This is the first in a series of articles about fractional and private residence club sales and resales in specific destinations. Aspen Colorado is the most chic ski resort in the US and also boasts a thriving summer program that makes it immensely popular year round.

St Regis Aspen

Visitors to Aspen will find a restored historic town, two nearby preserved ghost towns offering a glimpse of the region's rich mining history, excellent trout fishing, and nearly every outdoor activity imaginable. There are four ski mountains that attract world-class skiers in the winter, and numerous cultural events and concerts at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival in the summer. The town also boasts renowned dining and shopping options.

With this popularity as a vacation destination for the affluent, the town and its surroundings are home to a large selection of fractional and residence club homes. Prospective residents can choose from studios to five-bedroom residences offering owners fraction sizes from 1/20 to 1/3 shares. Prices for Aspen fractional properties range from $10,000 to $2.8 million. We searched through the MLS (multiple listing service) and found over 250 listings for fractional property in the Aspen area. Below is a summary of our findings.

In addition to all the above fractions there are also several single family homes that have fractions for sale and some other residence clubs with just a few fractions for sale.

The enormous variation in pricing in the table above is due to a variety of factors, including the size of fraction or share, the location, fittings and services of the property and whether you are buying a fixed time period or whether your time "floats". Some properties offer fixed weeks - so for instance if you always want to visit during Christmas and New Year you'll have to pay a significant premium. As a specific example the $2.25m being asked at the Hyatt is actually two residences combined to make one 5-bedroom unit, and the owner owns both Christmas and New Years weeks.