Contrasting conditions: mark Front Range, West Slope towns, resorts.

• Author: Lewis, David
• Position: A TALE OF THREE REGIONS - Viewpoint essay

On one hand we have Aspen, a lovely spot with a beautifully restored downtown where it is not unusual to see new condominiums sell for $3,000 per square foot. On the other hand, we have Pueblo, a lovely spot with a beautifully restored downtown where it is not unusual to see new single-family homes sell for $100 per square foot.

Really, aside from a movie star here and there, what's the big diff?

Everything, is all.

Location, location, locale, locality, locus, loci: Any way you put it, there is much truth to the notion that, of all potential variables, the specific spot where a dwelling lies makes the greatest difference in its sales value, as this tale of two Colorado cities aptly demonstrates.

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That's why ColoradoBiz metaphorically hurled a few darts at a map containing an image of the beloved rectangle we call Colorado, then called real estate professionals in the locations, locations, locations where they landed. The variety of responses and the variation in conditions was breathtaking.

A tour of Colorado real estate can be a matter of dizzying contrasts. To simplify matters some, we'll divide the state into three categories: resort areas, which are doing great; the Front Range metropolises, which have been hit hard; and smaller cities, which seem to be more than holding their own, notably but not exclusively those on the Western Slope.

One common economic condition is affecting nearly everyplace in Colorado: the subprime mortgage mess and its unpleasant implications for the real estate business, which range from foreclosures to lower prices and slowing construction growth.

Here's one description of that crisis in action: "We're seeing quite a few foreclosures," says Bill Schwabe, president of Schwabe Real Estate Inc. in Pueblo and a veteran of 24 years in the real estate business. By the same token, "It's a buyer's market so prices are good, and with the low (mortgage) rates, buyers are getting some good deals right now."

Here's a second description of that socalled "crisis" in action: "We're not in a completely isolated bubble here. Yes, it's having an impact certainly--the subprime mortgage losses and that kind of stuff," notes BJ Adams, owner of BJ Adams & Co. Real Estate in Aspen and Snowmass Village. "Now, foreclosures are not going on in our market ... and that has not changed. What has in fact happened in our market is that even the people who have the wherewithal to buy--and most of our clientele has not...