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Thank you so much.  See you there!

I am very excited to feature a fractional ownership opportunity this month at One Willow Bridge Road. This is a fabulous luxury residential development with many resort amenities. It is in the heart of Vail Village – therefore, close to the ski lifts and all of the shops and restaurants in the village.  You will be impressed with the quality and elegance of this property.

The property is available for seven weeks: you get three weeks in the summer, three in the winter and one week to use whenever you want. Basically, you get to enjoy all of the wonderful season that Vail has to offer! Also, you can rent the weeks you don’t use. This two bedroom, two bathroom condo is listed at $595,000. Give me a call at 970-331-1806 to schedule your private showing.

This is one of the best times of year in Vail. While the leaves are turning color, people are outside hiking and also inside relaxing at some of the great local spas. It is also when Vail Restaurant Month takes place. Delicious.

Vail Restaurant Month is made up of four fabulous weeks of one-of-a-kind events, activities and special offers. Star chefs, singular dining experiences, wine and beer tastings, spa packages, romantic getaways, family fun, cooking demonstrations, fashion trunk shows, art gallery receptions, celebrity author readings and book signings, outdoor adventures, and many more special activities take place during this month-long event.

The full details can be found here and below is a sneak peak at what the different themed weeks have to offer.

Market to Table Week: September 20 – 26

Entertaining and inspirational events, seminars and dining experiences all tied to healthy living and delicious fresh food, highlighted by a special Vail Farmers Market.

Health, Wellness and the Outdoors Week: September 27 – October 3

Biking, running, yoga, golf, rafting, hiking, flyfishing, and ballooning – Vail in the fall is the perfect season for outdoor adventures, beer and food pairings . . . and unforgettable dining experiences.

LoveFest: October 4 – 10

Get ready for romantic activities for couples, champagne and wine tastings, late night romance, celebrations with friends, pampering spas, and thrilling surprises from Vail’s star chefs.

Family and Little Foodies in the Kitchen Week: October 11- 17

An old-fashioned family vacation, remixed for today. Family activities, dining and just plain fun featuring “Little Foodies in the Kitchen” cooking classes, parties and special events

If you are interested in renting a property during this stay or anytime, please contact me. I’m happy to help.

My agency – Slifer, Smith and Frampton Real Estate – issues an annual Smart Buyer’s Report outlining when it is a “smart” time to buy as well as why a certain area might be a better investment opportunity than another. You can read the entire report here and below is a quick summary of a couple of the main points. I’ll be blogging more about the report – as well as your thoughts – on my Web site this month. Visit www.ColoradoLuxuryRealEstateBlog.com.

The report opened with how the current real estate market offers smart buyers the following things: excellent home values throughout the Vail Valley, a broad selection of inventory, favorable interest rates and a resilient local market. They quoted a Fannie Mae survey from April 2010 which found that, nationally, nearly two‐thirds of Americans think now is the right time to buy a house, with a majority believing prices will be the same or higher over the next year.

Essentially, the window of opportunity for homebuyers has opened in that inventory is good, home prices remain competitive and if you’re interested in financing, rates are at a record low. Buyers are realizing that there are a number of reasons to take advantage of current market conditions and are purchasing their mountain homes. Both hard data and anecdotal evidence supports the fact that the market is on the uptick – as I blogged about last month – with sales beating out the last couple of years. You can see the numbers here.

These numbers also indicate that inventory in the Vail Valley hit a high recently – in August of 2009 – and has decreased since remaining under 2,000 active units. Here in Vail, we have not seen the mushrooming of inventory experienced by other markets around the country. This is largely because foreclosures in our area – which have risen a bit in the past year – still remain very low, below 1 percent in Eagle County. As a result, most buyers today are finding a more extensive selection of homes to choose from as compared to prior years such as in 2007 and 2008.

What is great for buyers is that the market has shifted in their favor. Smart buyers in this market are finding sellers more willing to negotiate in order to put together an acceptable transaction.

Executive summary: there hasn’t been a better time to buy a mountain home. There is plenty of inventory and the area is stable. The home prices are competitive and record-low financing is available. It is a great time to invest, not only in a piece of real estate but also in a vacation home that will provide memories for you and your family that will last a lifetime.

As I introduced last month, I have begun to feature a hiking report. The fall climate clearly supports some great hiking and also compliments the ski report and golf report that I also feature in this newsletter and on my blog.

Hiking is one of my favorite activities and Vail has gorgeous mountains, creeks and trails that are perfect for this activity. This month, I’ve featuring the Wilder Gulch Trail. If you have suggestions for future hiking reports, please send them my way.

The Wilder Gulch Trail is located west of Copper Mountain. It climbs up Wilder Gulch from the Vail Pass Recreation Trail toward Ptarmigan Pass. From the base of the trail, travel south up the valley away from the interstate. The trail climbs continuously as it parallels the stream where numerous beaver ponds are found. After 2.3 miles the trail swings to the right and ends on a dirt road, which winds up to Ptarmigan Pass at the head of the valley. Ptarmigan Pass offers a good view of the Sawatch Range and the west side of the Gore Range.

The area is closed to motorized vehicles in the summer, but snowmobiles do use the area in the winter.

Directions: From Beaver Creek, Go 23 miles east on I-70 to exit #190, near the summit of Vail Pass. Turn right and park in the large parking area. Hikers can follow the Vail Pass Recreation Trail (a paved bicycle trail) to Wilder Gulch. Cross through the tunnel under the interstate which and follow the recreation trail to just before the stream crossing.

The stats:

Elevation: 10,500 feet

Ending Elevation: 11,500 feet

Elevation Gain: 1,000 feet

Distance: 3.0 miles

Usage: Light

Difficulty: Easy