That Aspen is Colorado’s ritziest housing market has long been a given and last year was no exception — Pitkin County claimed nine out of the 10 most expensive home sales in the state. But a sale that broke the $100 million threshold for the first time in state history helped the town dominate the charts nationally.
The second quarter of 2024 was especially notable, with half of the 10 most expensive home sales recorded in the country happening in Aspen, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. For the year, Colorado claimed three of the top 10 sales where a public record was available.
“When I moved to Aspen 30 years ago, we were a town of millionaires, not billionaires. Now we are a town of billionaires,” said Brenda Wild, an owner broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Aspen.
Casino mogul Steve Wynn, founder of The Bellagio in Las Vegas, and online stock trading pioneer Thomas Petterfy, teamed up to purchase 419 Willoughby Way in Aspen for $108 million on April 15. The home, the largest on the top 10 list at a commanding 22,405 square feet, is on a street that has earned the title of Colorado’s billionaire row.
In the neighborhood was the state’s fourth most expensive sale last year at $60 million — 720 Willoughby Way. Four years earlier that same home had sold for $27 million, a common acceleration in value among the top-priced sellers.
The desire to get away and claim more space during the pandemic contributed to a run-up in prices in several resort areas. Pitkin County added to the frenzy when it limited the size of new homes to 9,250 square feet, helping make the mega-mansions built in prior decades collectibles for the rich and famous.
Wild said the uber-wealthy view Aspen real estate as an asset class where they can park their money and earn a steady return. The location offers a getaway where they can isolate and disappear off the grid if they want or rub shoulders with other shakers and movers on the slopes or at different festivals.
“Aspen has the full package and people are coming from all over the world, all the time,” she said.
Measured on a per-square-foot basis, the most expensive home on the list was 850 Roaring Fork Road. It went for $7,901 a square foot, which compares to $4,820 a square foot for 419 Willoughby.
Outside of Aspen, only Vail managed to sneak a home onto the state’s top 10 list. That was the $40 million sale of 107 Rockledge Road, a 12,447-square-foot property that looks down on Vail Village and has direct access to the slopes.
“It was the highest sales price for a single-family home that we have ever had,” said Liz Leeds, who specializes in luxury home sales in both Aspen and Vail. “Vail commands high prices, but not at the same level as what Aspen is doing.” Vail falls more in the price range of corporate executives and high-paid professionals who can’t afford Aspen, Leeds said. It is also popular with wealthy buyers from Mexico and South America.
Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Avon, Beaver Creek — none of those resorts had a home sale that qualified. As for metro Denver’s housing market, even its most expensive home sale last year wouldn’t have made Vail Valley’s top 10 list, much less Aspen’s. 5 Cherry Hills Park Drive in Arapahoe County came the closest at $15.7 million, while Boulder chipped in two home sales at $10 million, according to REColorado.
The 10 most expensive home sales in Colorado in 2024:
- 419 Willoughby Way, Aspen — $108 million; 22,405 square feet; 11 bedrooms
- 600 Owl Creek Ranch Road, Aspen — $77 million; 12,655 square feet; 8 bedrooms
- 112 W. Hopkins Ave., Aspen — $66.5 million; 12,360 square feet; 12 bedrooms
- 720 Willoughby Way, Aspen — $60 million; 8,737 square feet; 7 bedrooms
- 1525 Star Mesa Drive, Aspen — $59 million; 14,898 square feet; 9 bedrooms
- 210 S. West End St., Aspen — $48.75 million; 8,184 square feet; 7 bedrooms
- 295 & 495 Aspen Valley Ranch Road, Woody Creek — $46 million; 17,250 square feet; 15 bedrooms
- 107 Rockledge Road, Vail — $40 million; 12,447 square feet; 8 bedrooms
- 501 W. Hopkins Ave., Aspen — $36.97 million; 6,880 square feet; 6 bedrooms
- 850 Roaring Fork Road, Aspen — $34.75 million; 4,3983 square feet; 6 bedrooms
Sources: Aspen Glenwood MLS, Vail Multi-List, REColorado, Redfin
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