Throughout the state of Colorado property owners are paying substantially more in taxes than they should due to one fundamental flaw in the assessment. Here is a recent example: I was asked to evaluate a property in CO springs for a loan. The purchase price...
What is the main culprit for increasing prices in ski towns? The list is endless but typically at the top is the huge increase in nightly rentals and the big bad mega passes bringing more people to the ski towns. Unfortunately, this answer is incorrect, it is a...
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...
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 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...
Typically most of the mountain towns seem to replicate each other. In this case, Breckenridge(Summit County) has made radical changes that will help real estate owners save considerable money. On top of that, the changes implemented were free. Why are other ski...
After the legislature last year approved the ability to tax second homeowners more, one ski town is going all in establishing a “vacancy tax” for property owners. Ironically nightly rentals can be considered "vacant". What is in the new Vacancy tax proposal? What...
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...
Why is Steamboat Springs leading the way? Although in the last legislative session the initiative to charge second homeowners more was defeated, it is rearing its head again in the form of a new backdoor “vacancy tax”. The leaders of this new push are the Colorado...
Denver county approved hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes for hospitals, schools, and everything in between, but they voted down an affordable housing bill in the November election. Along the same lines, Steamboat also recently voted down an affordable...
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...
A lot happened last legislative session and I totally missed a recent law that could have huge impacts on property owners. A new Colorado law that went into effect in May allows fire districts to levy “impact fees” on any property without a vote. What does this mean...
It is amazing since the pandemic it seems everyone has had way too much time to watch YouTube and Instagram and are now experts on everything including Colorado ski real estate. Unfortunately ski real estate is not that simple. Look at the picture above, can you...
10 years ago, nightly rentals were a novel concept, fast forward to 2024 and the number of nightly rentals has surged over 40% in the last 5 years. What does this huge increase in nightly rentals mean for real estate values? Has the real estate market gotten...
When looking at the chart above it is clear that Breckenridge is substantially underperforming other ski towns in Colorado. Why has Breckenridge peaked and fallen while other ski towns hit a blip and powered higher? What does this mean for ski real estate in...
Regardless of all the talk of a recession, soft landing, or something in between. Many Colorado mountain towns continue to see record tax sales revenue. How is this happening while domestic tourism is pulling back? What does this mean for the upcoming ski season? ...
