A dome-shaped condominium sits among the trees in Vail, Colorado.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Vail, Colorado, has no shortage of notable landmarks. There’s the mountain itself with world-class skiing and snowboarding, the European-style pedestrian village and Gore Creek, which cuts through the heart of the resort town itself.
But for locals and visitors alike, an unusual condominium building also fills the bill: the iconic dome home. The three-unit residence came to fruition in the mid-1980s―no doubt drawing inspiration from the earlier works of architect R. Buckminster Fuller―who found the shape able to withstand extreme weather while being energy- and resource-efficient. Those economies aside, it has also proven popular with Vrbo vacationers and offers significant investment appeal.
Priced at $1.795 million, the freshly renovated four-bedroom condo occupies an entire floor.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Currently on the market is the second or midlevel unit of the building. Priced at $1.795 million, the four-bedroom condo occupies an entire floor and was completely renovated last year.
“From subfloors to new windows and all other areas,” he says. “Essentially, it is a new condo in this gem of a structure.”
Along with the updated interiors are smarthome features. Lighting, room temperature and the oven can be controlled remotely by phone, Affleck says. “The owner actually told me he can put a pot roast in the oven and, when he’s halfway through his day on the mountain, he can turn on the oven and have dinner ready when he gets back home.”
The home’s curved walls create the perfect space for a private gallery.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Dark blue cabinets and a tile accent wall add a decorative splash in the sleek kitchen. A peninsula with bar seating and sink separates the work area from the dining room. A terrace expands the angular living room space outdoors.
Within the 1,575 square feet of living space are four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms are outfitted with bunks.
Views take in the valley and forest. Other than the bathrooms, at the center of the structure, all the rooms have windows.
The famous ski village of Vail, Colorado, is one of the largest resort ski areas in the country.
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Are you wondering about finding furniture and appliances to fit in the rounded shape? The condo, which is accessible from an exterior staircase, is being sold furnished.
Additionally, the seller is including a Town of Vail parking pass. Assigned surface parking for the unit can accommodate up to four cars.
From the mountains to the front range of Colorado, the new video series “Colorado Mountain Homes” … [+] takes viewers inside some of the state’s finest homes in some of the best locations.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
When marketing premium homes, real estate videos are king. From Instagram’s 30-second vertical videos that showcase properties to $40,000 estate films with storylines––moving image has become a preferred tool to engage qualified buyers.
While video production is now democratized––anyone can create a short film or even a documentary on a cell phone using apps––real estate firms often look to professional creators for content.
Since 2019, Narr8 Media has produced real estate videos for Slifer Smith & Frampton.For 60 years, Slifer Smith & Frampton has represented Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone communities. It recently expanded its reach to the Boulder Valley with the acquisition of Colorado Landmark Realtors, and prior to that, Denver, Aspen, and the Roaring Fork Valley.
Each of the monthly “Colorado Mountain Homes” videos details three to four homes and runs no longer than five minutes. Haws, a former NBC news anchor, scripts and narrates the videos, sometimes appearing on camera. Rollins acts as the creative director, shooting and editing the work. Stringers are hired as needed.
Rollins previously worked in news stations doing marketing and promotion; both partners have also sold homes.
In a recent “Colorado Mountain Homes episode,” Krista Klees, President of Slifer Smith & Frampton Roaring Fork Valley, appears on camera detailing a $25 million 5,000-square foot home at the base of Aspen Mountain. As the narrator, Scott also talks up the home’s features, his voice paired with video of the exterior, interior, and standout features. B-roll of Aspen Mountain completes the tight edit.
The segments also include a “newsy” insight into the local market.
“We mention price points, what inventory is moving, what people are wanting,” says Rollins whose firm has produced more than 200 videos for Slifer Smith & Frampton. In the home Klees brokered, Haws explains that the average price for a single-family home in Aspen has accelerated––from $6.5 million in 2018 to $18.5 million in 2022.
Inside the main living area of Whisper Mountain Ranch, a Boulder ranch set on 144 bucolic acres.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
That video was posted on the home’s dedicated Slifer Smith & Frampton website in February, and the property, listed for $25 million, “went under contract in early April,” Klees says. “The buyers saw the video, and then flew out to see the home.”
