Steamboat Homes

Construction is set to begin this week, improving the structure and layout of the base of the Steamboat Ski Resort. ‘Tentatively, work that could happen this summer includes building the first segment of the snow-melted promenade, including pavers, from Torian Plum Plaza to the Sheraton Steamboat Resort property line…The promenade would continue as a durable concrete path all the way to One Steamboat Place. In addition, the first segment of Burgess Creek with a small waterfall and a pond would be built in the summer and fall.’

I think that this a very efficient solution. The concrete-surfaced path will be durable, and it’s OK if you plow it and salt it. And this is only the currently budgeted aspect of the project. To finish off the project in the future there will be fire pits, two bridges over the creek and public art, further tying together the base of the mountain.

With these new improvements to the base, in addition to the opening of the Truffle Pig and the completion of One Steamboat Place and Edgemont, the Steamboat Ski Resort has seen a complete remodeling of the base area. Still designed with Steamboat’s heritage and western influences in mind, the improvements will add to the beauty of the resort while hopefully improving everyone’s experience.

If you have any questions about the updates to the base area, feel free to contact me. I am an active member of the Urban Renewal Area Advisory Committee and would love to answer any questions you have.

Intrawest has recently announced that they have completed refinancing their previously outstanding debt payments. ‘The company said in a news release yesterday it has repaid its prior lenders in full and completed a new loan that is scheduled to mature in 2014. It did not disclose terms of the new loan.’ In early March it had been reported that the new debt restructuring includes Fortress, the private investment group behind Intrawest, investing more equity directly into the company.

The foreclosure notice on Highmark was withdrawn last week. ‘Fifteen units at The Highmark, at the base of Steamboat Ski Area, went on sale as part of an auction March 12. Of those, eight units were sold. The remaining seven have been on the open market since that time.’ The units that were sold at the auction at likely to cover the outstanding debt Highmark possessed. The article in The Steamboat Pilot continues stating that ‘because the remaining seven properties are selling well, it does not appear that the lien holder will put the final three units back into foreclosure after the first foreclosure was withdrawn.’ A good step in the right direction for the future of Highmark.

One Steamboat Place, Trailhead Lodge and Edgemont have seen success in their sales in 2009, but are continuing to push forward looking to better their sales in 2010. ‘According to research compiled by Bruce Carta, of Land Title Guarantee Co., from Routt County Assessor’s records, Edgemont developer Atira Group has realized $30.28 million on sales of 13 condominiums, and Trailhead Lodge, developed by Resort Ventures West, has sold 32 condominiums for a combined value of $27.43 million. One Steamboat Place, which began closing sales late in 2009, has reached $71 million, including 11 whole-ownership condominiums accounting for $40.45 million and 73 Residence Club memberships, which add $30.65 million.’

The article in the Steamboat Pilot notes that one of the most encouraging signs is seeing resort lenders come back into the market. The sales director at Edgemont stated that he was ‘impressed and encouraged by the fact that four of Edgemont’s 13 buyers were able to arrange conventional financing for the condominium purchases.’ With financing becoming easier for people interested in one of these luxury developments this should, among other factors, help initiate a stronger interest in these communities. If you are interested in learning more about One Steamboat Place, Edgemont, or Trailhead lodge feel free to send me an email or call me at 970.819.6930.

A recent NY Times article has reported on the recovery of Jumbo Loans in the US. They have reported that ‘mortgage industry executives say conditions are improving for those borrowing more than $729,750, the threshold for jumbo mortgage…Not only is it starting to get easier to qualify for these loans, they say, but rates are also coming down.’ This will hopefully ease the process for buyer in working toward their dream homes and is a sign that lenders have increased their confidence in the luxury real estate market.

The change toward jumbo rate mortgages now allows the most highly qualified borrowers to secure a 4.5 percent adjustable-rate mortgage. ‘This is about half of a percentage point lower than the prevailing rate late last year.’ In addition the average rate for a 30-year fixed jumbo loan is 5.125 percent. The amount of equity that needs to be maintained in your home has decreased from 30%, the amount needed at the end of 2009 to only 20% today. This means that you are allowed maintain a lower amount of equity in your home than previous years. This is another indicator that faith in luxury real estate market is recovering.

