Steamboat Real Estate Market Report for Feb 15-28, 2010
Steamboat real estate activity at the end of February saw 18 Steamboat homes go under contract and 10 Steamboat properties close. The average sold price was $658,320, and the average price for a property that went into escrow was $572,469. Bank-owned properties and short sales were the ones buyers chose, with 4 Sunray Meadows Short Sales (where a home is sold for less than what is owed) closing and a bank-owned luxury home in Dakota Ridge selling for $1,250,000.
Downtown, The Victoria closed its first sale. This project was introduced to the market three years ago without any residential sales. The condo that sold had incredible views of Yampa St. and Howelson Hill, and the buyer who purchased it got it for about half the original list price.
Here are the Steamboat Springs real estate details: Read more »
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: March 8th, 2010 under Market Reports.
Comments: none
Steamboat Springs Foreclosures
Steamboat Foreclosures
Steamboat Springs foreclosures are getting a lot of attention from buyers looking for the best deal in real estate. There is no doubt the number of bank-owned homes in Steamboat is rising, but the reality is that they are still a small percentage of the total Steamboat real estate market.
Click here to see all the Steamboat foreclosures for sale as of Feb. 23. (There are 16 in the Steamboat Springs area.)
These Steamboat Springs foreclosures range from a one bedroom Fish Creek Falls condo for $170,000 to a luxury penthouse condominium at The Highmark for $1,500,000. Almost half of the bank-owned properties are located in Stagecoach and Oak Creek.
Are Steamboat foreclosures good deals? Not necessarily. Just because a property is bank owned doesn’t make it a good value. Some of the properties have odd floor plans or are just plain ugly. Others need work or are in less than desirable locations.
But when a Steamboat bank-owned property comes on the market at a good price, they don’t usually last long. To get the most complete list of Steamboat foreclosures and short sales, please contact us today.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: February 23rd, 2010 under Foreclosures.
Comments: none
Steamboat Real Estate Summary–Feb 1-Feb 15, 2010
February in Steamboat Springs has seen more snow, more visitors, and more real estate being sold. If you’ve been thinking about coming to Steamboat to ski, conditions are better than they’ve been all year. There are a lot of last minute trips being booked, and with more guests in town, there is more Steamboat real estate being sold.
I’ve been lax in updating this Steamboat real estate blog because I’ve been with buyers most of the month. The typical buyer wants a second home and likes the prices they are seeing while searching on the internet. If you are coming to Steamboat and want to schedule a time to look at properties, please contact me to set up a convenient time.
Here is the update for the first two weeks in February, when 15 residential properties went under contract and 9 sold.
Steamboat Real Estate Summary Report—Solds and Pending Contracts from 2/1/2010-2/15/2010 Read more »
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: February 20th, 2010 under Market Reports.
Comments: none
Steamboat Single Family Home Activity Heats Up
Steamboat single family homes priced under $800,000 are seeing a lot of activity from buyers. Showing activity has been strong from buyers purchasing in Steamboat for the first time and trade-up buyers going from a Steamboat condo or townhome to a single family home.
Here is a link to 12 Steamboat Single Family Home Best Buys (in my opinion). These homes are either short sales or are priced to sell. Almost all of them are within a few minutes to town.
Within the last two days, 3 Steamboat single family homes have gone under contract. (Here is a link to the 3 houses.) As prices go down, more buyers are coming into the market.
Are you thinking of purchasing in Steamboat?
Please contact us if you have any questions about any of these homes or if you are coming to Steamboat and would like to set up a time to look at homes.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: February 5th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
Comments: none
NYTimes Article, “Skiers Buy Vacation Homes as Prices Fall”
Steamboat real estate sales follow the same ups and downs of most Colorado mountain towns, and a recent article in the New York Times entitled, “Skiers Buy Vacation Homes as Prices Fall” highlights some of the trends going on in our Steamboat market and the general Colorado resort market.
Real estate buyers who stayed on the sidelines while prices went up now have cash to spend and are looking to buy. Most Steamboat buyers want deals and are making offers lower than asking price, although sellers aren’t necessarily accepting the offers.
Steamboat real estate buyers now have the ability to choose from a large amount of inventory (including some homes that have never been on the market), motivated sellers that either want or need to sell, and some of the best prices in years.
Trade up buyers are also taking advantage of this buyer’s market. People who originally bought 1-2 bedroom condos and now want more space to entertain friends or family are buying Steamboat townhomes and single family homes.
Sales are still off from the real estate frenzy of 2007, although more people are looking as prices come down. Owning a Steamboat second home is still a dream for many people, and it’s getting more and more attainable.
As one Realtor said in the article, “We all got into a fantasy world there for a while but are going back to the old rules of real estate: Make a wise purchase and anticipate holding it for a while.”
If you would like to talk about the Steamboat real estate market or if you are planning a trip to Steamboat and would like to look at condos, townhomes, or second homes, please call us at (970) 819-6372.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 30th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
Comments: none
One Steamboat Place Sales and Prices Update
One Steamboat Place opened at the base of the Steamboat ski area and is set to have its official Grand Opening soon. OSP offers whole ownership residences and fractional ownership shares in 1/8th and 1/12th fractions. We’ve had a lot of inquiries about what’s going on with the newest slopeside real estate in Steamboat, so here are the figures as of mid-January.
Eight whole ownership OSP residences have closed to date ranging in price from $2.7M-$4.4M. The average sale price for a whole ownership One Steamboat Place residence is $3,375,000. Whole ownership condos can be rented, while fractional shares cannot. If you would like to rent at One Steamboat Place when you visit Steamboat, visit MovingMountains.com to request a price quote.
About 50 fractional ownership sales at One Steamboat Place also closed. Prices vary from $350,000 for a 1/12th fractional ownership to $580,000 for a 1/8th fractional ownership. Most of the fractionals were sold early in the pre-construction phase for prices in the $400’s.
Resales are available at various prices, so call 970-819-6372 for more information.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 27th, 2010 under New Developments.
Comments: none
Steamboat Townhome “Best Buys”
These Steamboat townhomes are what I’d consider a “best value”.
All but one are priced under $400/sq. ft. and have nice finishes, good locations, and are newer. The other is a ski-in, ski-out Storm Meadows townhome for $1,225,000. (One Storm Meadows townhome sold recently and one is currently under contract, proving the desirability of the neighborhood and location.)
You can click on the photos or links for more details, or call (970) 819-6372 with your questions. We look forward to hearing from you.
6 photos
8 photos
5 photos
8 photos
8 photos
8 photos
7 photos
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 24th, 2010 under Real Estate.
Comments: none
Steamboat Highmark to Auction Off Luxury Condos
The Steamboat Springs Highmark, a newer walk-to-ski development across from the new One Steamboat Place and Market on the Mountain, will auction off 15 luxury condominiums on March 12th. One Highmark condo will be sold without a reserve (most likely one on the second floor with limited views), meaning the highest bidder–whatever the price–will own the condo.
In addition, one of the top floor Highmark penthouses is bank-owned and for sale for less than half the original purchase price of $3.2M. The sale of this condo is unrelated to the auction and could be a very good opportunity for a buyer. This condo is beautifully decorated with views to the south.
Click here for link to the auction house.
Although The Highmark has had its ups and downs, I toured this property with prospective buyers this week and was rather impressed. Depending on how low the reserve price is set, these could be a good buy. The Highmark is a quick walk to the mountain and it has good rental potential.
Call 970.819.6372 for more information.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 23rd, 2010 under Real Estate.
Comments: none
Steamboat (Intrawest) in Foreclosure—Is It A Good Thing?
Call me an optimist. When the word came out that Fortress was in default for not meeting a loan deadline, the emails started flying around Steamboat: Intrawest is in Foreclosure! Bankruptcy! Default!
Yikes!
Sources tell me that Steamboat is a highly profitable ski mountain. (Intrawest has been privately held since 2006, so only a handful know exactly how profitable it is.)
Fortress bought Intrawest (the parent company of Steamboat Ski Corp.) at the market peak in 2006 with borrowed money. At the time, ski resort deals were less about fresh air and skiing and more about real estate sales. When the US real estate bubble burst, Fortress was left holding a lot of debt and started missing payments. So the lenders foreclosed, just like lenders are doing to homeowners around the country.
They were just like other speculators investors who bought homes and condos at the peak hoping to ride the appreciation wave. The over-leveraged-real-estate business model works great in a rising market, but leverage is compounded in a falling market. Fortress got caught in the downturn with a lot of debt and shrinking equity, just like millions of real estate speculators in Arizona, California, and Florida.
Fortress was like real estate buyers who used loan products like Interest only mortgages or worse, Option–ARMs, to buy as much real estate as they could with as little money down as they could. (Option ARM mortgages let a borrower pay less than the interest owed then tacked the unpaid interest on to the loan.) So loan balances went up while property values went down. They were underwater in a hurry.
Back to Fortress… This is my opinion, but I think having an investor come in and buy out Fortress for quarters (or whatever) on the dollar is a good thing. After someone buys the “foreclosed” Intrawest—or parcels off Steamboat–we will have a solvent owner who can continue what Intrawest started.
Back in 2006, having Intrawest as the owner of the Steamboat Ski Area was great. Intrawest came in and immediately re-graded the lower mountain, took out all the old lifts at the base to add the new high-speed Christie Express, greatly enhanced the snow making capacity, and did a whole lot of improvements the previous owner, American Ski Corp, couldn’t afford. Oh, and the Steamboat real estate market appreciated up to 40% because of it. (That’s the paper equity currently dissolving with every price reduction.)
Now we have a chance to have someone buy out Fortress (who can no longer afford to do the improvements to the mountain) and get someone committed to Steamboat, which consistently ranks in the Top Ten ski resorts in the country.
This will take some time to sort out. The main lender for Fortress was Lehman Brothers, which is now defunct.
Just as Fortress made money in a rising market, there are buyers who will come in and profit from buying Steamboat cheap. Let’s hope this time we get an investor with some cash to polish Steamboat into an even better world-class resort.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 22nd, 2010 under Uncategorized.
Comments: none
Steamboat Real Estate December 2009 Update
Steamboat Real Estate sales for December continue the upward trend we’ve been seeing for the last few months. New developments including Edgemont, One Steamboat Place, and First Tracks at Wildhorse are closing sales and new owners are staying in their residences for the first time. If you haven’t seen these new properties and you are interested in owning the newest real estate in Steamboat, contact us to schedule a tour.
The number of visitors coming to Steamboat still hasn’t fully recovered from the 2007 heyday, so guests can enjoy lodging discounts, skiing right onto the lifts, and getting reservations at restaurants.
Here are the details for the Steamboat real estate transactions in December 2009.
More Steamboat real estate posts:
Posted: January 20th, 2010 under Market Reports.
Comments: none