Right on,Scott,you have indeed done your homework.With a potential 7 year inventory of property on the market and lots more just anxiously awaiting to be put online,it just kinda blows my mind to continue reading from the local "real estate experts", that the market is actually improving.Improving from waht I might ask.If being up 5% from a down base minus 75%,then I guess one might think that the market has turned and that the bigger fools will come along and buy the rest of the 7 year inventory.All wishful thinking on their part,but not at all realistic. No doubt the recovery will take a long time,but at least Steamboat still has an awful lot to offer.
Not quite as dismal as Part 2,nevertheless,a very dark picture.Much of what has been reported about Steamboat is also true in many other parts of the country as well.The difference is that like many other resort/skitowns,Steamboat is subject to much wider swings od the penendulum.What might be a slight cold elsewhere could very well be a bad flu,or H1N1 in so called "boom/bust towns".No doubt Steamboat will come back strong at some future point,but not to the extent of what was there in 2004-07.So much of the "boom",was based on that proverbial,House of Cards.The Holding a Losing Hand part will improve,but it will take a very long time for this to happen. All in all,a wonderful series and The Pilot has bravely shown a very realistic picture of what the current Steamboat situation is and not what The Steamboat Resort folks ,et.al.,has and still continues to distort.
Finally an an article that really lays the overall realestate/financial debacle on the line rather than the pap that imminates from the usual sources,i.e. Steamboat Resort marketers.For example,The Pilot reported in March,2007 that a 'noted' Professor of Economics from some Community College in the Denver area said that his "analysis indicated Steamboat realestate would be IMMUNE to any country wide economic malaise, as the typical Steamboat buyer mostly were cash rich and did not rely that much on mortgage finanacing,...etc.,".I almost laughed out loud when I read that as it made about as much sense to me as someone thinking that the could delay the sun,or moon's rising or setting times. To me,it clearly demonstrates that there is always a "bigger fool out there",but this time when the music slowed to a creep,the bigger fool just didn't come along. Great series and keep telling it like it is.
Wow! How could he possibly have been so naive.He indicates that Steamboat is kinda a boom,or bust town,yet he marches straight in with a housing market that had appreciated over 50% during the previous 3 years.He suggests that the house represents him and that he had planned to live there.Yet he seemed to have no idea as to how to decorate the house.Perhaps he was just planning for the bigger fool to come along.When the music did finally slow down,it just seems that he wants to blame Steamboat for his own serious bad judgement.At least,I hope that he did enjoy his own 15 minutes.
No real surprises here.Fortress has to rollover a signifigant debts in the future and the last thing that they need is to be committing to much in the way of additional debt.Simply stated,"Just follow the money",in this case,it just isn't there to be followed.
I understand that most of the 12 affordable units sold are mostly one room studios and one bedroom units.This does very little good when it comes to a typical family unit,husband spouse and two children.I just have to guess that in the eyes of the "deciders",it is the number of units that count and not coming up with something better for the real folks who need more than a studio apt'.
Interesting that once again a "white knight",bails out distressed assets only to find out too late that there was a very good reason in the first place that the assets were under water.This happened with Les Otten and The American Ski Company,as well as the prior folks that he bailed out.It is also well known that Intrawest was on the ropes when Fortress came along several years ago to bail them out.Next will come the doubtful rollover of Fortress' s 4 billion note.All proving once again that there will always be a bigger fool to come along and sell to.
It is always interesting to read what The Chamber of Commerce has to report about what is going on real estate/bookings,etc.It always sounds like "things have never been better.Who do they think they are kidding?
None of this should come as any surprise and there is no need to compare the figures over the past 5 years.The financial markets are down 40+%;GM is on the verge of bankruptcy and virtually all real estate transactions have ceased.The world/country are in a deep recession and I hope that's all that we are dealing with.The last thing anyone really NEEDS is a 10K ski week at Steamboat,or any other place.Get used to it!
I think that the folks at Vail are right on target in their efforts to get more visitors this winter.If Steamboat thinks that the overall business climate is ok and doesn't need an extra push, then I hope that it works out.On the other hand,I am reminded of an article in The Pilot last spring when some community college,"economist", was quoted as saying that,"Steamboat real estate would be immune to any economic down turns in the market".Now,try telling that to most of the real estate community.Not much is moving and it just mostly just sits there. Immune indeed!
House of Cards Part 5: Reshuffling the deck
Right on,Scott,you have indeed done your homework.With a potential 7 year inventory of property on the market and lots more just anxiously awaiting to be put online,it just kinda blows my mind to continue reading from the local "real estate experts", that the market is actually improving.Improving from waht I might ask.If being up 5% from a down base minus 75%,then I guess one might think that the market has turned and that the bigger fools will come along and buy the rest of the 7 year inventory.All wishful thinking on their part,but not at all realistic.
