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Single-family-home prices in Steamboat Springs are inflating like a giant balloon, and that balloon isn't expected to pop anytime soon.

A scarcity of buildable lots exacerbated by a cumbersome city planning review process are among factors ensuring prices will continue rising, real estate brokers say.

"You better jump in while you can, because it's going to keep increasing," said Wendy Fisher, owner/broker of Anchor Realty.

The Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service currently lists 188 homes for sale in Steamboat Springs and subdivisions directly west of town.

Of those, 112 are priced at or more than $1 million, 27 are priced at less than $500,000 and only one home costs less than $300,000.

Steamboat home prices also have influenced prices in Routt County, where the median sale price of a home -- the price that falls in the middle of prices for all home solds -- rose from about $270,000 in 2000 to $370,000 in 2004, according to MLS statistics.

David Baldinger Jr., a real estate broker at Steamboat Village Brokers and a member of the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission, said one of the biggest factors driving home prices are lot prices, which account for as much as a third of a home's cost.

"Because there are few opportunities for new subdivisions with the urban boundary or very near to town ... the lack of building sites really drives prices up," Baldinger said.

The hope is that subdivisions pro?--?--?--p?--?--?--osed west of Steamboat Springs will provide less expensive land inventory, he said.

Finding a place to build is just one hurdle for developers, who also must navigate an overly complicated planning review process, said Rob Dick, program manager for the River Place co-housing development east of Steamboat Springs.

"You couple (the lack of lots) with the long planning process, and it's difficult, if not impossible, to create housing (that) people that make their living in this community can afford," he said

At $250,000 to $300,000, homes in the project ultimately cost about $40,000 more than Dick had hoped.

Prices were inflated in part by the time it took to have the project approved and the expense of hiring designers and consultants to satisfy planning regulations, he said.

"The process could be simplified a lot," Dick said. "The planning regulations don't need to be as complicated as they are."

The lack of incentives in the planning process will hinder philanthropic developers such as Dick from attempting more affordable projects near Steamboat Springs, Fisher said.

"We are losing those kinds of developers because they can go somewhere else and do it," she said.

Even if developers are able to develop less expensive subdivisions, it may take a while for that inventory to catch up with Steamboat's high-demand market.

The newer Heritage Park and Silver Spur subdivisions west of town, for example, were intended as more affordable developments.

Prices of nine homes currently listed for sale there range from $376,000 to $595,000. A home in the older Steamboat II subdivision is listed for $384,000.

Closer to town, homes in West End Village, which usually come on the market at about $300,000, typically are under contract for two weeks, said Jill Limberg, vice president of the Board of Realtors.

"They go really fast," she said.

Another factor that can set the pace of the market are buyers who pay cash for a home without having it appraised. Appraisals are not required if there is no loan process.

Without an appraisal, buyers may pay more than market value for a home, setting a new standard for prices in a neighborhood or development, Limberg said.

"I think there's a lot of cash buyers in Steamboat," she said.

Some buyers from unusually inflated markets in California and other places consider Steamboat's prices reasonable, Limberg said.

"It's buyers like that that come in here with a totally different perspective of our market," she said.

The federal government considers housing "affordable" if it comprises no more than 30 percent of a household income.

More than 31 percent of homeowners in Routt County already pay more than 30 percent of their income toward housing, according to the 2005-06 Community Indicators project.

That means that many families opt for condos or townhomes instead of homes in Steamboat Springs, or purchase homes in Stagecoach, Hayden or North Routt County.

"Younger families definitely need to make a choice between location and size," Baldinger said. "If they want a very central location in Steamboat, they will often choose a townhome. If they want a traditional home with a yard, they will buy in Stagecoach or Hayden."

The option of having a new home entices some buyers outside Steamboat Springs. Some see those homes as a way to eventually break into the Steamboat market, Limberg said.

In Hayden, for example, a family can purchase a new 1,230-square-foot home in the Sagewood subdivision for $219,000.