It has been quite the session with a ton of bills that have huge ramifications for property owners throughout Colorado. The proposals ranged from increasing taxes on nightly rentals, evictions protections, habitability, right of first refusal and various others. The...
Colorado Hard Money Blog
Big election loss in Steamboat: huge changes in ski town real estate
Steamboat voters reject a 24 million dollar donation for a new affordable housing project that was slated to be the largest in the state. Why did Steamboat walk away from the project? Why is this rejection important for other mountain communities and what does...
New housing bill passes that drastically alters property owners’ rights & STRs
Once again, as the legislature returns, the first order of business is housing and a recent bill “just cause for eviction” just passed that will rock the real estate industry. The recent proposal seems innocuous: “just cause for eviction” and yet hidden in the depths...
New affordable housing rule, CO has first right of refusal on your property
There is yet another proposal in the statehouse on affordable housing. This new bill would allow governments the first right of refusal on basically any multifamily property and require notice to the government of any intent to sell prior to listing with huge fines...
Colorado insurance premiums up 30%, State farm leaves California, 12% drop in values, is CO next?
Just like in California, Colorado recently passed a bill to create a statewide insurance plan to write insurance policies in high risk areas. Why are most major insurers now leaving California? What does this mean for the future of property insurance in Colorado?...
Will Colorado ski town buyers pay realtors 70k upfront?
The recent settlement by the national association of realtors will have an outsize impact on Colorado ski towns. Will prospective buyers pony up 70k to pay their buyers agent based on the median home price in Summit County? What does the recent settlement mean for...
Colorado will turn off wells in one part of state; billions “taken” from property owners
It is amazing that Colorado continues to pursue a growth strategy throughout the state with the knowledge that we are basically out of water. The issue of water is coming to a head in one part of the state. Colorado is legally required to stop irrigating...
New bill in Colorado legislature drastically increases HOA fees
The Colorado legislature is out of control with their housing bills. The newest bill: “Real Property owner unit association collections” will drastically increase HOA fees for every property owner and likely could bankrupt many homeowner associations. What is in this...
Colorado tenant rights radically altered, landlords beware
Every time I open the news, I’m amazed at what is happening in the Colorado legislature. As a rental property owner, I cringe as it is becoming next to impossible to cost effectively operate a rental property. The new bill is titled “safe housing”. Who...
New Colorado short term rental bill to define “commercial” use differently
The original Colorado short term rental bill is still moving through the legislature but now there is a competing bill to also classify short term rentals as commercial properties but with a big twist from the first bill. The new bill proposes to try to tax...
New Colorado housing bill drastically alters property owners’ rights & STRs
Once again, as the legislature returns, the first order of business is housing. Unfortunately, there is now a pervasive agreement that only the legislature can fix the housing crisis we are experiencing in Colorado and the number one tool is more legislation. The...
Own a vacant building in Lakewood, the city will send you a bill
New vacant building tax immediately implemented Lakewood, CO just implemented the first vacant building tax I have seen in Colorado. It seems a bit counterintuitive to put more taxes on a property owner that is already struggling with vacancy. Why did Lakewood...
Colorado property values soften. Property taxes increased 36%-82%
Get ready for sticker shock as you open the mail and get your tax bill. As values soften throughout the state, why are your property taxes going up? How can assessed values continue to increase even though property values are softening? Why will your taxes likely...
Alterra (Ikon) buys Arapahoe Basin, impact on ski real estate
Alterra Mountain Company has announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, from Dream Unlimited Corp., expanding Alterra’s portfolio of destinations in the Rockies. What does this mean for real Colorado ski real estate? ...
Is Colorado setting up buy now pay later for property taxes
The legislature passed a little known bill to allow property owners to defer their property taxes above 4% increase starting in 2023. To get the message out, they sent out the flier above that I received this week. On the surface, this sounds like an amazing plan. ...
Colorado has highest debt per person of any state
What does Colorado’s debt load mean for real estate prices? I was surprised to see Colorado exceed every other state in the country on both the amount of debt and debt as a percentage of income. Why do Coloradoans have more debt than others? Why is debt an important...
Denver has highest increase in violent crime in US, impact on real estate
Of U.S. cities with more than half a million residents, only Denver’s overall violent crime (including aggravated assault, sex assault, robbery and homicide) has risen by more than 90% between 2012 and 2022, according to FBI data. What does the surge in crime mean...
Bill to quadruple taxes on short term rental passes out of committee
With the failure of proposition HH, the Colorado legislature is on the hunt for tax revenue and nightly rentals are in the cross hairs. Not surprisingly, the recent proposal to quadruple taxes on nightly rentals recently passed out of Colorado legislative committee...
Vail pass sales increase 86%, Colorado mountain towns revolt
What does the increased tension between Vail and ski towns mean for real estate? Vail, the owner of major ski resorts and the epic pass, is selling approximately 86% more passes than in 2019. At the same time mountain towns throughout Colorado and the country...
Property tax bomb awaiting Denver
Denver office vacancy exceeds 30% for first time since 1990’s In 2019 office vacancy stood around 16%, lower than the national average. Fast forward and Denver office vacancy has almost doubled to over 30%. Why is the vacancy rate so important to Denver...
Copper and Keystone outperform Breckenridge, why?
Over the last several years both Keystone and Copper Mountain have appreciated at almost double the rate of Breckenridge. Why the sudden change in fate for Copper Mountain and Keystone? What big changes occurred in governmental regulations to cause the surge in...
2024 Colorado real estate predictions, will prices continue falling?
Wow, 2023 has been quite the year in real estate. The beginning of the year started out good but as interest rates rose substantially volumes dropped off a cliff and prices began falling. What do the changes mean for Colorado real estate in 2024? Will prices have a...
Did Breckenridge implement rent control? Did Summit County take “property rights”?
A federal judge has effectively frozen a legal battle over Summit County’s short-term rental regulations — at least temporarily — after county officials filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by area homeowners. One of the claims of homeowners is that the new...
Second homeowners charged higher property taxes in Colorado
Although HH, the Colorado tax reduction initiative was ultimately defeated, there was one profound item in the legislation that will have far reaching impacts. One of the biggest changes in the proposal is that second homeowners (non-primary residents) are now paying...