No need to go to the city council meetings to find out what's important in Steamboat. Just walk into any business establishment and listen. Everyone from high school students to ski lift operators, clergy to district attorneys are talking about affordable housing, responsible growth and realistic planning.
This proposal did not just pop up. It's been through a very rigorous process and hopefully will be decided upon early this month. At stake is the already battered real estate market. What is being addressed is an affordable housing plan that is attached to a large development which would like to the be annexed to the city. A decision either way will effect home prices, available skilled labor, taxes, traffic and business growth.
A quick look at real estate shows that most of the sales are at or below what the seller originally paid years ago. Short sales, bank owned and developer auctions on multimillion dollar properties are becoming more common. More sales are occurring, but mainly because the price-to-value is so appealing.
Town Atmosphere
One thing that hasn't changes is the outlook of the locals. They still treat each other and especially tourists with respect and a smile. We've always liked Steamboat for this very reason. It's difficult to find world class outdoor recreation, high quality accommodations and a friendly atmosphere in one location.
Maybe it was the Olympics; the recent rescue of Intrawest (who owns the ski mountain) by its parent company, or the fact that several large projects have opened their doors. Whatever the reason, the good ole' Steamboat friendliness is still there.
Issues to Watch
Changes in employment opportunities, taxes, infrastructure and resident population will set the stage for Steamboat's value. Trend analysis over the past 50 years has shown a significant paradigm shift approximately every 10 years. Quite frankly, it's due. Our viewpoint is there's to much local talent to think it's value will diminish. We think there's a new wave to be caught in Steamboat, but we're not sure they know what that is. In spite of all the positive attributes, we're going to give Steamboat a "Yellow Light", at least until we know more at the end of the month.
Never Fly Solo.
2 comments:
It's been years since we've skied Steamboat. Will this change the western, cowboy atmosphere?
I can imagine that it would. The "cowboy atmosphere" exists because of the location and surrounding communities. People from Oak Creek, Craig, Clark, even Kremmling choose Steamboat for alot of their daily needs. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=40.430224,-106.973877&spn=1.003527,2.458191&t=h&z=9 I can't imagine that would change.
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