This is likely to increase activity and reduce inventory over the next year so it may be a good time to start looking more seriously around Steamboat. If you are interested in learning more about different real estate ventures in Steamboat, contact me at jon@mybrokers.com or 970.819.6930

According to recently released NAR (National Association of Realtors) statistics, vacation-home sales rose 7.9 percent in 2009 from 513,000 in 2008, to 553,000 this past year. An encouraging figure. ‘NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, The typical vacation-home buyer is making a lifestyle choice, with nine out of 10 saying they intend to use the property for vacations or as a family retreat.’ The median transaction price of a vacation home also increased, from $150,000 in 2008 to $169,000 in 2009.  Vacation home sales up in 2009 shows that despite this difficult economic climate, people are still interested and committed to making changes to best suit their lifestyle and goals for themselves and family.

We are seeing similar trends occurring in Steamboat. Buyers are beginning to come back into the market. The past four months have seen sales higher than those of the same month last year. People are continuing to find opportunities that meet both their financial goals and their personal dreams. If you are interested in learning more about a vacation home in Steamboat or would like more statistics on the state of the market, feel free to give me a call at 970.819.6930 or send me an email at jon@mybrokers.com

One Steamboat Place was recently mentioned in the Spring 2010 issue of Aspen Magazine. Primarily dedicated to discussing life in Aspen, the magazine praises One Steamboat Place for bringing a new level of luxury lodging to Steamboat Springs. And while praised for their change in the base area of Steamboat Ski area David Burden, CEO of Timber Resorts, stated, ‘we came to Steamboat to be a part of this community. We didn’t want to change it.’ And months after the opening of OSP it appears as though they have been incredibly successful in their goal. Integrating a new type of lodging while maintaining the down-to-earth feel Steamboat is loved for. For more information on activities that occur at One Steamboat Place or the amenities, feel free to send me an email at jon@mybrokers.com.

Highmark recently completed the auction that put 15 condos up for sale to the public. Steps away from the base of the mountain, Highmark is a luxury community that is looking to turn away from a troubled past. For more information on the history of Highmark Condos, see this previous post. The March 12th auction ‘has accepted the high bids placed on nine of the units…William Bone, president of the National Auction Group, said the nine auction sales are poised to close by April 1 and that his firm has the listing on the remaining six units.’ The hope is that the Highmark auction and other similar sales will help the Steamboat market continue the process of finding the prices for a wide variety of real estate.

‘Friday’s high bid converted to a price of $477 per square foot. Most of the high bids were lower than advertised minimums. The high bid on one of the four-bedroom condos that sold at the auction was $815,000.’

For more information or insights into Highmark or other Real Estate in Steamboat, send me an email at jon@mybrokers.com

A beautiful 1 bedroom 1 bath unit in Trailhead Lodge, this unit is a great location for your weekend get-aways to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Part of the new Wildhorse Meadows facility, Trailhead Lodge is located steps away from a new pulse gondola, giving you the ability to roll out of bed and be up to the ski slope in minutes. Located on the 4th floor this unit gives you privacy as well as great views of the mountain above. Beautifully furnished in a modern, western design, this condo is a great place to relax at the end of the day. With the luxury facilities below, including a pool, fitness center, outdoor grilling area, and 4 hot tubs, leaving Trailhead Lodge is often difficult to do. For more information about this Trailhead Lodge 1 Bedroom Unit contact me at jon@mybrokers.com or give me a call at 970.819.6930.

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The city vote was tallied yesterday and determined that the plan for Steamboat 700 would not be realized in the near future. Steamboat 700, a plan for the annexation of 700 acres of land west of town, was scheduled to develop between 1,837 and 2,243 residential units. As many as 448 of them were scheduled to be deed-restricted community housing units. The plan was overturned by a vote of ’2,592 ballots against the annexation and 1,661 ballots in favor, a 61 to 39 percent result for the mail-only vote that began in February.’

The development team was not sure of its next step after the rejection of Steamboat 700. ‘There are multiple Plan B’s, and I haven’t finalized any of them,” Mulcahy (Steamboat 700 principal and project manager) said. “Unfortunately, there’s not a Plan B of approaching the city with another annexation.’ However, it appears as though a different plan for annexation will not be approched by the same investment group ‘Cost is a small part of it, but after 300 hours of public meetings, meeting all the requirements of the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan … there’s nothing that would give any certainty or any likelihood that going through this would result in a different outcome,’ Mulcahy said. ‘Why would there be a different outcome in another three years?’