Author: The Moens Team

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Just Like Lincoln Logs

Ever seen a log home being built? It’s like giant-sized Lincoln Logs!

They cut and pre-assemble the logs offsite at the log supplier’s yard, then the logs are transported to the building site on huge trucks.

John and Julie bought a vacant lot through us last year, and now they are building their dream log cabin! But, they couldn’t be in town for the exciting “log set”, so we took this video for them. Their builder? Brian & Karen Wray, Mountain Log Homes of Colorado. The first portion shows the garage under construction, and the second portion shows the main house under construction.



Did you know: you can expand the video to full screen? While the video is playing, click the YouTube button, then click the Full Screen button.

Please check back from time to time, for more videos.

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Highlands Home Prices Still Stable

Hello from Breckenridge, Colorado!

Here’s more good news, from the Highlands At Breckenridge luxury home subdivision:

  • We charted all 37 home sales in this subdivision since 1/1/2009, and the price-per-square-foot is stable! (See the magenta line). There’s a slight -2.1% percent per year downtrend (yellow line) in the price per square foot, but that’s not a major trend.
  • The sold prices ranged from $850,000 to $2,199,000.
  • The last three sales were:
  1. $199 / sq ft on 1/25/11 (We had the buyer! Bank owned)
  2. $295 / sq ft on 2/8/11
  3. $390 / sq ft on 3/24/11


For homes in The Highlands At Breckenridge subdivision:

  • The peak selling prices occurred roughly from July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008, and averaged $401 per sq ft
  • Selling prices from January 1, 2009 through April 22, 2011 averaged $305 per sq ft
  • That’s a drop of around 24% from the peak
  • Although there have been a few foreclosures and bank-owned sales, on average the selling price per square foot in the Highlands has bottomed out, and since 1/1/2009 it is roughly flat.


So, we’re having a sale! Luxury home prices in this prestigious subdivision have been rolled back 24%.

What a great time to buy, in one of the most affordable ski resort towns in the U.S.!



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How To Have A Smooth Transaction

Hello, everybody,

Here are a few items that I wanted to share with you on how to get the property you want and have a smooth painless professional transaction. I have noticed a few things over the years that have killed a deal and wanted to share them with you.

  • Sellers, don’t bring your emotions to the business of selling a home. In these turbulent times the buyers are aware that there are good deals out there, but they are not sure where to start when they make an offer because the selling prices vs. asking prices are all over the map. They see reports on the comps in your area where there might be a bank owned property with a low price that throws everything off. As a seller, never just reject an offer, and always counter (maybe with full price). Sometimes the first offer is just to see where you stand and how motivated you are. As a seller, when you get an offer do not be offended if you feel it is too low. This is not a reflection on your property but simply a different understanding of the market.
  • When a property is advertised as “Motivated Seller,” this could mean one price to the buyer and another to the seller. No one is being dishonest; it is just a different way of thinking. When negotiating an offer, $10,000 may seem to be an exorbitant amount of money to the seller but not to the buyer.
  • Buyers, don’t trash talk a home thinking that this will help you in negotiating a better price. Even though I advise people to not take the business of selling a home personally, people still have a lot of emotions about their homes and their memories, style of decorating etc. This business can be done with integrity and respect so that all parties are pleased.
  • Pick your battles. If there is a microwave that is in dispute for example, do you want to walk away from buying or selling a home because of it? Really? I have seen it happen. Pick your battles and choose the items that truly matter to you and don’t sweat the small stuff.


So I think I will do this periodically because it is getting a lot of good response and it is sort of the ABC’s of real estate. It is the little things that can make all the difference.

See you soon,

Teresa