The biggest real estate deals of ’08 in Pitkin County

ASPEN ” The glory days are gone for now, and 2008 might be remembered as the year when Pitkin County’s real estate bubble finally burst.

Sales tumbled every month in 2008. Year-to-date through November, sales were down 46 percent, according to Land Title Guarantee Co.

Total sales for the first 11 months of 2008 were $1.25 billion. They were $2.33 billion through November 2007.

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In 2008, the dollar volume of sales was down 40 percent in the month of November compared to 2007.

Sales were $64.79 million compared to $107.7 million for November 2007, according to Land Title Guarantee Co.

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Last year will be the first since 2004 when total annual real estate sales in Pitkin County didn’t top $2 billion. A record was set in 2006 with sales of nearly $2.4 billion.

Even so, there were still some robust real estate deals to be had in Pitkin County, despite the recession, and thanks to Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, who made the biggest splash with his $36.4 million purchase of a Wildcat Ranch estate.

Here’s a snapshot of the top 10 real estate deals of 2008:

1.

Price: $36,375,000

Address: 1200 Ridge of Wildcat Drive

Neighborhood: Wildcat Ranch

Property class: Single family

Seller: Leon C. Hirsch

Buyer: Roman Abramovich

Date recorded: April 29, 2008

2.

Price: $20,750,000

Address: 109 Willoughby Way

Neighborhood: Green Acres (Red Mountain)

Property class: Single family

Seller: Thomas C. Quick

Buyer: Ponds LLC

Date recorded: Aug. 6, 2008

3.

Price: $15,887,839.08

Address: 288 Willoughby Way

Neighborhood: Green Acres (Red Mountain)

Property class: Single family

Seller: Michael Stewart

Buyer: Phillip S. Beck

Date recorded: Aug. 18, 2008

4.

Price: $15 million

Address: 61 S. Meadow Lane

Neighborhood: Maroon Creek Club

Property class: Single family

Seller: Lot 12 Maroon Creek Club LLC

Buyer: Nepsa Investment Group

Date recorded: July 7, 2008

5.

Price: $14.6 million

Address: 535. Cooper Ave.

Property: La Fave Block building

Neighborhood: Downtown Aspen

Property class: Commercial

Seller: Stein Ericksen Family Partnership LLP

Buyer: Perryton Holdings LLC, Opal Holdings, Stein Holdings, RG Cooper Street LLC

Date recorded: Feb. 22, 2008

6.

Price: $14.5 million

Address: 202 E. Fork Lane

Neighborhood: Two Creeks (Snowmass)

Property class: Single family

Seller: Two Creeks 46 Residence LLC

Buyer: Eugene Shvidler

Date recorded: Aug. 6, 2008

7.

Price: $11,926,281

Address: 8500 Snowmass Creek Road

Neighborhood: Wildcat Ranch

Property class: Single family

Seller: North Enterprises Trust

Buyer: James Pitzer Gills III

Date recorded: Dec. 26, 2008

8.

Price: $11.8 million

Address: 303 Aspen Way (Snowmass Village)

Property class: Single family

Seller: Steven Sandler

Buyer: Roman Abramovich

Date recorded: Feb. 4, 2008

9.

Price: $11,500,000

Address: 385 Pinecrest Drive (Snowmass Village)

Property class: Single family

Seller: Terry A. McKay Trust

Buyer: Lorenzo J. Fertitta Trustee

Date recorded: March 17, 2008

10.

Price: $11.4 million

Address: 640 Moore Drive

Neighborhood: Moore Family PUD

Property class: Single family

Seller: Jeffrey Soffer

Buyer: Moore Ski Properties LLC of Miami

Date recorded: March 14, 2008