Klees adds that anyone can look at “beautiful pictures of a property, but the videos elevate it to that next level––you really start to grasp the essence of a home. It’s a step up from Matterport property tours.” (Matterport is a 3D space capture platform that enables shoppers to explore homes using immersive interactive 3D models.)
Narr8 Media partners with Slifer Smith & Frampton at a corporate level, “which is different than any of our other clients,” says Haws who with Rollins serves clients in major markets charging from $500 to $6,000 per video.
“Narr8 doesn’t seem like a vendor,” says Sara Roberts Slifer Smith & Frampton’s Vice President of Marketing who oversees 320 brokers in 33 offices. “They feel like a part of the company as if they’re our in-house production team.”
A recent video created by Narr8 for the independent Colorado brokerage features an 11,000-square-foot Vail, Colorado home billed as “one of the finest homes ever built in the Rockies.” It’s located in the gated community of Mountain Star. Haws appears on camera driving a cherry red Rubicon Jeep along a mountain-view-packed road leading to the home’s gates.
Inside, he shows off the soaring great room and the stunning vistas. He also rappels off a rock-climbing wall, a grin on his boyish face.
The home sold for $20.25 million in May 2022.
This $9-million Breckenridge home, set on a one-acre ridgeline lot in Shock Hill, was featured in … [+] the show’s second episode.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
During a two-week campaign, the video targeted key metro areas: Denver, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Greenwich, Boca Raton, Naples, and San Diego. Analytics show that exposure topped out at 88,743 active buyer views with 32,654 of those engaging with the video in some form, including 622 clicks on the property listing site.
“We want viewers who would actually pay $13 million for a home,” says Roberts whose team consists of 10 core staff that includes four marketing managers. There are also 45 marketing coordinators she oversees with the Vice President of Operations.
A Bachelor Gulch Village home that Narr8 filmed in 2021 sold for $16 million within a few weeks after the video was distributed. “That house was a 10 out of a 10,” Haws says of the 10,000-square foot-plus home. “It really hit on all cylinders.” His firm also manages Slifer Smith & Frampton’s YouTube channel.
Narr8 believes it’s found the sweet spot in luxury real estate video production––between the $25-$30,000 estate productions that employ actors and plotted intrigue to grab eyeballs, and 30-second Instagram vertical videos, some being simple slideshows paired with music and text.
“Once a home is priced above $5 million, you start to see unique features, elements that are compelling from a story standpoint,” Haws says. “The higher the price, the more those attributes amplify. An expertly crafted video can showcase that, and also deliver great brand recognition.”
Narr8 Media employs a compact equipment package that includes Sony cameras and numerous lenses, lights, wireless mics, DJI drones, and a 360 omnidirectional camera for novel shots. “We find creative ways to showcase the ‘gee whiz’ features of a home, including shooting multiple angles of rooms,” Rollins says.
Rollins aims for at least one money shot per video.
“I’ll take a camera and punch it through a double-sided fireplace and then crane the camera all the way to show how big the rooms are,” Rollins says. “We have a lot of fun.”
Back in the studio, Haws logs the footage, writes a script, and records voiceovers. Rollins executes the edit, adding music, text, b-roll, and graphics.
Haws estimates that the pair have marketed over $5 billion worth of properties during the past decade––“with 80% of the listings selling within the first six months of a video launch,” he says. Narr8 Media’s analytics show a “watch rate” of three times the industry standard, which is the length of time users view a video.
Roberts is impressed with the firm’s turnaround time that’s sometimes within 24 hours and often within 48 hours after Narr8 leaves a shoot location. “That they’re ready to be anywhere at a moment’s notice is incredible,” she says.
Haws and Rollins credit that nimble efficiency to their television broadcast days when they cut their teeth on breaking news cycles with crushing same-day deadlines.
An array of camera equipment, including drones, are used in the filming.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Slifer Smith & Frampton brokers have largely embraced the firm’s passion for video. But not every agent is camera ready.
