Steamboat Springs Real Estate sales still topping records

The real estate market in Steamboat is definately heating up. A combination of people retiring in better shape physically and financially, the local environment, friendly people, and the relative value Steamboat real estate represents compared to other world class mountain towns is really driving the market right now. Careful buyers can find good values with the right help, even large pieces of land are availible here for less than a condo in Vail. That said if you are interested in land the time to buy is now. There are a lot of people looking to secure their future in the valley and the supply of good land is getting tight.

Selected quotes from the Steamboat Pilot and Today:
Real estate still topping records By Tamera Manzanares, Pilot & Today Staff

In 2004, Realtors were pleased to see the market rebound, rounding out the year with record activity. Another annual record is in their sights: Sales for April through June marked the best quarter ever in terms of sales volume and number of transactions. That came after a robust first quarter and before the third quarter, which typically is the busiest period of the year.

Second-quarter sales volume was about $192 million, about 45 percent higher than the previous quarterly record set July through September of 2004, according to figures from the Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. At 470, the number of second-quarter transactions in 2005 easily topped the quarterly record of 396, also set during the third quarter last year.

"Steamboat is just hotter than a pistol, people are looking here, and they have money." High- and higher-end buyers have a lot to choose from: Sixty-eight of the 108 single-family homes for sale in Steamboat Springs are $1 million or more. That's considering homes downtown, on the mountain and in the Fish Creek Falls and Strawberry Park areas.

Fourteen homes in that price range sold last year, indicating there's several years' worth of inventory in the current market. An increasing number of affluent buyers set their sights on Steamboat every year, but finding the right property to match their discriminating tastes is a matter of timing.

Although high-end homes can linger on the market for a year or more, properties in Steamboat and its vicinity priced at $600,000 or less are selling within weeks or even days, Realtors said. Currently, only nine homes are listed for sale in Steamboat for $500,000 or less. Fifty homes sold in that price range last year, according to MLS statistics. Values and demand are rising so quickly that the number and amounts of offers have surprised some Realtors. Condominiums and town homes for $400,000 or less are selling particularly fast.

Homes west of town help bulk up the inventory. There are 11 homes for sale in Silver Spur, Heritage Park and Steamboat II. Prices range from $337,500 to $675,000. The higher prices are driven in part by lack of available land in the city, mostly near the ski area base, where values are high and speculative properties target affluent second-home buyers. In effect since 1999, the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan projected 2,400 homes generally between the Steamboat Springs Airport and the Silver Spur subdivision in the next 30 to 40 years.