HOW'S THE MARKET?
While the weather in Steamboat this time of year may keep us guessing, one thing that has remained consistent from the past month is the number of available listings. Across Routt County, residential offerings continue to sit at only 69 properties. There were 58 closings countywide in the month of March, which means that there are roughly the same number of properties closing as are hitting the market. Average days on market is also holding steady at seven days. The median close price for single family homes in Steamboat Springs continues its ascent, rising from about $1.5M in February 2022, to $1.65M in March 2022. Those looking for a single-family home in Steamboat for under $2M continue to be challenged as there are only 11 listings currently in that category.
The limited inventory has caused total sales volume in Routt County to drop from this time last year. To date, there has been $268M in real estate sold in 2022 compared to the whopping $323M in 2021. Still, total volume is significantly outpacing previous years, showing that buyer demand remains very strong.
Probably the most notable development in the real estate world is rising interest rates. Rates have increased 1.5% over the last three months, which is the fastest rise in rates since 1994. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now hovering around 5%. This rate increase means that the monthly payment for someone looking to buy a home in April 2022 is about 20% higher than it would have been just a year ago. Still, even with the rate increase, mortgage rates remain historically low, with the historical average being 8%.
Perhaps the biggest advantage our buyers and sellers have working with a Colorado Group Realty agent is that our agents have their pulse on the market: they live, work, and play here, and they know the market and the people extremely well. Colorado Group Realty is also currently #1 in market share in 2022 in Routt County. Whether you’re considering buying or selling, one of our experienced agents is here to help you with any and all of your questions. Give us a call to find out how!
FULL STEAM AHEAD ON IMPROVEMENTS AT STEAMBOAT SKI RESORT
It’s a wrap! The 21/22 ski season came to an end in typical style last weekend, with the annual Springalicious festivities. As the last of the winter guests left, the team at the Steamboat Ski Resort switched gears to move forward with Phase II of their "Full Steam Ahead" $200M, multi-year transformation of the base area and mountain.
The base, or Steamboat Square as it has been named, will see the addition of Skeeter’s Ice Rink, coined after local Olympian Skeeter Werner Walker. Next to the rink, The Range Food and Drink Hall will include four eateries with bars on each level and an outdoor deck overlooking the lower mountain. Along the promenade, Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) is to receive a new on-mountain operations base, along with a Ski Patrol base, new bathrooms, and lockers.
Work will begin on the installation of the Wild Blue Gondola, which will eventually reach the top of Sunshine Peak. Slated for completion in 2023, it will be the longest 10-person gondola in North America, covering over 16,000 horizontal feet and 3,371 vertical feet with 171 cabins and a total ride time of 13 minutes.
The lower portion of the Wild Blue is expected to be completed for the 22/23 ski season and will access Greenhorn Ranch, a new beginner’s area. It will morph into the mid-station for the full-scale gondola. To enable construction of the new gondola, the lower terminal of Christie Peak Express lift will be moved to the south and the Outlaw Mountain Coaster and Maverick’s mini golf course will be permanently removed.
“We have long recognized the Mountain Coaster is not in an ideal location as the first impression to the base area,” said Rob Perlman, President and COO. “Now we have the opportunity to be thoughtful about our approach to base area improvements.”
Greenhorn Ranch will provide much-needed designated beginner territory with four beginner magic carpets, one lift and 14 acres of terrain-based learning. The idea is to immerse first time skiers and riders in the mountains and not keep them solely at the base area.
In addition to Full Steam Ahead, a further $2M will be invested in on-mountain improvements including snowmaking, lift maintenance, ski patrol equipment and mountain machinery. $500K is also earmarked for new ski and snowboard rental fleets, with $400K to be spent on employee housing upgrades in the Walton Pond complex.
Phase III begins after the 22/23 ski season and is set to make Steamboat the second-largest ski resort in Colorado with the addition of 655 acres of advanced/expert terrain and a detachable quad into the Pioneer Ridge/ Fish Creek Falls area.
For details on Full Steam Ahead visit www.steamboat.com/FullSteamAhead
CRAIG, COLORADO OFFERS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
After 17 years of living in a condo in Steamboat Springs, local elementary school teacher Aurora Sidell sold and moved into a three bed, three bath home on five acres in Craig. The longtime employee of the Steamboat Springs School District didn’t leave her job, but she outgrew her space.
“I have two horses and paying for board was almost like a second mortgage,” she said. “I could never have afforded what I have now in Steamboat, so I took the commute over confinement.” Sidell is one of five district employees who recently moved 40 miles east to Craig. “I come to Steamboat to work, ski and see friends, but I have an incredible amount of open space to explore off my doorstep.”
The average home value in Craig is just over $250K and values rose 18% in the past year. Currently, the largest employer in the area is the Craig Power Station and coal mine with 115 employees, but it is set to close within the next 10 years.
Locals hope tourism will be the ticket for longevity to the area’s economy. Sidell believes Craig will grow as a commuter town for those working in Steamboat Springs.
Set halfway between Denver and Salt Lake City, Craig is a rural landscape famed for its hunting. Moffat County spans millions of acres of public land. Tens of thousands of hunters roll into town filling hotels and eateries every year. “If you look around, good things are happening for the community here,” Sidell says speaking about local initiatives including plans to develop a series of mountain bike trails. “Craig is a natural migration for those of us who want space, and people here have a connection with the land.”
