Colorado ski town real estate: affordable housing costs, nightly rental taxes, I-70 traffic, statewide zoning mandates and how each affects mountain properties.
In my blog last week Is affordable housing causing the surge in ski town home prices? I asked the question what was the impact on affordable housing in relation to ski prices . I was pretty surprised at the resounding answer regarding affordable housing What...
Over the last 30 years I continue to hear about the “affordable housing crisis”. Do we really have an affordable housing crisis or a leadership crisis within the ski towns. A recent proposal in Steamboat pegs the build cost of one affordable housing unit over 1.7m....
Crested Butte, CO it the latest to propose a vacancy tax with one major shift, nightly rentals would be covered by the new tax along with second homeowners. Who knew that Colorado ski towns would be taking economic lessons from Portland Oregon,one of the worst...
In my blog last week, One CO town proposes to tax employers for hiring workers, I asked the question was are proposed linkage fees a good idea. I was very surprised with the results of the survey. My base case was that there would be an even split, but the...
Reading the headline, it sounds absolutely crazy to propose taxing businesses for creating jobs, but is this really a crazy idea? Is every job worth the same in Colorado? For example if someone builds a large hotel in Steamboat creating 15 jobs, should the developer...
It seems like anytime there is even a hint of snow or the slightest breeze, I70 gets shut down for hours turning an 1.5 hour drive from Denver into a 5 hour adventure! What does this mean for ski real estate? Will ski traffic lead to lower real estate...
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)....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
A fall from a lift in Crested Butte, leads to a 21m loss for Vail even with the ski safety act (first ever). Is the lawsuit actually a win for Vail resorts (even though they lost money)? Why is this case so monumental? What does this case mean for Colorado...
When I was writing this, there were 10 wildfires burning throughout Colorado (above is a pic of the Derby fire north of Vail), can you avoid the biggest mistake for a property owner; do you know what the biggest mistake is? Being a lender in Colorado for the last 25...
I was surprised to see the news that Eldora, in Boulder County, is up for sale. What caused the sale of Eldora. What does this mean for real estate in Nederland, CO? Why is the town of Nederland buying a ski resort? Is this even a good idea? Are property owners...
Wow, how skiing has changed over the last decade. Assuming a family of 4, a full ikon pass will cost almost $5k/year and that is before you take a bite of an overpriced slice of pizza!. On the flip side, an epic pass for 4 will be closer to 4k/year. What do the...
There is one ski town that bans non residents from buying real estate? What ski town has implemented this change? (Do you know based on the pic above?) Why was the ban put in place? What has happened to real estate values in this town and surrounding towns? Should...
Colorado ski resorts continue holding strong in the face of higher interest rates. Why are interest rates not the best metric for Colorado ski real estate? What two factors are driving the difference in ski town fortunes? Will these trends continue heading into...
Nightly rental regulations and enforcement continue to be a leading topic for legislation in every Colorado ski town. A newer ordinance in Summit county (Breckenridge) continues this trend but ironically is supported by most in the industry. What is in the new...
As I predicted, we are starting to see some big changes in Colorado ski real estate. Even as prices in many markets throughout the country are staying flat, some Colorado ski real estate is still increasing while others are starting to correct. What is causing the...
I learned the hard way about investing in mountain towns. I successfully lost over 100k on my first ski investment property! Hindsight 20/20 I violated 1 of the 4 golden rules of investing in mountain property. I developed these 4 rules after evaluating thousands...
Having lived and worked in the Colorado mountains for almost 25 years I have witnessed first hand the radical transformation that has occurred in every single ski town. How have ski town demographics changed? Is the moose a harbinger for big changes in each mountain...
It is crazy to think that every major ski town in Colorado has made the same major mistake and that nobody has noticed until or done anything until now. What caused every ski town to duplicate the same mistake? What does this mean for property owners? When...
Voters in Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Dillon, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Summit County will all decide whether to impose additional taxes, with at least part of those funds in each municipality going to support affordable housing. What are the new short term...
