kilmer-ranch-nadelbachphotocom-cVail Resorts has dropped prices on its Ritz Carlton Residences being built in Vail, another sign of a tight economy. Prices on the 24 unsold residences, slated to be completed next year, are being dropped by 20 percent, to $1,624 per square foot, according to the Vaily Daily. That’s less than you’ll pay to pick up Val Kilmer’s Pecos River Ranch (pictured) in New Mexico, which has just been listed at $33 million by Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, downtown Denver’s Spire apartment project, a Nichols Partnership Inc. project expected to be completed later this year, is a “bellwether” for local apartment development, according to a Grubb & Ellis Inc. study (via the Denver Business Journal). The project is selling affordable units while also being cautiously watched by experts “to see how much sales velocity exists in the market.” Overall, Denver’s apartment vacancies are about 8.2 percent, forcing lower rents in most places except perhaps south Boulder, where the vacancy rate is 2.7 percent. As for homeowners, property devaluations could result in a big tax break–but there’s no guarantee, writes The Denver Post.