Catching Up With: Real Estate Brokers Tara Turner and Cory Didier

Tara Turner (left) and Cory Didier (right) photographed by Brooke Welgos.

As a network of more than 3,000 small businesses, we’re paying close attention to how they’re faring in an age of stay-at-home orders and social distancing. In an effort to stay connected to our TSG community and share their stories, we’re “catching up with” different business owners every week to hear about their challenges, learn how they’re coping, and find out how they’re spending their time at home. Today, we’re checking in with Tara Turner and Cory Didier, the Aspen, Colorado-based real estate brokers behind Tara Turner Cory Didier Homes. Here, they discuss how they’re conducting virtual open houses, dealing with the unknown, and indulging in the occasional Pop Tart.

What’s your business up to right now?
As real estate brokers in the beautiful Aspen/Snowmass valley, we’ve seen some unexpected positives rise out of this new reality. With additional free time, people are browsing online for real estate. We are all spending more time at home these days, and some are realizing that their homes aren’t quite suited to also function as their full-time office and home school. Couple this with historically low interest rates, and new home shopping can look quite attractive.  

We are also seeing an increased desire for our mountain lifestyle…plenty of outdoor activities, parks, trails, and wide open spaces for social distancing. People are rethinking dense city-living, and as we are all getting more accustomed to working remotely, many are realizing they can work from anywhere. 

Although our local restrictions have now loosened up to allow in-person showings, we think it will be some time before it’s “business as usual.” We are embracing technology—including property videos, virtual open houses, and FaceTime showings—to make it easier to connect people with properties.

Your biggest challenge, professionally and/or personally:
Dealing with the unknown.  We haven’t experienced a global pandemic like this in our lifetime. We don’t have a point of reference for how long this will last, what the recovery will look like, and what the long-term effects will be.

Despite this, life goes on. People will still need to buy and sell real estate, and here’s what we share with our clients: if you plan to play the long game and stay in your home for 5+ years, you will weather whatever bumps we might see in the near-term. And, the Aspen/Snowmass/Basalt markets historically recover faster. We have a limited supply of inventory, and this will always be a top-tier destination. In our humble opinion, there is simply no better place to live.

What’s bringing you joy:
Slowing down and embracing this precious time with our families and pups. As moms to young, always-on-the-go boys, we know this time together is fleeting. Friday movie nights and camping in the backyard are our happy spots. Sleeping in is a bonus. 

What you’re watching/reading/listening to:
We’re both reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming right now—love! We’re watching Top Chef and The Last Dance and keeping tabs on Frank Prisinzano’s methods on Instagram (must watch for foodies).

Your go-to snack:
We wish it was something healthy…but potato chips and hummus. On a particularly bad day, one of us bought Pop Tarts and ate the whole box in a day (we’re not naming any names!).

Your favorite family activity: 
Stand up paddle boarding and fishing in our neighborhood pond, riding bikes on the Rio Grande trail alongside the Roaring Fork River, playing Monopoly, and puzzles, puzzles, puzzles.

The local businesses/services you’re using this week:
Free Range Kitchen’s Thursday Fried Chicken, Sure Thing Burger’s awesome online ordering system, Woody Creek Distillers’s hand sanitizer, and TAC’s Fitness in the Park classes at the Willits Rugby Field.