Grand County Colorado Real Estate

Named for Grand Lake and the Grand River that flows through it, Grand County is one of sixty-four Colorado counties. A 2000 census noted a population of just under 12,500. By 2010, the population had grown to almost 15,000. How is it looking for Grand County Colorado Real Estate? We’re answering below. 

First, a little more on this area of Colorado. Incorporated in 1864, the county contains land to the north and west borders of Colorado sixty-seven miles from Denver. Grand County is 1,870 square miles in size. 

For quite some time, real estate in Colorado was ignored. Grand County offers a high quality of life in a beautiful mountain environment. Today’s interest in relocating to Grand County has taxed the housing market in the towns and rural areas of Grand County. This change makes Grand County Colorado real estate an excellent investment.

Major Landmarks

While many purchase homes or vacation properties in Grand County because of the mountains, the hiking trails, skiing opportunities, and the many green spaces, Grand County residents are justifiably proud of the county’s heritage. The local Historical Association runs four museums in the county.

The Cozens Ranch Museum located in Winter Park was constructed by Central City sheriff, William Cozens for his bride in 1874 when the couple started the first homestead in the Fraser Valley.

Opened in 2013, Emily Warner Field and Aviation Museum in Granby pays tribute to the rich aviation history of Grand County. Friends of Granby Airport have set up informative displays. Visitors enjoy viewing the Granby Airport Pioneers Wall of Fame at the preserved airport. It tells stories of Grand County military heroes and pilots like Robert Polhamus and WWII aircraft mechanic Chuck Orlusky.

Located on the banks of the Colorado River, Heritage Park in Kremmling is a small but wonderful museum which has interesting historic artifacts of the local area. Two prisoners of war camps existed in the county during WWII. There are also exhibits of the Moffat Tunnel. This young museum displays many examples of early twentieth-century life in Grand County. It is made up of six historic buildings.

Towns

Grand County’s county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs. Other area towns include Fraser, Granby, Grand Lake, Kremmling, and Winter Park.

Fraser, located in the Fraser Valley northwest of Winter Park, this town has grown rapidly because of its proximity to ski resorts. It is an area coveted for its small-town friendliness and beautiful countryside. The growth of condominiums and other real estate has mushroomed in the past decade and continues to grow.

Granby, the most populous town in Grand County is located eighty-five miles from Denver and fourteen miles to the south and west of Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Grand Lake, as its name suggests, is a prime vacation spot on Colorado’s largest body of water. Both skiing and water sports abound here.

Located on the Colorado River between Byers and Gore canyons, at an elevation of over 2225 meters, Kremmling is the most affordable of Grand County’s towns.

Hot Sulphur Springs is located near Byers Canyon a little under a hundred miles from Denver between Granby and Kremmling. It is in the heart of ski country thirty miles northwest of Winter Park. The elevation is just over 7,000 feet. 

Winter Park was first settled in 1923 as West Portal. It is sixty-seven miles north and west of Denver. Winter Park is Denver Airport’s nearest ski resort. Winter Park Resort is one of Colorado’s longest continually operated ski resorts. Boasting over three thousand acres of ski country, Winter Park has almost a hundred and fifty ski trails. It is the largest ski area in Colorado with a height of 9,000 feet. 

Skiing Magazine has ranked one of Winter Park’s hills, Mary Jane, the premier mogul skiing spot in North America. The U.S. Freestyle Mogul Team trained at Winter Park for the Olympics in1998, 2002, and 2006.

Home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled, it has the highest average snowfall of Colorado’s resorts. Also, America’s mountain bike capital, Winter Park is the highest town in the USA.

Fraser Colorado Real Estate Hotspot

Realtors note that buyers are turning to Grand County as it is one of the last ski resort communities where homes and vacation properties are still affordable. Other ski resort areas in Colorado have become so expensive that few can dream of owning there. 

Fraser properties between $300,000 and $350,000 are rare anymore. First-time homebuyers in Fraser and Winter Park are almost non-existent because of the rapidly increasing costs of even condos and single bedroom units. Most buyers in this area are second or third homeowners.

Many of today’s buyers in the Fraser area plan to move to Grand County and telecommute or run a home business. Several of them have relocated from Denver.

Grand County Investment Opportunities

Grand County Colorado real estate investment opportunities have never been greater. In 2018, the county’s housing market soared in all types of housing everywhere in Grand County. This trend is expected to increase in the coming years. Grand County Board of Realtors reported that townhouse prices increased by at least fifteen percent while condominiums went up almost twenty-five percent and single-family dwellings went up ten percent in 2018 alone.

While the demand for all types of housing in Grand County continues to rise, there is a small availability of homes. The single-family house market grew by only five percent in 2018. Condo purchase opportunities increased by only seven percent and the real estate buying options for townhouses dropped. New developments are attracting new buyers from outside Grand County. Construction can’t keep up with the demand.