STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty has made local real estate history after selling the most expensive home ever recorded in Steamboat Springs.

Sotheby’s real estate agent Pam Vanatta of The Vanatta Group represented both sides of the $12.4 million transaction, according to Sotheby’s. It’s the largest transaction for a single-family home within Steamboat as long as the MLS, or multiple listing service, has been in existence.

The large home, named Gray Stone Canyon, is a residence at Storm Mountain Ranch, located off U.S. Highway 40 south of Steamboat. It’s a gated community and shared ranch that houses 14 total homes.

The record-breaking sale closed Thursday morning, according to Vanatta.

“Architecturally, it was probably one of the more magnificent properties built in Steamboat,” Vanatta said.

The home’s main residence, which sits on 70 acres, has four bedrooms, five full baths, two half-baths and boasts 8,475 square feet. There’s a meditation room, exercise room, a spacious 2,520-square-foot guesthouse and an RV garage and shop.

Gray Stone Canyon features a contemporary design and high-end finishes.

Storm Mountain Ranch has a unique history in Steamboat. The property was purchased in the late 1990s by Jamie Temple, who founded the company Case Logic. In the 1960s, Temple’s father, the late James Temple, developed Storm Mountain as a resort ski mountain. The mountain was later renamed Mount Werner in memory of local skier and Olympian Buddy Werner.

When Storm Mountain Ranch was purchased, Jamie Temple donated 793 acres to the Yampa Valley Land Trust for conservation. Residential lots began to sell in 1999.

“What’s significant here is that there is a demand for high-end residential in close proximity to Steamboat,” Vanatta said. “We were fortunate to find the buyers.”

Some of the priciest homes found in Steamboat are located at Storm Mountain Ranch. Another multi-million-dollar home at the Ranch was recently sold and was represented on the sellers’ side by Sothebys’ agents Darlinda Baldinger and ChLoe Lawrence and on the buyers’ side by Sotheby’s agent Hugh Jessiman.

“Upon entering the home, you are struck by the incredible views from the wall-to-wall windows as you walk into the ‘gathering space,’” reads the 70-plus-page marketing booklet for Gray Stone Canyon. “The glass spans 
the entire length of the room overlooking
the tiered ponds and Walton Creek Canyon just beyond. An enormous, steel framed and open fireplace creates a warm and cozy space for hosting guests. “

Adjacent to Walton Creek, the property includes multiple water features, ponds and streams and access to private trails.

“(It’s) very exclusive and unique to our marketplace,” Vanatta said. “I don’t know anywhere else in Colorado that is such a beautiful shared ranch, with water, tons of hiking and within a 5-mile radius to a city and a ski resort.”

The home, built in 2004, had been on the market for just over a year. It was originally listed for $13.75 million.

According to Vanatta, there are no other homes currently on the market in Steamboat for $12.4 million or more, with the exception of some in the ranching category — nothing strictly residential.

The massive sale price contributes to the already overwhelming activity this summer in the local housing market.

“I think that people who live in Steamboat, they actually love it here and they appreciate the quality of life,” Vanatta said. “I think it’s because of the community and what the community represents.”

Steamboat’s amount of open space is hard to find in other ski areas, Vanatta said. Many clients have searched for a property in other Colorado ski towns but then found Steamboat, and it was “a breath of fresh air,” she said.

“(The sale) shows the demand for high-end, luxurious real estate in Steamboat Springs,” she said.