Steamboat Real Estate

There are two sides to every story, and the side the media publishes when it comes to real estate is generally the negative side. Yesterday’s headline in the USA Today reported, “Housing market shows a hint of hope” then goes on in the first paragraph to use phrases like “there are still significant risks” and starts the second paragraph, “Housing prices fell at a slow pace….”

Is this from the same Office of Federal Housing Oversight’s Housing Price Index I looked at yesterday?

The other side of the report showed 30 out of 50 states showing positive gains in housing prices from June 2007 to June 2008, including Colorado at #18 with a 1.82% appreciation gain.

The worst states for price declines were the usual suspects-California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. The worst cities with significant price declines were in… (you should be noting a pattern)….California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

Here’s what OFHEO Chief Economist Patrick Lawler had to say. “The most overbuilt areas of the country–including California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida–contrast greatly with most other states, where prices are declining more moderately or even increasing”.

The good news is we live in Colorado, the 18^th best state for real estate appreciation.

In fact, Colorado real estate has appreciated over 273% since 1980, or almost 10% a year.

Real estate stats can’t be swept together and lumped into one number. You need to look a lot closer to get the real story, even down to Steamboat real estate micro markets.

If you are thinking about purchasing Steamboat real estate, buy it because you love coming to Steamboat. Buy property in Steamboat Springs because you plan on using it and are tired of renting. Don’t buy a place to flip or for an investment (although history proves Steamboat real estate will go up) unless you plan on holding it for several years.

And by all means, stop believing everything you read in the papers.