2020 was a memorable year for ranch and resort real estate sales. Despite uncertainty fueled by a deadly pandemic and a tumultuous presidential election cycle, the market roared on. Properties flew off of the shelves as buyers scrambled for a change in scenery. COVID-19 prompted many to appreciate the freedom of the outdoors. There was no shortage of buyers who wanted to grab a piece of the west – permanently! Every segment of the market, in Colorado anyway, morphed into a seller’s market. Condos and townhouses, single-family homes and vacant lots, and ranches large and small offered buyers a recreation launch point and a safe place from which to work or raise a family.
Luxury homes with high-speed internet and near good schools sold in record time; title companies could not keep up. Vacant building lots with access to public land were in high demand. Ranches of all kinds, acreages, and prices appealed to buyers in 2020 more than ever. Recreation ranches fetched the highest prices, especially those with some type of “wow” factor (spectacular scenery, thick forests loaded with wildlife, live water, public land boundary). Cattle ranches were high on buyers lists as well, particularly those with a well-rounded livestock operation that offered good working facilities, employee housing, and irrigated hay meadows. The level of interest does not seem to be slowing down and 2021 may repeat 2020 as another memorable year.
