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Snowmass sales up for sixth straight month

Jill Beathard
Snowmass Sun

Sales in Snowmass Village were up for the sixth consecutive month in May, although not at a double-digit rate as the last three months of winter were.

That’s based on a report issued Wednesday by the town Finance Department, which said sale tax collections in May were up 7.9 percent, according to a report by the town Finance Department. The year to date is up 13.7 percent over the same time period in 2012.

The sales tax report breaks revenues down by industry categories. Categories that saw increases were lodging, 29.5 percent; general retail, 5.8 percent; miscellaneous, 34.1 percent; and utilities, 23.4 percent. Categories that saw drops from May 2012 were restaurants, 18.8 percent; sports equipment and clothing, 91.4 percent; and food, drug and liquor stores, 2.4 percent.



A drop of more than 90 percent seems significant, but sports equipment sales saw a hike of more than 700 percent in May 2012. Retailers at the time credited the unseasonably warm weather with kickstarting the summer recreation season.

Utilities contributed to the town’s sales tax revenues most in May, followed by general retail and food, drug and liquor stores.




Lodging tax revenues were up 16.8 percent. Snowmass Village hotels were 5.6 percent full in May, as opposed to 2.9 percent in 2012, according to a report by DestiMetrics, formerly known as the Mountain Travel Research Program.

The real estate transfer tax saw a jump of 293 percent in revenue over May 2012. Condo sales in Snowmass Village have soared this year, and single-family home sales have increased slightly too, according to The Aspen Times.

November was the only month over the past year to see a drop in sales tax revenue. Overall, the winter of 2012-13 was one of Snowmass’ strongest in recent memory, finishing up 11.2 percent from the prior ski season. February and March saw increases of more than 15 percent, and April sales rose by 23.6 percent.

jbeathard@snowmasssun.com