Breckenridge Realtor earns national 30 Under 30 honor

Breckenridge Realtor Justin Black has been recognized as one of the National Association of Realtors’ annual 30 Under 30 winners, honoring young real estate professionals for career achievement, leadership and community involvement. 

For Black, 29, the recognition offered an opportunity to reflect on a career that began a decade ago. He was the only Coloradan among the 30 winners in this year’s competition.

“It’s been a whirlwind looking back,” he said. 

Encouraged by his father, an attorney who owned several investment properties, Black earned his real estate license shortly after graduating high school and launched his career in Colorado Springs at 19 years old. Missing the mountains and wanting a different sort of market, Black moved to Summit County a few years later. 

Having grown up skiing around Breckenridge, Black said an opening at LIV Sotheby’s International Realty presented the perfect opportunity to sell unique properties in a luxury market. 

“Real estate up here is obviously a very fun industry — different clientele, different asset types, fun houses, fun showings,” he said. 

Over his career, Black has brokered more than $150 million in residential real estate sales, including a record-breaking $9.48 million sale of a six-bedroom home on Gold Flake Terrace in Breckenridge. Prior, the property had sat on the market for five years at an unflinching $15 million before Black worked with the sellers to reposition it, eventually attracting buyers who agreed to purchase the home within a month of visiting Summit County. 

“That level of wealth and money moves quickly now,” Black said. 

Applicants for the 30 Under 30 award are evaluated on sales success, leadership and a connection to the community. Black said his application highlighted his volunteer work with the Young Professionals Network for real estate and with the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. 

“It took receiving the award for me to actually step back and enjoy the recognition,” Black said. 

Black also believes Summit County’s housing market has increasingly separated from trends seen along the Front Range. While higher average mortgage rates continue to affect many buyers in the metro area, Black said Breckenridge’s luxury market is driven largely by second-, third- and fourth-home buyers paying in cash and relatively unaffected by interest rate spikes. 

“It’s a lifestyle purchase,” Black said of luxury homebuyers in Summit County.

Homes priced under $1 million have seen slower activity, he added, but buyers at the upper end of the market remain ready to act when the right property becomes available.

“I’m noticing that at the top end of the market, those buyers are willing to move quick when the right asset pops up,” Black said. 

Although the national award marked a significant moment before his 30th birthday, Black said he’s already looking ahead. There’s always new goals to chase, he said. 

“I’m always the young buck in the room,” Black said. “It was cool to hit that milestone before turning 30.”

More on Black’s work can be found at JustinBlackRE.com. 

Breckenridge entrepreneur launches vacation rental platform focused on “less toxic” stays

A Breckenridge entrepreneur is hoping to change the way travelers think about where they stay while on vacation. 

Annie Graybill recently launched Havenwith, a marketplace for vacation rentals and hotels that she describes as “wellness-forward” and focused on creating spaces with fewer synthetic fragrances and potentially concerning household products.

Graybill said the idea came from her own experiences trying to balance a love of travel with a desire to maintain the lifestyle choices she makes at home. 

“As an IVF mom, I am alarmingly aware of the toxins in our homes,” Graybill wrote in a business announcement. “As a family that loves to travel, finding a vacation rental that doesn’t give us a headache from toxins and synthetic fragrance is not easy. So, I set out to make it easy.”

Properties listed through Havenwith must meet certain baseline requirements, including a lack of fragrances and use of cleaning and laundry products that meet certifications such as EWG Verified or MADE SAFE. Guests can also search for additional features, including organic mattresses, water filtration systems, nontoxic cookware and wellness amenities such as saunas. 

Graybill said she hopes the platform appeals to travelers who want their vacation accommodations to align with their values at home. 

“Havenwith is for guests who don’t want to leave their low-tox, sustainable lifestyle at home,” she wrote.  “Our hosts care deeply about their homes. They are not just another income property — these are spaces where they gather with their own friends and families.”

After years working in the ski industry, Graybill transitioned into marketing for Avocado Green Mattress, a company focused on organic, sustainable mattresses and home goods. She said the experience working at a mission-driven company inspired her to build a brand of her own. 

After she was laid off in 2023, Graybill said she began exploring possible options for a platform centered around healthier-feeling travel spaces.

Graybill first moved to Breckenridge in 2002 and returned to Summit County after a six-year hiatus in 2012, where she met her husband, built a home and started a family. She said the mountains continue to shape her approach to sustainability and environmental issues. 

“Sustainability simply isn’t enough anymore,” she wrote. “We need to do better.”

Havenwith currently features a curated collection of vacation rentals and hotels that meet the platform’s standards. Travelers and potential hosts can browse and learn more at Havenwith.com or on Instagram @HavenwithStay. 

Chase Bank opens first Summit County branch in Silverthorne

Silverthorne is now home to Summit County’s first Chase Bank.

The new branch at 165 Stephens Way opened last month and celebrated its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 16. The approximately 3,300-square-foot, single-story bank takes the place of the former Arby’s, which shuttered in 2022 among a string of other big business closures. 

The Silverthorne Chase Bank offers two ATMs, including a 24-hour drive-up ATM and a vestibule ATM that also remains accessible around the clock.

Previously, the nearest Chase Bank to Summit County was located in Vail. 

Silverthorne Town Council approved the project’s final site plan in July 2024. As part of the development, Chase previously dedicated a portion of the property for future right-of-way improvements tied to the town’s long-term plans to widen Stephens Way from two lanes to four in an effort to reduce traffic congestion. 

According to Chase, the Silverthorne branch offers personal and business banking services, financial advising by appointment, home lending and access to ATMs with cardless mobile wallet transactions. The bank is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.