A 12,655-square-foot home on 60.78 acres of ranchland closed on Thursday, breaking the record for the highest-priced residential property ever sold in Aspen or the state of Colorado.  

The 8-bedroom, 11-bathroom home sold for $77 million at $6,084.55 per square foot, according to the Aspen-Glenwood Multiple Listing Service. Like most real estate transactions in Aspen, it was a cash deal.

According to the special warranty deed recorded with the Pitkin County Clerk & Recorder on Thursday afternoon, the seller was Roluja LLC and the buyer was Clear River Properties LLC.

Dennis Burns, a broker with Sotheby’s International Realty, represented the buyer. 

“It’s situated between Snowmass and Buttermilk; it’s got views of all four ski mountains and great access to all of them,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible with its location and views and privacy and just elegance. It’s a really amazing legacy property.”

He has worked as a broker in Aspen for 23 years, he said. 

The property was listed on Nov. 2, 2023, for $80 million. Doug Leibinger, a founding broker with Compass Aspen, represented the seller. He could not be reached for comment by press time.

The previous record-holder for most expensive sales price was a $76 million sale of 1001 Ute Avenue. 

Roluja LLC is registered in Colorado to CT Corporation System. Jo Kassel of Ankeny, Iowa, is listed as the registered agent, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.

County records show Roluja LLC purchased the 600 Owl Creek Ranch Road property in 2021 for $40 million. In 2023, the Pitkin County Assessor’s office calculated the value of the property to be approximately $62.5 million. 

Burns said the continually rising sales prices for Aspen-area homes has been compounded by post-pandemic market condition of city slickers moving to rural areas. 

“I think that COVID really set the stage for this explosion, in where people want to either call home or call their second home,” he said. “People … realized that they can be in a place like this as opposed to the city.”

This transaction is unlikely to hold the record for long. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Aspen market is set to see a $110 million transaction, which would shatter the record set Thursday for highest sales price. 

“We are going to hold the title very briefly, it sounds like, for the record,” Burns said. “It really demonstrates the landscape of Aspen real estate these days and the incredible demand, the global demand for such a small piece of heaven here.”

This story is from AspenTimes.com