No doubt the recovery will take a long time,but at least Steamboat still has an awful lot to offer.
August 28, 2009 at 9:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
House of Cards Part 3: Holding a losing hand
Not quite as dismal as Part 2,nevertheless,a very dark picture.Much of what has been reported about Steamboat is also true in many other parts of the country as well.The difference is that like many other resort/skitowns,Steamboat is subject to much wider swings od the penendulum.What might be a slight cold elsewhere could very well be a bad flu,or H1N1 in so called "boom/bust towns".No doubt Steamboat will come back strong at some future point,but not to the extent of what was there in 2004-07.So much of the "boom",was based on that proverbial,House of Cards.The Holding a Losing Hand part will improve,but it will take a very long time for this to happen.
All in all,a wonderful series and The Pilot has bravely shown a very realistic picture of what the current Steamboat situation is and not what The Steamboat Resort folks ,et.al.,has and still continues to distort.
August 14, 2009 at 7:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
House of Cards Part 2: The mortgage market folds
Finally an an article that really lays the overall realestate/financial debacle on the line rather than the pap that imminates from the usual sources,i.e. Steamboat Resort marketers.For example,The Pilot reported in March,2007 that a 'noted' Professor of Economics from some Community College in the Denver area said that his "analysis indicated Steamboat realestate would be IMMUNE to any country wide economic malaise, as the typical Steamboat buyer mostly were cash rich and did not rely that much on mortgage finanacing,...etc.,".I almost laughed out loud when I read that as it made about as much sense to me as someone thinking that the could delay the sun,or moon's rising or setting times.
To me,it clearly demonstrates that there is always a "bigger fool out there",but this time when the music slowed to a creep,the bigger fool just didn't come along.
Great series and keep telling it like it is.
August 7, 2009 at 5:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Routt County's booming real estate market during the better part of this decade attracted buyers of
Wow!
How could he possibly have been so naive.He indicates that Steamboat is kinda a boom,or bust town,yet he marches straight in with a housing market that had appreciated over 50% during the previous 3 years.He suggests that the house represents him and that he had planned to live there.Yet he seemed to have no idea as to how to decorate the house.Perhaps he was just planning for the bigger fool to come along.When the music did finally slow down,it just seems that he wants to blame Steamboat for his own serious bad judgement.At least,I hope that he did enjoy his own 15 minutes.
July 31, 2009 at 12:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Intrawest declines to invest in new gondola
No real surprises here.Fortress has to rollover a signifigant debts in the future and the last thing that they need is to be committing to much in the way of additional debt.Simply stated,"Just follow the money",in this case,it just isn't there to be followed.
May 30, 2009 at 4:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Our View: Housing policy changes offer promise
I understand that most of the 12 affordable units sold are mostly one room studios and one bedroom units.This does very little good when it comes to a typical family unit,husband spouse and two children.I just have to guess that in the eyes of the "deciders",it is the number of units that count and not coming up with something better for the real folks who need more than a studio apt'.
May 17, 2009 at 11:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Fortress holding investors' money
Interesting that once again a "white knight",bails out distressed assets only to find out too late that there was a very good reason in the first place that the assets were under water.This happened with Les Otten and The American Ski Company,as well as the prior folks that he bailed out.It is also well known that Intrawest was on the ropes when Fortress came along several years ago to bail them out.Next will come the doubtful rollover of Fortress' s 4 billion note.All proving once again that there will always be a bigger fool to come along and sell to.
December 5, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steamboat Ski Area lays off workers
It is always interesting to read what The Chamber of Commerce has to report about what is going on real estate/bookings,etc.It always sounds like "things have never been better.Who do they think they are kidding?
November 23, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Intrawest announces cutbacks
None of this should come as any surprise and there is no need to compare the figures over the past 5 years.The financial markets are down 40+%;GM is on the verge of bankruptcy and virtually all real estate transactions have ceased.The world/country are in a deep recession and I hope that's all that we are dealing with.The last thing anyone really NEEDS is a 10K ski week at Steamboat,or any other place.Get used to it!
November 20, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rob Douglas: Steamboat remains calm as Vail panics
I think that the folks at Vail are right on target in their efforts to get more visitors this winter.If Steamboat thinks that the overall business climate is ok and doesn't need an extra push, then I hope that it works out.On the other hand,I am reminded of an article in The Pilot last spring when some community college,"economist", was quoted as saying that,"Steamboat real estate would be immune to any economic down turns in the market".Now,try telling that to most of the real estate community.Not much is moving and it just mostly just sits there.
Immune indeed!
October 31, 2008 at 7:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )