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Steamboat real estate snapshot

A look at market conditions with The Steamboat Group

By Lauren Glendenning
For Steamboat Pilot & Today

Editor’s Note: Sponsored content brought to you by The Steamboat Group

Jon Wade
Courtesy Photo
How the Steamboat Group is Different

The Steamboat Group is the only family-owned, community-focused brokerage in town.

“We are built entirely different from the start to focus on helping our clients — who trust us with their dreams — succeed. We also give back to the community in a substantial way to help keep Steamboat special,” says Wendy Wade. “In 2018, our brokers gave back $40,000, or more than $6,500 each, and are already beyond that in 2019.”

Jon and Wendy Wade formed The Steamboat Group and recruited other community-minded team members to make a difference for their clients and the community.

“We make sure to truly listen to our client’s needs, help them be smart about our market, provide truly impactful marketing vs. legacy methods for people selling, and give back to the community from our TSG Fund at much higher levels to keep Steamboat special,” Wade says.

“We only hire people that are committed to succeed by putting our client’s interests first,” Wade says. “And we have found that people who are willing to give back to Steamboat at this level are the ones that we can trust to put their clients first.”

A true community and affordability compared to other mountain resort towns — what’s not to love about Steamboat Springs?

Our town has a lot going for it, and there’s a balance here that many other mountain towns lack. For example, the demand for real estate these days comes mostly from locals, who make up more than 50 percent of the purchases here, says Jon Wade, Broker/Owner of The Steamboat Group. People want to use their homes here not just operate them as investment properties, which says a lot about this place.



“This is an amazing place but come to Steamboat for our friendly down to earth community,” Wade says. “They have been to all of the major resorts before and often owned there then they visit Steamboat and fall in love with our town.” Other mountain towns along I-70 have become like a crowded mall. Steamboat started as a ranching community and that friendly culture is what people still love and work to protect here.

Why Steamboat?



Locals reading this already know what makes this place special, It’s quieter here, there’s a true sense of community, it’s beautiful, there are excellent public and private schools, low taxes and a separation from Denver that moderates the influx of people on weekends, Wade says.

“If you can live anywhere, why not Steamboat,” Wade says about people who are location-neutral. “I get a call every week or two from someone who realizes that they don’t need to be in Anytown, USA anymore — then a lightbulb turns on when they realize they can live in Ski Town USA.”

Value, inventory and (low) risk

The Routt County market remains healthy with a nice balance. There has been a 4 percent growth in sales year-to-date and price progress is moderate.

“Just over 50 percent of purchases are cash and the current lending standards have taken a lot of risk out of the market compared to 2017 when you could just sign your name and get a loan,” Wade says. Time spent on market is improving and Wade says there’s a reasonable balance between buyer and seller expectations in most cases.

While the market has been robust since about 2014, Wade says the market has also paused to consolidate a couple of times since then and demand is mostly from people who want to spend time here vs. just an investment, which is a good signal.

“Our shift to a Lifestyle Economy is bringing a more stable income base on average, people are buying in cash or with more qualified loans, and long term supply growth is fairly limited,” Wade shares. “We will always have cycles, but these things tend to moderate the changes and increase the long term prospects of a market.”

More affordable than other mountain towns

While not “affordable” compared to many parts of the country, Steamboat is more affordable than comparable mountain towns, Wade says.

Wade points out that Steamboat is on the verge of having 2 to 4 more affordable housing options for purchase and rent that are targeted at locals, which will help moderate housing costs and allow more locals to control their long-term housing situation and costs.

“It will be great to have options for more of the people that keep Steamboat special like teachers, nurses, public servants and service industry workers,” Wade says.


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