Monday, February 11, 2008

Housing Crisis Hits the Colorado Mountains

Eagle county is not unique in this regard but the meaning of housing crisis is quite different that in most of the country. The maxim that all real estate markets are local definitely holds in this case. Don't worry now, the problem here and in most mountain resort communities is a shortage instead of a glut like we all read about in the national papers. The national market is suffering from both oversupply and credit issues from the sub-prime market, two factors where the mountain resorts differ significantly from other areas. Limited land given the vast national forests / desire to maintain our rural character, the limited growth of city boundaries if any at all, the goal of so many to spend more time in the mountains they have vacationed in for so long and the prosperity of the baby boomers is creating demand far quicker than supply in a market where a large group of people have the means to buy with a large cash down payment if not just in cash.

We are all here for the quality of life so that is something people here think about and guides land use and development here in Steamboat.

MSNBC -EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado - It's official. Eagle County is in a "housing crisis" and can expect to feel the economic impacts in the next few years, experts say.The county needs 3,400 homes now, both affordable and market-priced, to address the current housing shortage, and more than 8,000 homes in the next decade to keep up with future growth, according to a recent study by RRC Associates and Rees Consulting, firms that specialize in housing analysis in resort communities.

Also, local residents own about 51 percent of the homes in Eagle County, a drop from the 69 percent of locally owned homes in 2000, the study said.

Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

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