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Steamboat Springs — Just 14 land sales have been closed in Steamboat Springs and the South Valley in the past 12 months, said Doug Labor, of Buyers Resource Real Estate.

Labor is the official statistician for the Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors. His figures do not include land sales that were not listed by a Realtor participating in the Steamboat Springs MLS, and thus are likely not complete.

Labor’s research includes November and December 2008 and the first 10 months of 2009. During that time, there were 218 vacant parcels and building lots listed.

Of the 14 land transactions in Steamboat and the South Valley, half were valued at $1 million or more. The other half were for $600,000 or less. There were no sales between $600,000 and $1 million, where there were 80 properties listed.

High Mountain Sotheby’s participates in forum

High Mountain Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury real estate firm based in Steamboat Springs, recently participated in the 5th Annual Sotheby’s International Realty Leadership Forum.

The three-day event provided a unique opportunity for Sotheby’s International Realty brokers, owners and managers to network and share best practices.

“The annual Leadership Forum provides a great value to our firm,” said Ted Hoffman, owner/managing partner. “It offers the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with an outstanding group of professionals from all over the world. This year, we left with a clear understanding of how we can position ourselves for success as market conditions improve.”

The networking event was Oct. 26 to 28 in Jersey City, N.J.

High Mountain Sotheby’s International Realty offers exclusive Sotheby’s Interna­tional Realty marketing, advertising and referral services designed to attract well-qualified buyers to the firm’s property listings. In addition, the firm and its clients benefit from an association with the Sotheby’s auction house, which promotes real estate referral opportunities with auction house clientele.

Garfield County kicks in $960K for teacher housing

The Aspen Times correspondent John Colson reported Nov. 3 that the Garfield County commissioners have agreed to contribute $960,000 to an effort to build subsidized teacher housing for the Roaring Fork School District.

Colson wrote that the housing would be built on school district land adjacent to former school buildings in Carbondale.

Excerpts from Colson’s report follow:

“We have been desperate for housing at the school district for a long time,” said Roaring Fork School District Superintendent Judy Haptonstall, speaking at Monday’s county commissioners meeting. Haptonstall said the district’s high teacher turnover rate is tied to the fact that teachers cannot afford to buy homes in Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood and are unwilling to live long term in apartments and condominiums.

The district has been working on building housing in Carbondale for several years, as part of a complicated land swap that left the town with the old Carbondale Elementary School, but the school district holding onto the land between and around CES and the historic Carbondale Union School building at the corner of Third and Sopris streets.

It is on that land, which includes an athletic field, the school’s bus maintenance facility for Carbondale and a parking lot, that the district hopes to build 120 units, of which 96 are to be subsidized so that teachers and other workers can buy them.

The county agreed to the district’s proposal to kick in $10,000 per affordable unit, for a total of $960,000 spread over three phases that are expected to be built in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Steamboat tops Intrawest resorts for guest service

Speaking before the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s annual luncheon last week, Steamboat Ski Area President and outgoing Chamber President Chris Diamond announced that Steamboat received the “Best Service Award” in competition with all of the Intrawest resorts.

The award was made on the basis of guest polling that asked: “Would you recommend this resort to a friend?”

In a challenging economy, Diamond said, the perception of guest service was something he, his department leaders and employees could control.

Looking at the coming season, Diamond said: “Not that we’re over a difficult time, but clearly there are many green shoots and positive signs out there.”