August Sun Heated Up Steamboat Springs Sales Remember when I reported in July that Steamboat Springs, Colorado real estate pending numbers were looking strong…well some of those pending sales converted to closings in August leading to the second best Gross Volume Sales of the year at just over $46.5 million. There’s still a healthy inventory of pending sales through September.  In fact, September’s pending sales numbers are the highest we’ve seen in over a year. Pending vs. Sold Data   Now let’s focus on August numbers because there is some good news to report in the last full month of summer in Steamboat Springs, CO. Similar to July when a large land purchase bolstered the month’s sales volume, there was a $10 million plus agricultural land sale to Twentymile Coal, LLC in Hayden, CO. T... 09/26/2011

Steamboat Springs Mountain Area Neighborhood If you visit a ski resort town in the middle of winter, you know it’s all about “staying on the mountain.” Well, if you’re going to live or invest in real estate here…for many it’s all about proximity to the mountain, or in one word: location. The Mountain Area Neighborhood starts at Highway 40 and you guessed it…it goes east to the Steamboat ski area.  There’s nothing like having a 3,000 acre backyard to ensure you have lots of friends who want to visit. Steamboat Ski Mountain When the back yard isn’t beckoning you to come out and play, your Mountain Area home has proximity to plenty of other options such as the award winning Steamboat Tennis Center, The Strings music venue, relaxing day spas, some of the area’s finest restaurants, movie the... 09/23/2011

Steamboat Springs Downtown/Old Town Neighborhood  If you want to be walking distance to fantastic restaurants, fun shopping, great music venues, fishing on the Yampa River as well as having close access to hiking, biking and cross country skiing trails then the Downtown or ‘Old Town’ neighborhood as it’s known locally area is for you. It’s also the center of many community attractions such as the Winter Carnival, July 4th Parade, Halloween trick or treating and other community events that happen throughout the year. New mixed use buildings such as Howelsen Place, The Olympian, The Victorian and Alpenglow offer luxury condominiums right in the heart of Downtown. If you’re looking for a single family residence, Old Town offers an eclectic mix of homes from historic to newly remodeled. Wit... 09/23/2011

Fish Creek Falls Neighborhood in Steamboat Springs With an ideal location between the ski mountain and downtown Steamboat Springs, the Fish Creek Falls neighborhood is a popular place to call home. As you drive farther up Fish Creek Falls Road the views get better and better with Emerald Mountain, Howelsen Hill, Sleeping Giant, the Flat Tops, south valley and of course, the Steamboat ski mountain all visible at various points along the way. Best known for the Fish Creek Falls, a 283 foot waterfall that is booming during the spring melt-off, you’ll also find many hiking and biking trails around Fish Creek Falls (and yes, hike up beyond the first waterfall and there’s a second), and Spring Creek Trail which is a common “commuter” trail into downtown Steamboat Springs for residents of the ... 09/22/2011

Looming Water Decision: Huge Implications for Steamboat Springs   In a year when Steamboat Springs had record snow melt-off and spring rainfall it’s hard to conceive a water shortage any time in the future, but that’s just what could happen in Steamboat Springs if the Regional Watershed Supply Project gains traction. While it’s a little hard to explain, in a nutshell, here are the highlights: *  The Green River, the largest tributary of the Colorado River, flows into and provides a large supply of water to the Flaming Gorge Reservoir as well as the areas it winds through including Moffat County. Eventually it joins the Yampa River in the Dinosaur National Monument area. As we locals know, the Yampa River runs right through Steamboat so hold that thought. *  Front Range energy developmen... 09/20/2011

Carl Howelsen’s Son, Leif Hovelsen, Dies in Oslo at 88 Leif Hovelsen loved coming back to Steamboat Springs, CO to reconnect with the community where his father, Carl Howelsen, established the area’s first Winter Carnival in 1914 and taught locals how to ski jump on what is now known as Howelsen Hill…where Olympic Ski Jumping trials are held and many Olympians and Olympic hopefuls come to train. Olympic Trials In February 2009, at age 85, Leif came to Steamboat Springs for the celebration of the unveiling of a life sized bronze statue of his father at the entrance of Howelsen Place, one of Steamboat Springs’ premier new downtown mixed use buildings. That same winter he served as Grand Marshal in the Winter Carnival parade honoring the winter event his father had started 95 years earlier... 09/20/2011

