A community wide Halloween celebration wasn't the only thing to celebrate in Steamboat Springs last week.  Five million dollar plus properties closed between October 31st and November 1st which is a great kick-off for the month. While no one is predicting a new high-end sales trend, the closings are indicative of buyers wanting to get in before winter’s arrival. And winter is arriving as I type this! Halloween on Lincoln Ave. downtown Steamboat   In other positive Steamboat Springs’ real estate news, October saw 5 new construction projects in The Sanctuary either started or approved to start next year, while two homes are under construction in Boulder Ridge and one is being built on Ridge Road. These projects are a breath of fresh winter air for a construction market that hasn’t seen mu... 11/08/2011

Anyone who's been to Steamboat and everyone who lives in Steamboat knows, we don’t have a lot of national chain stores here. While that’s by design and city ordinance, it can be a little limiting when you live here full time. So the approval of a Walgreen’s store in Steamboat Springs was a big deal, and a hard fought battle with those who’d like to keep things in Steamboat as chain-store free as possible. Walgreen's   So the building is pretty much finished and looks as though it could open any day once stocked with both merchandise and employees. And many of us were assuming with the holidays and ski season just a couple of weeks away, Walgreen’s would be working over-time to open before Thanksgiving. So imagine my surprise when I read in the local paper the other day that the Walgreen... 11/04/2011

It's not often when a community votes to increase their own sales tax, but that's exactly what the Steamboat Springs community did on Tuesday. What to do when the airlines are cutting back on flights coming in to your somewhat remote ski resort town because of reduced schedules and unfilled seats? Generate support for a sales tax addition that will be 100% funneled into the winter air service program to increase the money on the table. Money talks, and airlines will fly in to Yampa Valley Regional Airport bringing passengers to Steamboat Springs if you guarantee them seats! Empty Airline Seats With a huge groundswell of support led by local businesses who live and die by tourist numbers, the .25% tax increase won with a 61% approval, and will generate an estimated $1.3 million annually ... 11/03/2011

Mud Season in Steamboat - Perfect for Home Buying! Late October, early November in Steamboat Springs, CO is rather uneventful except for the hunters in orange who come from all areas of the country. It’s Mud Season in local terms defined as the time between crisp, clear fall days, and snowy winter nights followed by brilliant, sunny winter days. Beautiful fall weather has given way to pre winter weather where we get a little rain, a little snow and there’s not much going on. For this reason exactly, it’s a great time to look for a home in Steamboat Springs! The numbers support it – closings in January are typically low due to the fact that few contracts are put on homes in the last quarter of the year. 7 Year Sales Transactions Trends   Here are a few reasons to venture to Steamboat Spr... 10/27/2011

Steamboat Springs' September Real Estate Report - Still Bumpy Steamboat Springs' summer to fall transition is a mixed, bumpy ride both weather and real estate market wise. Real estate continued along its own bumpy ride with the number of transactions totaling the second highest all year at 140, but with gross dollar volume just over $35 million which only ranks 5th year to date with 9 months down. Makes sense when you dig deeper into residential home sales and see that 34% of them in September were for homes under $200,000. As September turned to October and mud season follows, we’ll see less real estate activity, and as you’d expect, January sales historically trend low with fewer ‘Under Contracts’ or ‘Pendings’ going on the books the last quarter of the year. But with the bad bounce, ... 10/25/2011

Situated near Mt. Werner in Steamboat Springs, Trailhead Lodge is connected to the ski area by the Trailhead gondola, which transports owners and guest to the base area. Trailhead Lodge is a luxury condotel built in 2009 with amenities that include a lap pool, three hot tubs, a fitness room with locker rooms, a game room, and outdoor patio areas with built in barbecues. Today, SilverLeaf Financial announced the acquistion of the non-performing loan secured by 58 unsold luxury condominums at Trailhead Lodge.  They plan to agressively market the remaining units at Trailhead, pricing them according to their new cost basis. For more information about Trailhead Lodge, SilverLeaf Financial, and Steamboat Springs, follow the link to the SilverLeaf Press Release. If you are interested in speak... 10/25/2011