Craig was settled in the 1870s by ranchers. The Museum of Northwest Colorado, on the outskirts of town, houses the Cowboy and Gunfighting Museum where a personal collection of 1,000 artifacts lures visitors every year. Beyond agriculture, Moffat County offers employment opportunities in construction, retail, hospitality, education, government, and healthcare.
The area boasts a Colorado Northwest Community College campus, which currently serves around 250 students in subjects including early childhood education and mechanics plus associate degrees in cosmetology or nursing. The Memorial Hospital in Craig opened a new facility in 2019, reducing the need to travel for a host of treatments.
“I think we are at a tipping point,” says Sidell, who continues to teach at the Sleeping Giant School in west Steamboat. “I know many people feel Steamboat is getting crowded but if you are happy to make the drive, you get the best of both worlds.”
COFFEE AND COMMUNITY IN A CUP
When you open the door to Off the Beaten Path Bookstore in downtown Steamboat, the smell of freshly brewed coffee lures you in, almost as much as the wide array of books lining the shelves. The two-story shop has been a magnet for locals and visitors for decades and boasts a second coffee shop at the Bud Werner Memorial Library. Atop the wooden staircase inside the 9th Street downtown location, is a seating area which fills up daily with everyone from academics to adventurers. Offerings like a Great Expectations tea and homemade Cowboy Cookies, fuel visitors who sit between walls laden with published titles of fables and facts.
Across Lincoln Avenue towards the arts centric end of 9th Street is the newly opened Beard and Braid Coffeehouse. Huge windows allow daylight to flood the open plan space and give visitors a front row seat to the comings and goings of the frequented sidewalk. Pastries are baked in-house daily and compliment the caffeinated offerings along with organic wines and beer. Locals rave about the Sherpa Chai maccha latte and golden milk infused with turmeric and whipped honey. The known inflation reducer is a tonic to a town filled with fitness fanatics.
Coffee aficionados cannot get enough of Big Iron Roastery’s evolving range of flavors sold in bags or in a cup at their shop Big Iron Coffee Company on Lincoln Avenue. The latest flavor, Finca Los Papales hails from Nicaragua and joins recent offerings from Brazil and Columbia. A recent collaboration with Storm Peak Brewing Company and Hideaway Park Brewery blended their own beans to create a Coffee Kolsch. Ideal for those torn between a post hike coffee or beer.
Step inside the bright green door of Mountain Brew on Oak Street, where locals line up to start their day with a hot drink or a smoothie. A cluster of little rooms fill up quickly with friends catching up, location neutral workers and meetings about everything pertaining to Routt County and beyond.
Newly opened Dusky Grouse Coffee Shop conjures more than a brew. The one-of-a-kind store, located at 1585 Mid-Valley Drive, is home to a record shop. Live music, albums of the month and a radio station tie-in with KEXP is a Seattle-based non-profit arts organization. The Dusky Grouse, which is named after the mild-mannered Rocky Mountain bird, offers a monthly book club with a focus on mental health. Their Steamboat Little Givers program rewards 4- to 11-year-olds for kindness and giving to the community. Each month children are given a handful of meaningful tasks to brighten the lives of neighbors and friends.
The next time you feel the need for a cup of Joe, take your time about it and savor the engrained sense of community.
TEEN MENTAL WELL-BEING PROGRAM GROWS TENTACLES
Visitors to Beard and Braid Coffee Shop in downtown Steamboat Springs walked in to find an unusual sight on April 1st: a cluster of plaster cast ‘Octopus’ arms stuck up from the ground bejeweled in everything from crystals and wool to live plants and recycled metal. The sculpture was the work of 10 members of You Out Loud, a new program to promote mental well-being in teens within Routt County.
Over eight weeks, the creative crew of teens from Yampa Valley High School, Steamboat Springs High School and the Steamboat Mountain School met weekly at artist Missy Borden’s studio to engage in an abstract study of self and their surroundings. The concept was Inspired by My Octopus Teacher, a Netflix documentary, and students explored weird and wonderful ways to engage with others.
You Out Loud was founded in January 2022 by Suzi Mitchell, a local artist and mother of three. “I saw a need for teens to find an alternative way to connect beyond school and sports,” Mitchell says. “The idea is to bring individuals together using art as a bridge to bond with each other, the community and build their self-esteem.”
Mitchell gathered a group of fellow artists and local counsellors to build the programming. The Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Colorado agreed to be the fiscal sponsor and the first program filled up within four days. Three future projects are on the books between now and June 2022 and the Colorado Group Realty Charitable Foundation is proud to be a sponsor. “We’ve had tremendous input from students about the things they want to be involved with, so we feel we can offer them a platform to really engage and share their voices,” Mitchell says.
The next project is ‘Reimagined,’ the future of fashion. Participants will focus on sustainability and test out sewing skills to upcycle clothing. There are plans afoot to stage a fashion show in collaboration with youth musicians and the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra.
You Out Loud is teaming up with The World Hope Project and local therapist Tina Harlow of Guiding Bright to create a documentary on issues facing youth with multigenerational input. The group intends to screen the production locally in June.
The grand finale to the 2021/22 school year is a large-scale art installation headed up by realism artists Brian Bonebrake and Gregory Block. You Out Loud is collaborating with the Community Agriculture Alliance to connect recreators with ranchers in a visual exploration of shared spaces.
All programming for You Out Loud is free to participants and the fledgling organization relies on donations. All monies given in honor of You Out Loud are tax deductible and can be donated through the CGR Charitable Foundation or through The Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Colorado.