“I am definitely not an on-camera person, it’s not my forte, you know?” Klees says. She was intrigued, however, with how to strike an authentic poise while avoiding appearing scripted.
Haws and Rollins say Klees nailed it.
“They do it quickly so you don’t have time to overthink,” Klees says. Rollins’ adept editing helps as he excises ums and ahs, along with stumbles brokers may make. A teleprompter is used as needed, and Haws sometimes interviews brokers to help put them at ease.
While brokers are not often used in vertical videos, Roberts says she’s now seeing the advantages of that brisk format––what Narr8 terms its “RoofRush” product, a 30-second promo spot often posted on Instagram or TikTok.
“We haven’t dived into TikTok yet, but that’s in the plan,” Roberts says.
Park-like views centering on a private pond take center stage at this custom residence near Vail … [+] Village, Colorado.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real EstateForbes Global Properties
The rarity of the exceptional location comes into play in the appeal of this Colorado home, which brings privacy, proximity, the sounds of water and the hushed quiet of the forest to the table.
Set on a hillside in the sanctuary-like Buffehr Creek neighborhood of Vail, the mountain contemporary sits on a more than three-quarter acre site sheltered by mature trees.
The two-story home, listed for $6.625 million, sits on a hillside in the sanctuary-like Buffehr … [+] Creek neighborhood of Vail.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
“You can’t see any other homes from this home,” says listing agent Donna Caynoski of Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate. “The many decks and heated patios allow you to enjoy the privacy from many perspectives.”
What you may see is the local wildlife—deer, foxes and birds going about their business. Yet civilization is nearby.
The contemporary-inspired mountain retreat is just a 5-minute drive to Vail Village and a 15-minute … [+] bikeride.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
“It is a 5-minute drive to Vail Village and a 15-minute bikeride,” Caynoski says. “The hiking trail is just across the street, and the town of Vail bus/shuttle is a 10-minute walk from the home.” Local grocery stores, schools and a hospital are also close by.
One of the most striking features of the property is the private pond, which is creek-fed and has a waterfall. At the back of the house is a second, man-made recirculating water feature. Buffehr Creek is across the street.
The center-island kitchen is equipped with stone countertops and a floating range.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
“When I am showing the property, I try to meet the potential buyers outside,” she says. “They hear from the very start that the quiet and peacefulness of the area is unique. The water and birds start to chime in as we begin the tour of the home, inside and out. It really is an experience, and it paints the picture of a serene mountain home so beautifully.”
What they can’t hear is Interstate 70, which is 5 minutes away and provides access to Denver and the Eagle County Regional Airport.
Wood, stone and steel elements feature prominently throughout the sophisticated floor plan.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
The more than 4,100-square-foot house, built in 1996, has been recently updated including a new roof.
The interior finishes complement the surroundings. Curved wooden beams add a distinctive architectural element and unite the living spaces. Stone is used on fireplace fronts, accent walls and kitchen counters. Soaring ceilings and large windows, many with curved-top transoms, bring in natural light and woodland views.
More than 4,100 square feet of living space includes five bedrooms.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
There are five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, two three-quarter bathrooms and a powder room.
In addition to the indoor space, another 1,100 square feet of heated patio includes such features as a gas fireplace and built-in grill.
Large picture windows frame picture-perfect views of the Colorado wilderness.
Bjorn Bauer | Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
The asking price for 1730 Buffehr Creek Road in Vail is $6.625 million.
The area real estate market is strong, Caynoski says, particularly for well-located properties that are in good condition. “Single-family homes are difficult to come by and are sought after not only by visitors but by families who have made Vail their permanent home.”
Outside, the property features a spacious patio with a built-in barbecue and fire pit.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
The property, she adds, could work equally well as a family home, rental or weekend getaway.
As the winter weather begins to settle in, Snowmass village begins to come to life.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
With winter right around the corner, the snow will soon be piling up in resort town and Aspen neighbor, Snowmass Village, Colorado. What’s not piling up in Snowmass? Inventory.
