The outdoor aficionado city of Boulder, Colorado, has seen what is said to be its most expensive recorded home sale at $14.5 million — just three years after its first-ever eight-figure transaction.
It’s additional proof of concept for the market and its ultra-luxury buyers, according to agent Marybeth Emerson of The Agency Boulder.
“Once a barrier has been broken, like that $10 million mark, and value has been proven … then people get more comfortable with Boulder being a solid investment for those types of real estate investments,” she said in an interview. "It’s slowly moved up, and gradually, each sale of something super special will pop up the number.”
Emerson said the sale of 1505 Sunset Blvd. on May 2 squashed the previous record by $1.5 million, a deal next door she brokered for $13 million in 2023. The same couple owned both properties and had initially planned to combine them into a family compound, she said.
Boulder's home prices did not reach the eight-digit mark until 2022, when a single-family home on 21st Street sold for $10 million and is now listed for $13 million. The median single-family home price is $1.35 million, according to Homes.com data.
The area draws in entrepreneurs and those in the financial services, biotech, and technology industries, according to Emerson. For this home, the combination of new luxury features, unobstructed views of the mountains, and walkability to Boulder’s bustling Pearl Street were driving price factors.
“It’s a trifecta of all the things that ultra-luxury buyers are looking for,” said Emerson.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom, nearly 7,000-square-foot home went for $2,091 per square foot, according to the Homes.com listing.
Local homebuilder Harrington Stanko Construction built the house in 2016, and the current sellers upgraded the automation system and landscaping, including spending hundreds of thousands on installing SynBlue turf outside, Emerson said.
Emerson noted she promoted the home with the tagline, “live like a rockstar.”
“It’s got sex appeal,” she said. “It’s got that ‘wow’ factor that people are looking for and everything lifestyle-oriented that somebody who can have it all wants.”
The area is referred to as Sunset Hill, and the agent said it was once called Lover’s Park for its high elevation and great views. Over time, this has seen the razing of smaller existing homes to make way for larger new luxury construction. Other areas with high home prices include Mapleton and Juniper Avenue, noted Emerson.
Three homes for sale currently rival the record price. For $14.8 million, 55 acres with an 8,884-square-foot home; a seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom home on Juniper Avenue asks $18 million; and a new 14,376-square-foot home on Kalmia Avenue is listed for $29.75 million.