As some of us are boldly spending some of our discretionary funds, snapping up consumer bargains on anything from automobiles to socks and underwear, this deflationary cycle will probably soon come to an end. It has been swift and ruthless and hitting this bottom has been painful for would-be sellers of real estate in Telluride. This swift downward market correction caught many sellers and real estate brokers by surprise, and with sellers not adjusting prices very quickly, the number of transactions was sliced in half. Most sellers in the Telluride market are strong enough to wait out the cycle and will hold firmer on their pricing, but some sellers have had enough and will discount significantly to move on with life and may comeback into the market another day.
For real estate brokers representing buyers and sellers it has been an interesting dance to see how much courage buyers have and how much pain sellers are willing to take. There are savvy buyers who are buying now when everyone is trying to sell; they will be picking the low hanging fruit in this deflationary cycle, snapping up some bargains for themselves and their families to enjoy. These sporadic fire sale priced properties will not last long and deals not made by the end of the ski season usually have sellers resigning themselves to the fact that a sale will not occur until next summer season, holding firm on their pricing in anticipation for a better summer sales season. Recent broader economic numbers show very slight inflation, inflation with our government printing money to pay for our past sins can be a problem and as the business cycle swings the other way it would be wise for investors to brace themselves for future inflation. Real estate has historically been a good inflation fighting asset; and resort real estate, unlike gold, has an added enjoyment component. The conclusion of all this is it maybe wise to pick up a price deflated property today and have an enjoyable inflation fighting asset in the future. As the old saying goes: buy when others sell and sell when others want to buy.