FEWER HOUSES FOR SALE IN DENVER, PRICES SKYROCKETING AGAIN

There normally is a drop in the number of homes for sale in Denver from October to November. The November inventory of homes for sale usually drops 11.4 percent from October. This year, the 38.4 percent drop was a record. There were just 1,444 single family homes for sale at the end of November. There was no downturn in demand, however, as there were 4,392 closings, but only 3,741 new listings added to the market. As a result, the median price for a single-family home sold in November rose 2.7 percent from October to $600,000. That ties the record high reached in June.

AFTER PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN, RED ROCKS EMERGES AS WORLD'S NO. 1 VENUE

Live concerts were essentially halted for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as outdoor concerts returned this year, Colorado's iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre achieved a milestone. Billboard's Boxscore chart of the world's top grossing and best-attended venues had Red Rocks No. 1 in the world. In its 80th anniversary year, Red Rocks hosted 233 ticketed paid events, which included 177 concerts, 20 yoga and fitness programs, and 36 movies in the Film on the Rocks series. The previous record number of concerts at Red Rocks was 168 in 2019.

BLIZZARD IN THE FORECAST, GET YOUR SKIS READY…IN HAWAII

The National Weather Service forecast a blizzard to hit the Big Island of Hawaii, bringing up to 12 inches of snow to parts of the island. The blizzard warning covers both the 13,796-foot Mauna Kea and 13,678-foot Mauna Loa. The only other blizzard warning issued over the weekend in the U.S. was for Alaska. Snow covered just 12 percent of the contiguous U.S. Sunday, among the lowest for that date in some 20 years. The snow on the Big Island will bring some hardy skiers, who will pile into their cars for a trip up Mauna Kea as soon as the road opens. Skiable snow might last only a few days, so it requires quick action following a storm.

GLENWOOD LOOKS TO PRESERVE HISTORIC COKE OVENS WITH NPS GRANT

The Glenwood Springs Historical Society is applying for a National Parks Service Save America's Treasures Grant, which funds preservation projects on the National Register of Historic Places. The Historical Society would use the grant to preserve the Cardiff coke ovens, 50 of which are on the National Register. The grant requires a 100 percent match, meaning there needs to be dollar-for-dollar matching money to the grant money. The Garfield County commissioners have agreed to donate $50,000 from the county's Conservation Trust Fund and the Glenwood Springs City Council have approved a motion to issue a letter of intent to donate up to $50,000 for the match.

ASPEN: THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THE ULTRA HIGH-END REAL ESTATE SALES

Across all the resort areas of Colorado, real estate markets are dominated by the number of sales of high-end or ultra high-end properties. Nowhere was this more evident than in Aspen last week, where three home sales combined for sales totaling $99 million. On Monday, the sale of a Moore Drive home for $32.5 million was filed in the Pitkin County Clerk & Recorder’s Office and the first day of December saw a $28 million sale of a Castle Creek Road home and a West End residence closed for $38.5 million. Those deals pushed the total number of residential transactions of at least $20 million to 20 for the year, putting 2021 nearly on pace with the 24 sales topping $20 million in 2020, based on data from Land Title Guarantee Co.

DROUGHT IN MONTROSE COUNTY

November brought only a skiff of snow to Montrose County and that lack of snowfall was reflected in the weekly report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, which showed the western side and a portion of the northeastern side of Montrose County locked in severe drought. The remainder of the county was classified as being in moderate drought. Severe drought is generally defined by the government as a drought in which planting is reduced and livestock producers sell cattle; in which fire season is extended and in which snowpack is low. Moderate drought is defined as a situation of stunted rangeland growth; little hay available; dryland crops at risk and increased wildfire risk.

OSPREY PACKS SELLS, BUT WILL REMAIN IN CORTEZ

Osprey Packs, the manufacturer of high-end backpacks and daypacks with worldwide sales in 74 countries, was founded by Mike Pfotenhauer in 1974 and moved to Dolores in 1990 and to Cortez in 1994. The company has been sold to Helen of Troy for $414 million in cash. Osprey Packs headquarters will remain in Cortez and no major changes in operations are expected. Osprey Packs employs nearly 300 people, including almost 100 in the headquarters office; 30 in a distribution center in Ogden, Utah; 80 in a European market office in Poole, U.K.; and 85 in a manufacturing center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

FIRST-EVER GRANT PROGRAM FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION COMING

The state of Colorado's Outdoor Recreation Industry Office is gearing up to provide grants under funding provided by a $9.7 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant. The Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and the Colorado Tourism Office worked together to apply for and receive the grant. The funding comes at a time of need as the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on recreation employment in the state.
In Colorado, outdoor recreation employment dropped from 149,000 in 2019 to 120,000 in 2020, a 19.5 percent decrease. The amount outdoor recreation added to Colorado’s GDP fell from $12.2 billion to $9.6 billion, while compensation in the sector fell 12.5 percent to $5.7 billion, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The Outdoor Recreation Industry Office is waiting for final guidance from the U.S. Economic Development Association on how it can distribute the money. A key issue for distribution is whether to make smaller allocations to many applicants or make several large, targeted investments. State officials hope to prop up international tourism marketing, workforce development and training, economic planning and the development of sector infrastructure projects.

AIR CARGO AT DIA 2021

Top air cargo companies serving Denver International Airport, ranked by pounds of cargo transported through DIA, January through September 2021:

1. FedEx Corp: 156.9 million pounds
2. United Parcel Service Inc.: 132.3 million pounds
3. ABX Air Inc.: 57.8 million pounds
4. Atlas Air Inc.: 18.1 million pounds
5. Amerijet: 10.8 million pounds
6. Alpine Air Express Inc.: 1.7 million pounds
7. Air Transport International LLC: 1.0 million pounds
8. Bemidji Aviation Services Inc.: 891,789 pounds
9. Mesa Air Group Inc.: 847,726 pounds
10. Cargolux: 547,693 pounds

WOMEN VETERANS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL: DEC. 7

A Women Veterans Virtual Town Hall takes place Tuesday, Dec. 7 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. There is a survey, at the link below, available until Dec. 10. Join the meeting by phone by calling 872-701-0185, and using the Phone Conference ID: 581928855#. Please call 970-244-1324 or e-mail Kayla.Holst@va.gov with any questions.