Popularity for the small ski town exploded during the pandemic, with brokerages like Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate seeing the number of sales in Snowmass Village close to double from 2019 to 2021, according to their 2022 Q3 Market Report.
In response, developers like East West Partners are green-lighting several sizable luxury projects, with some already under construction and on the market.
Snowmass village in Colorado is perfectly located for all kinds of winter activities.
However, many of these new luxury developments are selling out quickly and at high price points, says Rod Woelfle of Slifer Smith & Frampton, proving that the appetite for new construction in Snowmass Village is still vigorous and outpacing supply.
“Inventory is definitely low and has been for some time. When you look at the history of our projects, they have proven to be extremely successful—projects like One Snowmass, One Snowmass Residence Club and Electric Pass Lodge all selling out and selling out fast.”
Check out these new luxury developments coming to Snowmass Village.
Aura
Perhaps the most exclusive of all the residences at Snowmass Village, Aura is outfitted with all of … [+] the amenities of a resort.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Set slightly apart on the slope-side above the Viceroy Snowmass, the 21 luxury residences that makeup Aura Snowmass are set to be some of the most exclusive and expensive in Snowmass Base Village.
Planned as through-residences with direct, private elevator access, the building will have no common corridors on the residential levels. Spacious four- and five-bedroom flexible floor plans will capture the look and feel of a single-family home but will be equipped with the comforts and amenities of a residential building.
Taking inspiration from the earthy tones and wooded landscape that surrounds, the interiors are … [+] sleek while still being cozy.
Such on-site amenities will include access to the grotto spa pool, fitness center and the Aura Lounge. Services mirror those found at resort stays, such as on-site concierge, housekeeping and a private cart shuttle.
Designed with sustainability as a guiding principle, Aura’s mass timber structure will be all-electric and powered entirely by renewable resources. In addition to eco-consciousness, the building’s biophilic design also aims to improve resident wellness, emphasizing fresh air, natural light and stunning views with large operable windows, a continuous air-flow system and sizable terraces.
With no common hallways, each residence at Aura feels like an individual home.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Construction is projected to be completed summer of 2024. Pricing starts at $7,950,000.
Cirque X Viceroy
The Cirque X Viceroy offers a hotel like setting but with the added luxury of ownership.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Construction has begun on the Cirque Residences X Viceroy, the much-anticipated sequel to the original Viceroy Residences. The brand-new luxury tower is set to be located slope-side on the northeast corner of Snowmass Base Village and will encompass 48 for-sale high-end residences.
Featuring two- and three-bedroom floor plans, the fully furnished residences will range from 1,272 to 2,070 square feet.
Wide open windows look out onto the slopes from inside the residence.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
With the connection to the Viceroy Snowmass, residents of Cirque X Viceroy will be able to access all of the amenities and services of the hotel, says Sude Hyde of developers East West Partners. “You’re getting a home in a hotel. You’re not only getting the amazing amenities and services but also all of the sociability and the fun atmosphere that has attracted so many travelers from all over the world to the Viceroy.”
The only four-star hotel in the Base Village, the Viceroy Snowmass houses several luxury facilities, including three on-site restaurants, a full-service spa and a fitness center, all of which will be available to Cirque X Viceroy residents.
Energy efficient and beautifully designed, Electric Pass Lodge is well suited to the natural beauty … [+] of Snowmass.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Thanks to a combination of rooftop solar panels and off-site renewable energy sources such as wind turbines, the sold-out collection of ski-in/ski-out residences, Electric Pass Lodge, was designed to be completely powered by renewables.
In addition, state-of-the-art insulation, triple-pane windows and phase-change material, which traps heat or cold to be used later, are integrated into the building’s envelope to maximize energy efficiency.
Despite its eco-conscious design, Electric Pass has all the amenities that a luxury residence is … [+] expected to host.
Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate
Inspired by contemporary Scandinavian designs, the residences will incorporate natural wood elements, sleek fireplaces and open-floor concepts. The condo units will also feature operable windows and large sliding glass doors.
Like many developments in Snowmass before it, residences at Electric Pass Lodge were all snatched up before the expected completion in the spring of 2023.