Wyndham Appoints Bob Milne to Executive Team It’s  always nice when hard work and earning your way up the ranks pays off, and that’s exactly what happened when Steamboat Springs' Bob Milne was appointed President of Wyndham Vacation Rentals North America. Working his way up the property management ranks and eventually becoming the owner of Steamboat Springs' The Resort Co., Bob will bring deep and wide experience to his new role. Wyndham Resort Quest   Wyndham Vacations acquired Milne's former company, The Resort Co., in August 2011 and also Steamboat Springs’ ResortQuest in 2010. Wyndham Vacation Rentals is part of a network of thousands of global hotel properties. Milne will be relocating to Parsippany, NJ to take on his new responsibilities of growing Wyndham’s North American rental ... 09/20/2011

Steamboat Springs Celebrates OktoberWest The 3rd annual OktoberWest festivities kick off Friday, September 16th in Steamboat Springs, CO. There is truly something for everyone…and it’s the last weekend the Gondola is open until the ski mountain opens in November…next time up, there will be snow on the ground and skis in the rack! So what is OktoberWest Steamboat Springs style? Here’s a sampling of the weekend’s events: OktoberWest Logo   Friday, September 16th – Steamboat Springs Downtown Area * 5:30pm Pedaling Posse Parade – get on your cruiser bike and dress in your favorite movie character costume and pedal through historic downtown Steamboat Springs * 6:00pm  Suds and Grub  - beer tasting and food specials at some of the most popular eating places in town: Double Z BBQ, The Boathous... 09/13/2011

Steamboat Springs Vacation Home Swap Have you considered a ski vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where you stay in a local resident’s home while they take their own vacation and stay in your home? Might just be an attractive idea for a Steamboat Springs resident especially if your home is somewhere warm and balmy with sand and waves not far away…Honolulu, Hawaii or Key Largo, Florida…anyone want to trade? Doesn’t have to be US only residences either – plenty of folks from London, Great Britain to Sidney, Australia frequent Steamboat Springs, CO and might be interested in a home swap to make their stay more home-like and cut down on lodging and restaurant costs. House Key The more popular a destination you live in, the more options you have available for home swapping. Lucky for St... 09/12/2011

  Buy Monthly Payments, Not Real Estate Prices.   It’s often said that, “now is a great time to buy real estate.” Home prices are down, interests rates are great, sellers are motivated, on and on. There might be more reasons to buy real estate than ever before. But just because these motivating facts about the aspects of real estate are true, this doesn’t mean that buying real estate is right for everyone. If you are thinking about buying a home and you’re crunching numbers to see if it makes sense this graph below might help. All too often buyers get a number in their head of what they can afford. “I’m looking up to $200,000” or “We can afford a home between $400,000 and $500,000.”  Now these might be real numbers because you met with a lender yesterday. But these numbers can change on... 09/10/2011

Chocolate Pistachio Macaroons and the American Dream For a small town Steamboat Springs, Colorado has more than its fair share of local businesses playing in the international arena – SmartWool, Big Agnes and Honey Stinger to name a few. Now there’s another local entrepreneur, Lisa Ciraldo, owner of Chocolate Soup, following her American Dream of getting her baked goods distributed nationally. Macaroons Hot From the Oven Opening Chocolate Soup Pastry Café on Mount Werner Circle at the base of Steamboat Springs’ ski area five years ago was only the start of Lisa’s dream. Distributing her products on a national scale was always Lisa’s biggest goal. Realization of that dream is well on its way to happening as Chocolate Soup is selling its milk chocolate almond and dark chocolate pistachio ... 09/08/2011

Referendum 2B May Determine if Air Service to Steamboat Springs is not 2B.   Yampa Valley Airport in Steamboat Springs   Taxes - More taxes? There are a few key issues on this November’s ballot in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, but one in particular has a lot at stake – providing future transportation for visitors to fly into Yampa Valley Regional Airport. What does Referendum 2B entail?  If passed, every time you spend $100, 25 cents will go to support increasing the air seats flying in to YVRA. In effect it means an increased sales tax of .0025 which would raise our Steamboat Springs sales tax to 8.65%. It is scheduled to expire after 5 years.  So what’s an additional 25 cents on every $100 provide: An estimated $1.3 million annually to help support air travel to Steamboat Springs.  Wh... 09/08/2011

2011 Tour de France Champions spent 2 days racing in and around Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The top 3 finishes of the 2011 Tour de France rode through Steamboat last week in the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The world’s top professional cyclists, including the Tour de France 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall winners, competed in a 7-day, 518-mile long race. The event was aired on Versus and NBC and brang international exposure to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Calel Evans, Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck and 125 other races zipped through our town and brought excitment for days.  Here's a video I shot of the excitment.    09/03/2011

