Defying the national housing slump, Aspen's prices are rising. Why the glitzy ski enclave is outpacing the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach.

An Aspen, Colo., home co-owned by actor Jack Nicholson and producer and director Lou Adler has listed for $15 million.

Jigsaw Ranch, a 90-acre Aspen, Colo., estate, has listed for $48.5 million. The property is owned by George I. Rosenthal and Mark A. Rosenthal.

Music-industry veteran Tommy Mottola has sold his 324-acre ranch near Aspen, Colo. for nearly $17.8 million, about 35% less than his $27.5 million asking price in June.

Ringo Starr and his wife, Barbara, are asking $4.5 million for their three-bedroom vacation home near Aspen, Colorado. The wood cabin sits on about 16 flat acres in Woody Creek and has frontage on Roaring Fork River.

Music-industry veteran Tommy Mottola is asking $27.5 million for his 324-acre ranch near Aspen, Colorado. He bought the property for $14.7 million in 2003.

A 10,700-square-foot home in Aspen's Red Mountain neighborhood has listed for $23.9 million. A group of real-estate investors and developers including Chuck Rowars and Len Edelman own the recently completed house.

The developers of an 813-acre ranch property outside Aspen, Colo., have cut its price by 33% for a new asking price of $59 million—still one of the priciest listings in the area.

Prices for primary residences in the US, which plunged at least 20% from the peak in 2007, appear to have bottomed. In some of the snappiest locations, scattered bidding wars are breaking out and prices are turning upward.

This star-studded retreat remains one of America’s priciest real estate hotspots where the well-heeled cash in on a Gatsby-like vision of the American Dream. Aspen, a mountain town of approximately 6,000, is named after the abundance of aspen trees in the area, and was first founded as a mining camp during the Colorado Silver boom. Over the last century, however, the pristine alpine terrain and quaint village setting have become a popular resort and tourist destination. Visitors flock to Aspen’s award-winning ski slopes, its renowned film festival and cultural diversions, high-end shopping boutiques and myriad of fine-dining restaurants.