Case Shiller August Top 10 There’s no rule book that says a Top 10 list has to be all good, or funny, or interesting. The way the real estate housing market continues to struggle you’ll have some good, some bad and some ugly news to report, and that’s just what I have from the latest August Case-Shiller report. Case-Shiller August 2011 The Good News * Sixteen of 20 cities tracked showed annual rate of change improvements in August ’11 compared to July ’11. * Both the 20-City and 10-City composites are 3.8% and 3.9% respectively above their lowest points which were in April ’09 for the 10-City composite and March ’11 for the 20-City composite. * The Midwest, particularly Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, have show the best rebound numbers with each city showing sharp increases since May.... 10/25/2011

Most everyone likes progress. That is unless it effects them negatively. And so is the case in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where the local Ptarmigan Inn is proposed to pop its top. Neighbors have already objected and attorneys are already involved, but Steamboat Springs City Council showed initial unanimous agreement in favor of the conceptual development plan for a 10-floor condominium building replacing the existing 4-floor Ptarmigan Inn. This development project would take place at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area – a location that has seen its share of construction projects over the past 5 years. Ptarmigan Inn in Steamboat Springs   Concerns raised by attorneys representing those opposed to the redevelopment project center around the following points: Proposed height will obstruct... 10/25/2011

I live and work in a ski resort. So a fair share of my business comes from people coming to Steamboat Springs and investing in our community. Colorado is known for great skiing. The elevation of most Colorado ski areas is much higher than other areas in the country so we tend to get more snow and better snow than other areas. Steamboat Springs is known for Champagne Powder. In other words, it's light and airy and wonderful to ski. Today, Ski Magazine named the best ski areas in the country. And I'm here to say that the Steamboat ski area ranks 8th in the country. Now that's pretty good considering it's up against the big dogs in ski areas.  We're not an Aspen or a Whistler that offers more social scenes and attitude than most metropolitan cites. But Steamboat is a great family oriented... 10/15/2011

Steamboat Springs, CO - New Season, New Look Almost Here! It's more than just botox, it's a whole face-lift going on at the ski mountain base in Steamboat Springs, CO.  It's amazing what they've done over the summer and how the landscape has changed. Depending on where you enter, you might be greeted by the new promenade walkway system that now directly connects the Torian Plum retail stores and restaurants to Gondola Square. The landscaping along the way is impressive and while it’ll be snow covered in the winter, it will be beautiful in the summer and fall. Walkway from Gondola Square to Torian Plum Work is almost complete on the Burgess Creek water feature which will now surface in and around the mountain base at various points. This water feature will be a prominent focal point in t... 10/13/2011

Twelve Months of Shadow Inventory Projected for Colorado Steamboat Springs, Colorado has seen an increase in bank owned home sales, and according to the latest National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Economists’ Outlook  it might take a year or so for Steamboat Springs to see the Shadow Inventory work through the system. But as with any numeric estimate, you need to be aware of how the numbers were calculated. First a quick reminder of what Shadow Inventory is in case you missed my blog earlier this month: Shadow Inventory consists of homes not yet for sale that are distressed and will be on the market in the near future.  Distressed properties include: * Homes already foreclosed on and owned by banks (REOs) * Homes in the foreclosure process * Homes where owners are at least 90 delinqu... 10/11/2011

Steaks with Under Armour Ties in Steamboat Springs Sure you know there are ranches and farming in Steamboat Springs, CO. It's a true western town that just happens to be a world-class ski resort too.  You'll also find Smartwool, BAP, HoneyStinger and Sweetwood Cattle Company – Steamboat Springs, CO is home to all these great companies. So where does Under Armour come in? Under Armour   Under Armour is still headquartered in Baltimore, MD with no plans of moving west, but moving west is exactly what Ryan Wood did after he left Under Armour, a company he helped start back in the mid 1990’s. Ryan settled in Steamboat Springs, CO, the town his Colorado based family used to visit frequently when Ryan was growing up. Trading meetings with Sports Authority and Dick’s Sporting Goods for meeting... 10/10/2011

Gauging a Town by its Art. I remember being in Crested Butte, Colorado several years ago and walking through the ubiquitous galleries and thinking for a small town, this place has some good art. Every small town will have its share of local art that isn't so pleasing or interesting, but people who tend to live in small towns also tend to live there for a reason. Small ski-towns are usually beautiful and thus lending to lush and interesting landscapes.   Now the art in Crested Butte seemed to thrive of nature scenes and had a real textural feel.  Makes me visualize the artist in a real cozy cabin high in mountains with views that stretch for miles and the clean, cool crisp air blending with the rich oils of the paint.  To me, good paintings take time. They are like a fine wine that need... 10/09/2011

