Steamboat Springs is again a winter wonderland. Steamboat Resort is open, Christmas lights are hung all over town, and we’ve at least 10 inches of snow everywhere! It’s a beautiful time of the year. Enjoying Winter here is easy for me.
The typical market cycles of Winter are also at hand. Winter is not the easiest time for Sellers and Buyers. Sellers have a hard time getting views and Buyers have a hard time finding inventory. A common occurrence is Sellers will take their property off the market for December and January, sometimes longer. Sellers then rent out their homes and condos for premium values through the holidays.
Here are the recent stats:
It appears that new listings are trending up and sold listings down. Sales prices are mostly flat. The charts don’t really go into sales prices as I see them daily. Condos and townhomes have found peaks, depending on what a family is looking for. For short-term lodging, these units have seen price increases. For starter condos, these homes have seen a recent top. (I don’t know where values are going. I have seen prices in this category remain the same, trend down, and some sales reach the recent top.)
News about recent real estate trends tends to be about a slowing market. This has been discussed within financial circles for 6 months. Nationally, it is becoming more of a conversation. Denver, the market that most reflects where Steamboat could be going, is seeing rent increases slow and homes are not selling as quickly as they have in recent years.
For Steamboat Springs, the smart people I talk with think we are about two months behind Denver. For the short term, the market will trend towards a Buyer’s market. For the long term, it appears that people are going to continue to move to Steamboat Springs and there is still a shortage of housing. Steamboat’s reputation of an affordable ski town will remain for a handful of years or more.