HOT ASPEN REAL ESTATE  MARKET FUELED  BY FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP TRENDS

The Aspen real estate market is on fire according to a report by Land Title Guarantee Company in Aspen.

2004 established a record for Aspen real estate sales for an entire year at $1.6 billion in Pitkin County. There appears to be little doubt a new record will be established for 2005.

Helping to fuel the fire of the Aspen real estate market is the increasing popularity of fractional ownership residences. So far this year, fractional ownership sales have accounted for roughly 20-30% of all real estate transactions in the Aspen area.

The skyrocketing popularity of fractional ownership and limited inventory has resulted in prices increasing at most of the current developments. There are fractional ownership sales now topping $1 million.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Innsbruck Aspen is currently offering deeded fractional shares for a four-week stay in a luxury one bedroom residence at a starting price of just $75,000 and two bedrooms three baths for only $169,000.

"I came up with a design that real people could afford, not just millionaires and billionaires, and surprisingly, we're getting millionaires buying it," said broker Gwen Dickinson, a partner in the project and owner of RE/MAX Premier, the Aspen real estate firm representing The Innsbruck.