Big, Fat Snowflakes are Coming Down in Steamboat Springs   It’s official – fall is quickly turning to winter in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and all eyes are on the ski mountain that is white on top for the first time since well, early July to be honest. Well over 400 inches of snow fell last winter and it kept falling through June, but now let’s fast forward to Saturday morning, October 8th and it’s snowing again – big snowflakes. The first official snow came on Thursday and after the afternoon snow squall ended, everyone drove home later that day with eyes on the ski mountain that was definitely white on top even though nothing stuck on the ground in town. Smiles could be seen everywhere – ski season is coming.   Today it’s looking like quite a winter wonder land – it’s been snowing si... 10/09/2011

Snow is Falling in Steamboat Springs, One Look Back at Summer Steamboat Springs had snow through mid June and now it's snowing for the first time since as I type on October 6th. So it only seems fitting to take a look back at the events that brought visitors to Steamboat Springs this past summer. We know that skiing in Ski Town USA on champagne powder is the main draw to Steamboat Springs in the winter, but summer-time offers a wide variety of options for week/weekend get-aways. Whereas the early August weekend that holds the Wine Festival, Ride 4 Yellow and Triple Crown events was the 2010 weekend winner, this  activity filled weekend fell to #2 in 2011 behind the Mountain Soccer Tournament and Tour de Steamboat weekend. Steamboat Summer Weekends The July 4th holiday along with the Tri... 10/06/2011

Steamboat Springs Has Shadow Inventory, But What's That? If you're thinking Shadow Inventory in Steamboat Springs has anything to do with the sunshine we enjoy here many days of the year...well you're definitely not thinking in real estate terms. Shadow Inventory in real estate has nothing to do with sunshine. But yes Shadow Inventory is in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and quite frankly it’s across the country, not just in big cities hard hit by the real estate downturn. So now that we know it’s here in Steamboat Springs, let’s dig in further and understand what it is. Shadow Inventory Defined: It’s the inventory of homes not yet for sale that will be on the market in the near future and are defined as Distressed Properties: *  properties already foreclosed on and owned by the banks (REO... 10/05/2011

View from Storm Peak a few days ago.  Four Points hut is in the foreground and Steamboat Springs is in the distance. Search ALL Steamboat properties for sale here, or call us at 970-819-6372 to talk about your real estate goals. 09/28/2011

The number of Steamboat Springs homes, condominiums, and land parcels under contract is up 170% since summer.   If all the contracts close, it will represent $71,883,509 in Steamboat real estate sales. So what are people buying?  Here are some “fast facts” about the types of properties under contract: 13 Steamboat area properties are located in downtown Steamboat 51 properties are in the Steamboat mountain area (mainly condos and townhomes) 9 are in Stagecoach (4 of the homes are listed over $400,000) 8 are in the South Valley 64 have list prices less than $350,000 17 are priced between $1,000,000 and $3,975,000  (4 of those are One Steamboat Place whole ownership condos) 50 are condos/townhomes 43 are single family homes 4 are fractional ownership properties–1 at the Grand, 3 at One St... 09/28/2011

    New Promenade at Steamboat Base Area There is a new promenade being built that stretches from Torian Plum to One Steamboat Place in Steamboat Springs, CO.  It’s a year-round pedestrian walkway featuring snow-melt pavers in the winter and Burgess Creek highlighted in the summer.  The Promenade has already transformed the way the base area looks, and it isn’t set for completion until next summer. Torian Plum and Torian Creekside Condos Torian Plum and Torian Creekside— Torian Plum and Creekside have used the timing of the promenade construction zone to repair the roof over the Torian parking garage and transform the large grassy area into a plaza with pavers and better access to the ski slopes.  The $2 million improvement will be paid from capital reserves and a special assessment to ... 09/28/2011

 Foreclosure vs. Short Sale:  Homeowner Ramifications Heritage Title Company, one of Steamboat Springs’ CO local title companies, presented a hand-out at our MLS meeting yesterday that provides valuable information for clients facing a distressed home sale. Top-line answers for clients are as follows: Credit Score* In Foreclosure the credit score may be lowered anywhere from 250 to more than 300 points and typically will affect a credit score for over 3 years.* In a Short Sale only late payments on mortgage will show and after the sale, mortgage is normally reported as paid as agreed, paid as negotiated or settled. This can lower the score as little as 50 points if all other payments are being made. A short sale’s effect can be as brief as 12 -18 months.Credit History* Foreclosure will ... 09/28/2011