ow did the experts at the Pantone Color Institute know? Had they ever spied a Colorado alpine meadow carpeted with spectacular, bluey Mountain Lupine, or glimpsed towering Pikes Peak, which inspired that timeless line from America the Beautiful about “purple mountain majesties”?

Sure, they are color experts, but were these stunning shades forefront in their minds while they deliberated the next Pantone Color of the Year from their New Jersey offices? Had the otherworldly purple-rose of alpenglow at altitude elbowed its way into their debate?

Colorado Resort Markets
Continue their Ride.

By Ingrid Palmer

s we head into what is typically the busiest season for real estate sales, interest rates are climbing and mortgage loan applications are slowing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For much of the country, home prices right now are sky-high and those big price tags are causing people to think hard about whether now is the best time to purchase a new home.

Things are a little different in Colorado’s resort areas, however. Inflation and the economic fluctuations that affect much of the country’s real estate numbers don’t have the same impact in resort towns where many buyers purchase homes with cash.

“Activity is still strong in the mountain communities across all sectors,” said Dan Fitchett, President of Colorado Resort Markets at LIV Sotheby’s International Realty. “Prices continue to escalate, and sales continue to outpace the previous year’s numbers. Houses that might have sat on the market for a few weeks three years ago are now selling in hours, often sight unseen. Nothing is slowing down.”