Avon

What’s the old saying? Location, location, location. And Avon is undoubtedly in a stellar location. What was once a thriving cattle ranch and lettuce farm has evolved, thanks to the opening of Beaver Creek in December 1980, into a resort gateway, with homes, condos, mom-and-pop enterprises (like the artisan butchery Colorado Meat Co., Avon Bakery, and Mirabelle Restaurant, which doubles as the residence of Belgian Master Chef Daniel Joly), and national retailers (Pier One). Resort employees and locals choose to live in Avon thanks to its proximity to the resorts, bus access, and many unpretentious bars and restaurants.

Recent upgrades to the town, like the Westin Riverfront Resort and, more recently, the Wyndham Resort at Avon, have ushered in a new pedestrian promenade and a multimillion-dollar lakefront stage built for the 2015 FIS World Ski Championships. They’ve also brought a wave of festivals and concerts to Nottingham Park—including the largest Fourth of July sky show in the Rockies—with crowds rivaling those at Vail Village’s Ford Amphitheater. On most days, Jim Flaum, the president and managing broker for Slifer Smith & Frampton, has his Avon office window open, and at least once a week he says he can hear the music.

“Avon has come a long way,” says Flaum, and people are taking note of such upgrades, affordability, and location. Units in the Westin range from $310,000 up to $2 million, with amenities that include gondola access to Bachelor Gulch and a fitness club where members work out alongside resident Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin.

Stats
Number of active listings (at press time): 52
Active median home price: $499k
Number of homes sold in 2016: 52
Median price of homes sold here in 2016: $499,950
Average number of days on the market: 114

Eagle-Vail

It wouldn’t take too long to pedal all the way through Eagle-Vail’s smooth, flat trellis of streets and pathways. Past condos and duplexes, neighbors heading to work, kids playing in tucked-away pocket parks, and gaggles of tweens engaged in fierce rounds of footgolf on EagleVail Golf Club’s manicured fairways.

Eagle-Vail community manager Jeff Layman sees this quirky new sport (it’s a soccer/golf hybrid) as yet another draw to a small community that has largely remained impervious to sky-high home prices and overdevelopment.

“It feels a bit like the land that time forgot,” says Layman, a 30-year resident of Eagle-Vail. But such oversight is a good thing, says Layman, not only for house hunters looking for value, value, value and location, location, location but also for small businesses like local mechanics, Vail Brewing Company, and others nearby that serve the community’s needs.

“I really appreciate the locally owned businesses,” says Layman. “And they are a part of an area that’s growing, so they can’t help but be successful.”
The feeling is mutual, says Beaver Divers owner Emily Zwaan, who rides her bike on the path that parallels Highway 6 from Edwards to her storefront in Eagle-Vail.

“It’s a really nice place to do business,” says Zwaan.

Eagle-Vail home prices range from $305,000 for a one-bedroom to a 12,000-square-foot luxury property listed at $4.5 million. More than half of the residents of Eagle-Vail are permanent homeowners whose kids join the swim team and attend the 500-plus-student K-8 school, Homestake Peak.
“It’s close to everything that matters,” says Layman—and it’s been that way since 1974, when the 18-hole golf club opened its doors.

Stats
Number of active listings (at press time): 27
Active median home price: $585k
Number of homes sold in 2016: 18
Median price of homes sold here
in 2016: $477k
Average number of days on the market: 55