Telluride Market Analysis

Telluride Market Report Q1 2022

What makes the Telluride market tick?

1. A Year-Round Real Estate Economy

Telluride’s spring, summer and fall festival schedule, combined with numerous outdoor activities attract tourists/investors on a year-round basis to a resort where skiing is just one item on the recreational menu. Telluride is as attractive to the non-skier/investor as it is to the skier/investor. As a matter of fact, summer real estate sales often exceed those sales consummated during the winter months.

2. Limited Supply of Development Property

The Telluride region is surrounded by federally controlled property (USFS and BLM) limiting future growth to approximately 14,000 private acres. Virtually all of the private ground is subject to a master plan which allows for the development of fewer than 4,000 single family equivalents on about one-third (1/3) of the above-mentioned ground. This density is but a small fraction of allowable densities in other major resorts and it is this assurance of future controlled growth that positively drives the marketplace both with regard to volume and value.

3. Quality Control

The Town of Telluride is a designated National Historic District, and as such, its architectural integrity and the quality of future development are ensured by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and locally, by the Historical and Architectural Review Commission with its set of strict guidelines. The quality of future development in the Telluride Mountain Village is assured through its detailed Design Review Guidelines and Land Use Code, which are enforced by the Town of Mountain Village. The initial projects developed in the Village have certainly set the tone for many upscale projects presently being reviewed by the Design Review Board.

4. Rare Physical Beauty

The Telluride region is blessed with a most dramatic scenic backdrop. Much has been written in a variety of publications concerning the raw beauty of Telluride, e.g., “In a family of beauties, Telluride is the most stunning” – Boston Globe. In addition, nature’s topographical layout enables three mountains and two towns to be joined by one ski area and a high-speed gondola transportation system. This plan has a European flair and, above all, diminishes the need for the bus and automobile. It is also unique that the Telluride Ski & Golf Company, master developer/owner/operator of the Telluride Mountain Village and Ski Resort, controls the property mid-mountain on its ski area. This enables the Village project to be entirely ski-in and ski-out with a “commercial core” possessing perfect southwest solar exposure.

5. Road & Air Access

Despite a reputation for being difficult to get to, the area offers an often under-appreciated ease of both driving and air access. Many familiar with the trip believe that this misconception is what has preserved Telluride’s remarkable beauty and rich character while other resorts sprawled over the past 20 years.

6. Rich Historic Character

The Town of Telluride is a National Landmark Historic District in the United States, receiving high marks for fostering the historic character of a true 1800s Victorian-Era Colorado mining Town