Colorado has continued pushing for statewide zoning in the last several legislative sessions. The new proposal, House Bill 26-114 would radically alter every community in Colorado. The new bill mandates 2k foot min lot sizes statewide (no exceptions for any cities)....
As part of an ordinance passed by Denver City Council in 2019 to get the city’s lowest earners to a better wage and then link annual pay raises to the Consumer Price Index starting in 2023, Denver’s min wage has jumped 70% in the last 6 years. This has put Denver in...
In my blog last week Low snow year impact on Colorado ski real estate prices, I asked the question what are your predictions for ski real estate prices. I was a bit surprised. My base case is no change in pricing, but the survey results were radically...
In the legislature, it appears the biggest struggle for Coloradans is “$20 beer at a Nuggets game, the $10 water at the airport or the $80 Tylenol at the emergency room,” state Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat, said during a news conference at the state...
In my blog last week Denver inventory surges and yet real estate prices still rise, I asked the question what are your predictions for real estate prices in 2026. Although a number of publications are predicting a huge reset in prices, the data from the survey shows...
Colorado is having a tough year. Snowfall was down nearly 60% over the holidays, resulting in only about 11% of skiable terrain being opened in December and skier visits are down 20%. Vail resorts, the largest ski operator, is getting hit hard as seen in the stock...
In case you missed it, yours truly, was featured in a recent Denver Post Article: Coloradans carry heavy debt loads, and it isn’t financially healthy. What do increased debt burdens mean for real estate prices in Colorado? Does the debt burden preclude a 2008...
Look at May statistics for Denver. With the surge in inventory I would have expected a sharp drop in prices, yet median and average sales price have barely budged. Now look at the chart below, what do you notice? Why are prices increasing even with an increase in...
Last week I asked all of you How can the state of Colorado help reduce insurance costs? The real estate pros have spoken and as you can see from the chart above, the most selected response is that the state of Colorado needs to stay out...
After the Marshall fire, the state of Colorado embarked on a process to eliminate private property insurance. The first step the legislature took was to implement a study of why clean up from wildfires was inadequate and why insurance companies should be on...
With the stroke of a pen, President Trump has radically altered federal law in regard to Cannabis. The big news is that Marijuana is no longer in the same classification as heroin. What does this mean for Colorado’s Cannabis industry? How will this impact Colorado...
Two high end Colorado ski towns are taking radically different stances on tourism. Vail had proposed a 17% short term rental sales tax, while Steamboat is taking the opposite approach by proposing to tax vacant homes. Which solution is correct? What does each one...
The figure sounds ominous that Breckenridge summer bookings are down 17%. Is the sky falling in Breckenridge with visitation? At the same time bookings dropped nightly rates actually increased. How is this possible? Are the new nightly rental regulations to blame...
2026 looks like it is going to be a quite interesting year. Is it a rinse and repeat of 25? Inflation is remaining sticky, interest rates are high, while property taxes and insurance bills have skyrocketed throughout Colorado. There is a ton of negative news coming...
As the pandemic trends continue to reverse and buyers fall back into old habits, we are seeing a huge pull back towards urban areas. Does this mean Denver is set for a huge rebound? What are the best metro markets to invest in Colorado and why? What trends...
There is yet another law coming out of the Colorado statehouse on affordable housing. This new law allows state and local governments the first right of refusal on most multifamily property and requires notice to the government of any intent to sell prior to listing...
In my blog last week Top Ten Mountain Towns in a free fall, I asked the question to the readers if they agreed with the viral video proclaiming that Colorado ski real estate is in a Free Fall. As you can see the consensus was a blow out, but the interesting...
Have you seen the viral video about Colorado ski real estate where it predicts “entire communities evaporating and the seemingly perfect town that has seen its median home price slashed by over 30% in just 6 months”. How real are these bold predictions? Hint, look...
Our legislature recently enacted a new law that will impact large property owners starting this year. Who is impacted by the “Decarbonization law” Who will be paying millions for building upgrades (hint not the government)? Who will be on the hook for fines up to...
This election in Colorado is following similar patterns of tax and spend. I wish one of these elections we could vote to reduce taxes and spending! Did voters in Denver approve 1 billion in new spending? What ski town proposed a 17% short term rental tax? What...
I’m amazed at the creativity in Denver to tax property owners more. The recent proposal is a “ghost tax” on select rental properties throughout Denver County. This ghost tax could be a game changer for the rental industry in Denver. What is in the new...
Look at the chart above, the debt carried by Colorado’s residents is higher than any other state in the country including expensive states like California, NY, etc. The largest factor is mortgages but also note a stark increase in variable debt (credit cards,...
In my blog last week, Are Colorado ski towns running a Pyramid scheme, addressing the question of whether tourism is actually paying for itself or are ski towns papering over the tourism issue to continue to increase their budgets. The results were crystal clear. What...
Colorado ski towns are promising high returns from tourism to fund just about everything from roads to affordable housing and everything in between. The theory is that increasing tourism will essentially solve every budget desire in each ski town. What does this...
