Rock ‘n’ roll legend John Oates has turned the page on a 35-year chapter of his life after selling the Colorado ranch he has owned for more than three decades for $6.9 million.
Oates, 78, who is best known as one half of the musical duo Hall & Oates, initially listed his 4.3-acre spread—which is located in Woody Creek, just outside of Aspen—for $6 million in 2017. But after several months and multiple price cuts, it had still not secured a buyer and was removed from the market at the end of 2018.
Property records show that the rocker and his wife, Aimee Oates, held on to the residence, known as Little Woody Creek Ranch, for eight more years. They put it on the market once again on June 8, this time with a much higher ask of $7.5 million.
While the couple didn’t quite reach that elevated price, they did have much better luck finding a buyer this time. Records show that the sale of the home officially closed on July 30, less than two months after the ranch was listed.
It marks the end of an era for Oates and his spouse, who have been splitting their time between their primary residence in Nashville, TN, and the Aspen-area ranch for decades now, regularly retreating to Colorado for getaways and holidays.
However, according to the property’s listing, they have now decided to move closer to the action of Aspen and no longer have a need for their ranch.
“Longtime Woody Creek residents, John and Aimee Oates have decided to relocate to downtown Aspen and put their 35 year home on the market,” the description for the ranch—which was listed with Scott Davidson of Christie’s International Real Estate—stated.
The listing described the idyllic property as “a perfect example of a gentleman’s ranch.” However, it does boast a fair few features found on a more agriculturally-focused property.
At the heart of the lush spread, which offers jaw-dropping mountain views, is a five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom log home with enormous living spaces. They include a soaring great room with a dramatic stone fireplace to provide comfort and warmth during the winter months.
That large living space flows seamlessly into an open-plan kitchen and dining area, which features ample room for multiple guests.
Of the five bedrooms in the home, one is set up “as separate but attached caretakers’ quarters with its own kitchen and entrance,” the listing noted. There is also a separate building on the property designed to “house ranch equipment such as a tractor and ATVs,” as well as a horse stable and office.
However, it is the primary suite that is undoubtedly the shining star of the home. It features floor-to-ceiling windows, which frame the majestic views, as well as a cozy marble fireplace and vaulted ceiling.
Though not immediately visible to the naked eye, the ranch features a number of infrastructural updates, including automated irrigation and a fire suppression system that runs off an 18,000-gallon tank buried underground.
“There are two wells, one for domestic use and the other for agricultural use,” the listing added.
In 2018, just over a year after the ranch was first listed, Oates spoke to Land Report about how Little Woody Creek Ranch came to be—admitting that, when he stumbled upon the property, he had already put in an offer on another home in the town of Aspen itself.
It was Aimee who persuaded him to invest in somewhere more rural before they even married.
“I had put a contract on a house in town in Aspen,” he explained. “It was right downtown, and it was right around the time that my wife—well, Aimee was actually my girlfriend at the time—we were getting more serious.
“She grew up on a farm in Illinois, a farm girl from the Midwest, and when she saw the house in town she liked it and all, but she said, ‘Boy, I wish we could have chickens.’ I knew right then we needed some land.”
Having pivoted away from a traditional home in the center of Aspen, Oates turned to a real estate agent friend, who began taking him on tours of properties that might better fit their needs. It was then that they first came across what would become Little Woody Creek Ranch.
But the property was far from the idyllic mountain retreat it is today. When he viewed it for the first time, the musician said it was just “raw land with two dilapidated cabins.” Still, the couple saw the potential in the property and began doing their “due diligence” before making an offer.
That due diligence revealed that Oates actually had a very strong connection to the property: A friend of his who lived in London owned it.
“He had always planned to develop it and build a vacation home on it, but he never got around to it,” the guitarist recalled. “So I literally called my friend over in England and said, ‘Hey, we’re looking at your property. What’s the deal? Can we make this simple?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, man. Let’s just do this.’”
The ranch ended up being even better suited to them than they could have realized, according to Oates. He noted that Woody Creek has long been viewed as the “bohemian suburb of Aspen,” as evidenced by the land being used as a parking spot by writer Hunter S. Thompson when they moved in.
As for their reasons for selling, Oates noted that he and his wife have found themselves spending much more time at their home in Nashville—leading them to offer up their longtime ranch to a new steward who will enjoy it as much as they have.
Get real estate news in your inbox