Two Steamboat Springs Icons Face Big Changes When you live in a town of less than 10,000 permanent residents you definitely have a couple of stores and restaurants that are your “go-to” places…you know those places that you can always count on for the perfect stocking stuffer or the grilled vegetable salad when you’re trying to be somewhat healthy. Two of those local Steamboat Springs, Colorado hangouts are about to undergo big changes – downtown Lincoln Avenue staple All That Jazz is up for sale and Tugboat Grill & Pub up near the ski mountain base has been sold to a new owner. All That Jazz, an iconic music store that sells much more than music has been in business since original and current owner, Joe Kboudi, opened its doors in 1977. Now in his late 60’s, Joe is ready to move on and... 09/01/2011

The second quarter 2011 Home Price Index was down 5.9% over second quarter 2010, but second quarter 2011 was up 3.6% over first quarter 2011, and here’s some other good news to offset the fact that the real estate market is still struggling for true traction: In 19 of 20 metropolitan areas home prices were up in June 2011 vs May 2011 and Portland was flat – so no declines and an overall increase of 1.1%. 12 of the 20 metropolitan areas have increased for three consecutive months, a sign that there’s still strength in the seasonal housing market. No cities had new lows in June 2011. Only Detroit and Las Vegas have average home prices below January 2000 levels. Cleveland has shown enough improvement to rise above January 2000 levels with the June data in. June Detroit and Las Vegas avera... 08/30/2011

Manic Training - No TV’s, iPods or Locker Rooms Sure you’ve seen training facilities in warehouses before, and this one is no different – except it’s in Steamboat Springs where every 5th person seems to be a current or former Olympian or USA (You Fill in the Team Name) Team member. It’s also the place where senior citizens are more fit and active than most 30 year olds in other parts of the country. So when you see the name “Manic Training” you know it’s not going to be a hop on the treadmill with your magazine and iPod kind of place. Nah…it’s pretty Spartan and that’s part of the allure!   Manic Training WorkoutAs founder and chief motivator, Graham “Bushy” Muir likes to say, “Manic is no frills, no egos and no mirrors.” Seriously, everyone does leave their egos at the door and you’ll ... 08/30/2011

Today, August 26th the USA Pro Cycling Challenge rolls into town. All last night the convoy of support vehicles rolled into Steamboat Springs to prepare. And prepare they are. Early this morning walking down main street, or Lincoln Avenue here in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, there’s a real buzz going about. This town is being transformed from Ski Town USA to Bike Town USA overnight. There are expected to be upwards of 30,000 people in town. Wow – that is a lot of people for Steamboat Springs. As I strolled down main street this morning which is where my office is located, I'm proud of my town for placing the bid and being award this leg of the race. Says something about the great community we live in here is Steamboat. Steamboat Springs is a great community and worthy of this attention.... 08/26/2011

Steamboat Springs’ Businesses Garner International Exposure. Twice a year the Outdoor Retailer trade show brings about 2,000 internationally known companies to Salt Lake City, Utah where they exhibit new lines of gear, apparel…anything “outdoor activity” related to upwards of 40,000 attendees. Attendees include buyers from major retail chains, supply chain vendors, wholesale distributors, members of the media as well as a wide array of independent retail store purchasing agents. Who would guess Steamboat Springs, a community of less than 10,000 people, would be represented by five companies showing their merchandise on a global platform? The five companies representing not just their product lines, but also the opportunities in Steamboat Springs, CO for outdoor inspired business profes... 08/15/2011

Monday morning at 10am in heart of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Andy Schleck went for a bike ride. With many others in tow. Andy Schleck in Steamboat Springs  He was not alone on the ride. It was posted all over Facebook and also the local newspaper. At 9:30 am the crowd was building. I'd say about 300 riders joined him in all for a 15 mile ride out of town where Andy Schleck was to then launch into a training ride around Steamboat Springs in preparation for upcoming USA Pro Cycling Challenge. One stage of this race will be right here in Steamboat Springs. This is a huge event for Colorado and even a larger event for Steamboat Springs.  Schleck in Steamboat Pro Cycling    Andy Schleck - 2nd in Tour de France in Steamboat Springs The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is a seven day professional ... 08/15/2011

Sandy Evans Hall lead the Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce for 25 years before taking a similar job near Lake Tahoe this summer. So the search for a new Chamber leader in this time of economic duress truly took on a sense of urgency and required a dedication to doing the utmost due-diligence to find the right person to lead our community into another winter where we’ll be competing with numerous ski resorts for what looks to be another season that will suffer from the effects of an economic slump. To say this new hire will be expected to hit the ground running would be an understatement. It seems we found the perfect person for Steamboat Springs Chamber CEO  job in Thomas Kern, an experienced community leader and longtime Steamboat Springs’ visitor who already has a group of friend... 08/11/2011