Autumn colors are in full swing in many alpine areas around Steamboat. We have great colors now- reds, golds, oranges. The full color of fall is very close, probably less than two weeks away. The days are warm and the nights on the verge of cold enough for a quilt. It’s a great time to be in Steamboat!
This link is a video of bears that have made someone’s porch their lounge area.
In the market, not much has changed since I last wrote about it. Rentals are hard to find for renters. Houses, condos, and townhomes sell quickly (though instead of selling in one day, it might take a few). And land purchases have begun to slow down. Noticeable differences are the number of homes going back on the market as well as those with price decreases. These both have become more active.
Here is the current chart of daily activity:
For the Stagecoach area, land purchases seem to be consistent. There are many for sale, and several sell each week. For Steamboat, land parcels are not selling as quickly as I saw in Spring. There have been sales where the parcels did not reach the asking price.
Oak Creek has had a few fixer-upper houses on the market for more than a couple of months. This surprises me. There are several people looking for projects to make a buck on, but these have been sitting. In reality, this says the market thinks they cost too much. For me, they seem reasonable in today’s market.
Hayden has stayed a consistent market. Houses stay on the market a little longer in Hayden, however, more and more investors are finding this Steamboat bedroom community a place to put their money. New construction is consistent and lots are selling in the same way.
The big conversation that is in the headlines I’m reading is the mortgage forbearance program from the pandemic is ending September 30th. Many pundits consider the new inventory coming on the market to be problematic. Overall, the number of households who will sell their homes is small compared to the overall market, which is holding or slowing down.
For giggles, I researched what this means to Colorado. I found this article and was amazed that less than 4500+ homes statewide would be on the market over the next year or so. To me, that is a low number. As well, most of these households are on the Front Range. In all, this conversation doesn’t mean much to me when looking at both the large and small markets.
And for lumber prices, I went to the building supply store for a couple of 2 x 4’s and a 4 x 4 for a small landscape project. Granted I haven’t shopped for wood like this in a while, but $41 for a 4 x 4 and $10 each for 6 foot 2 x 4’s seemed steep to me, even with Steamboat pricing. With this experience, I think that building prices in alpine areas are going to be a bigger factor in housing supply than anything else. The news on lumber prices indicates significant price drops. Hopefully, this is seen locally soon.
And a local conversation that is impacting some of my clients and the Steamboat community as a whole is the local government conversation on short-term rentals.
Most ski towns in Colorado have short-term rental programs for their real estate owners. In Steamboat, the effects of short-term rentals have really begun to be seen. No one seems to mind them on Mountainside, but in downtown and other residential areas, the effects are seen as changing the community.
Where a family used to live, now is an empty house that occasionally has someone renting. These renters do not often cause a problem but are also unattached that they have long-term residents nearby. This changes many things for persons who live in these areas.
And advocates for short-term rentals see the government being heavy-handed. In my experience, I’ve seen the government give and take away a number of times.
If a search is done on local news across the state on short-term rentals, many articles will come up. Breckenridge has just changed their policy and limited the number of rentals for the long term. Vail has had many struggles. Steamboat Springs is another town navigating its way through making things work while understanding you can’t please everyone.
Here is an on this subject: