Telluride Real Estate Market Information

NEW YORK AND LONDON —A survey of the world’s leading luxury real estate brokerages that comprise the Christie’s Great Estates international network reveals that despite the widely reported downturn in housing, high-value real estate in many markets worldwide has sold in record numbers and at record prices.

“Recent news stories about housing prices have failed to report on the robust sales achievements in the luxury real estate sector,” says Joanne Young, Broker Associate, Telluride Real Estate Corp., the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates in Telluride, CO. “The high-end category worldwide continues to outperform expectations.”

The sustained strength of the luxury real estate category mirrors the sustained confidence in fine art, as demonstrated by the history-making year-end results for Christie’s International plc, the world’s leading art business and parent company of Christie’s Great Estates. Christie’s global art sales totaled $6.3 billion last year. In February of 2008, confidence in the fine art market was underscored at London’s Impressionist & Modern Art Sale, which realized a total of $207.4 million, the second-highest total ever for an art auction in Europe. The top-selling lot, Pablo Picasso’s Femme au chapeau, realized $11,281,560, almost double its high estimate. Two days later, Triptych 1974–77 by Francis Bacon sold for $51.7 million, making it the most valuable Post-War and Contemporary work ever sold in Europe.

The affiliates of the Christie’s Great Estates network report similarly strong first-quarter results in 2008. What follows are reports and comments from a sampling of Christie’s Great Estates affiliates on the vigorous state of their local luxury real estate markets.

Mountain Resorts: In Vail, Sonnenalp Real Estate participated in seven transactions ranging between $5.3 million and $12.7 million in the past three months alone. These include two new records in January for the Beaver Creek and Bachelor Gulch resort areas. The first was for the highest price per square foot ($2,124) for any type of property in the history of the two resorts. The second was the highest aggregate price ever for a condominium or a townhouse ($9.37 million) in the same area. Telluride Real Estate found that Telluride, Mountain Village, and surrounding San Miguel County posted an all-time high for dollar volume, surpassing the record set in 2005. In Telluride Mountain Village, the company’s sales of single-family homes increased 32 percent over 2006, while gross dollar volume rose 46 percent. The average price of a home in Mountain Village was $3,825,907, an 11-percent increase over 2006.Telluride Real Estate closed on a $13.5-million mountain estate.

About Christie’s Great Estates

Christie’s Great Estates is the largest international network of real estate companies dedicated to the sale and marketing of luxury homes and a subsidiary of Christie’s, the world’s leading art business. Christie’s clients who buy and sell works of art often request real estate services. To satisfy this demand, Christie’s Great Estates, founded by Kay Coughlin in 1987, was acquired by Christie’s in 1995. Today, the Christie’s Great Estates global network spans more than 40 countries with 850 offices and approximately 35,000 brokers. Committed to the auction house’s two-century-old tradition of exceptional customer service and expertise in high-value marketing, the network achieved total combined sales in excess of $125 billion.

Admittance to the Christie’s Great Estates network is offered by invitation only to those real estate companies with proven records of success in high-value home sales and who exemplify Christie’s traditional value of service. Once awarded affiliate status, brokers may then display the coveted Christie’s brand and use the proprietary marketing services of Christie’s Great Estates, which has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the globe for more than 20 years. Exceptionally skilled local real estate specialists, a client-focused approach, and strategic global marketing to a qualified audience of proven luxury consumers are the hallmarks of Christie’s Great Estates.