Deppen foresees no slackening of demand on the horizon. “I think the only thing that may slow this down is the supply.” Telluride lies in a small valley, where desirable land is limited. “There’s still room to build, but it’s going quickly,” Deppen says. “A lot of the ski-in ski-out lots are gone.” Some of the surrounding counties have responded to the rapid pace of high-end residential development by limiting house size (to a still healthy 12,000 square feet). Faced with the proposed development of a major parcel that comprises the entire valley floor, Telluride has moved to condemn the property and is seeking funds to compensate the owner. That would put 600 acres off limits to builders, but Deppen doesn’t sound troubled. “I think where we’ll see the market go is remodels. The new-home construction will trickle down.” And a tighter supply of property will only drive more clients his way. “It makes what’s here even more valuable.”
In spite of a thriving top-tier market in Santa Barbara, Calif., Tom Bortolazzo keeps a wary eye out. “I’m always skeptical, because I read the paper every day,” he says. Surely something out there might affect his business. “Is it the Middle East? Is it an oil crisis? Is it global warming?” But nothing seems to stand between Bortolazzo’s clients and the houses—and compounds, and ranches, and estates—they want. Real estate sales in the area have slowed, but as in southern Connecticut, the effects reach only so far up the income scale. “The $2 million-to-$4 million range is soft,” Bortolazzo says. “But above $4 million, I’m told, things are very aggressive.” And north of $4 million is where his clients are. “The industry that represents 70 percent of our business is entertainment or some kind of residual money from the entertainment industry,” he says. “When we get the preliminary notices on our projects, the supplier or subcontractor always asks who the lender is. We don’t have lenders. The cash seems to be available.” Having served this niche for some 30 years, Bortolazzo says that has always been true. “I think if you went to the IRS, they’d say these are the top one-tenth of one percent of all the taxpayers in the country. But one-tenth of one percent of 300 million people is still a lot.” He scans the daily papers for something that might dent their demand for fine homes. “But in 30 years it hasn’t happened.”
