers to let colleagues know they’re motivated. Many sellers, however, simply don’t need the money and may feel their investment here remains a better option than many of their other alternatives, and they’ll stay the course. Those owners keep the market relatively stable. We expect that, just as we did after 9/11, there will be an increase in the number of families who want to escape the density of their cities and find refuge in safer, more rural environments, like the Roaring Fork Valley, especially since we have such good schools, a rich cultural environment, an airport and two highly respected hospitals. Indeed, the migration may be even greater than it was before, as the country will have figured out, as a result of the pandemic, how to more effectively work remotely. This trend, if it materializes, will show up especially in Snowmass and Basalt, where home values are so much more within reach than are Aspen’s.
In the last few days, Aspen Skiing Company has announced they plan to proceed with a number of the capital improvements they had earlier planned for the summer, including replacement of the Big Burn chairlift in Snowmass ($10.8M), construction of a 43-unit affordable housing complex in Willits ($19M), and replacement of the roof on the Sundeck at the top of Aspen Mountain ($1.8M). The Snowmass Club is finishing up its remodel of the Black Saddle restaurant and still plans to go forward with a major renovation of its athletic facility in the fall. Such projects infuse capital into the valley and, more importantly, strengthen confidence in our future, both foundations for continued investment in the area by individual buyers. In the March 25 issue of Dezeen, an online architectural and design magazine based in London, there was a fascinating article about how the pandemic will affect future home design: more attention will be given to the arrangement of the workplace at home, for example. There’ll be a greater interest in balconies and courtyards and in small gardens, and in entry foyers that are separated from the rest of the home where deliveries, shoes, clothing and belongings “brought in from the street” can be safely left. And, there will be more consciousness than ever before of how much we need. “There will be fewer objects and they will be chosen more responsibly. Are they made of natural materials? Does their production harm the planet?” We expect 2020 will usher in a whole new chapter in modern architecture and interior design. 7
band-aid for the soul
I’ve been working from home for the last quartercentury. Quarantine is my everyday life. I want to share six words of advice, with love, that will diminish your sense of insanity. Six words: MAKE YOUR BED AND GET DRESSED.
The BJ Adams Team | COMPASS PO Box 6699 Snowmass Village, CO 81615
Elizabeth Gilbert
BJ Adams
Yellow Farmhouse Next to Alpine Bank 970.923.2111 | AspenSnowmassProperties.com
BJ ADAMS A bold, original thinker, BJ is perpetually nourished by new ideas and possibilities, drawn from every conceivable medium. She reads relentlessly, listens to music and podcasts obsessively, and draws creativity and inspiration from everything possible around her, all of which contributes to the marketing imagination, wisdom and unrivaled expertise she shares with her clients every day. An artist whose life is her canvas, BJ will exceed your highest expectations by bringing more thought, fresh ideas, accountability and service to the task of buying and selling. Frequently voted one as one of Aspen Times’ Favorite Realtors and honored by her Aspen Board of Realtors peers as past President and Realtor of the Year, BJ is the very definition of Real Estate on Higher Ground.
970.379.2114 | bj.adams@compass.com 8
