When buyers read headlines like “Median Prices Down 53%!” and “Median Prices Down 62%!” you would think sellers were practically giving their homes away here in Steamboat Springs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many buyers (with good reason, in many cases) are looking for homes and condos with a mindset left over from the dark days of 2009-2011, and month-to-month stats like the ones below tend to reinforce that thinking.
If you take a look at the month-to-month median prices for Steamboat area single family homes and condos, you’ll find swings of several hundred thousand dollars. Condo prices tend to be a little more reliable because there are more sales, and more data points, to generate better stats.
So what’s really going on? This year has been the year of the entry level buyer. Currently, rental inventory is as limited as our housing inventory. We’re seeing more first time buyers and buyers in less costly areas like Hayden and Oak Creek who are finding it’s cheaper to buy than rent. So those numbers are affecting our median prices even though they have little to do with the Steamboat Springs real estate market.
In the City of Steamboat Springs, it’s a different real estate story. There are currently 81 homes for sale. Only three of them are priced <$500,000 and 51 of them are priced over $1,000,000. We are seriously lacking in home inventory priced between $500,000-$900,000. Half the homes currently listed between $500,000-$650,000 have less than 1000 sf and have two or fewer bedrooms. They are basically tear downs.
Buyers have a few options. They are choosing to build, waiting for new listings to come on the market, or they are upping their budget. If you are thinking about buying, please call us at 970-819-6372 to talk about your options and sign up for notifications of new homes on the market.