| Mortgage rates plummet, but borrowers beware - The takeover of Fannie and Freddie may make mortgage borrowing cheaper - but it won't make getting a loan any easier. Since last Friday, the 30-year fixed rate has dropped to 5.79% from 6.26%. But only buyers with a credit score of 740 of above - and a 20% down payment - can qualify for such a low rate. During the boom, borrowers only needed scores of 640 to land the lowest rates available. Even a 580 score would get them very close to the best rate. CNNMoney.com |
Sept 10, 2008 |
| U.S. Near Deal on Fannie, Freddie - Plan could amount to Government takeover; Management shakeup is expected - The Treasury Department is putting the finishing touches to a plan designed to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would essentially result in a government takeover of the mortgage giants. Wall Street Journal |
Sept 6, 2008 |
| Tugboat is staying afloat - The Tugboat, a fixture at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area since New Year’s Eve 1972, was due to be torn down with the rest of Ski Time Square this summer and fall. However, Mark Mathews, Vice President of Development for the Atira Group, confirmed his company intends to allow the Tugboat to remain standing as the only surviving business in Ski Time Square, pending its redevelopment plans. |
August 22, 2008 |
| Proposal would add 187 acres to Hayden - Developers are petitioning Hayden to add nearly 200 acres to town limits |
August 17, 2008 |
| Steamboat 700 to drop acres - Steamboat 700 developers told city planners Wednesday that they intend to move forward with pared-down development and annexation proposals after their application to extend the urban growth boundary was denied Tuesday night. |
August 14, 2008 |
| Boon or bust? In January, the U.S. Forest Service announced that bark beetles’ total infestation reached more than 1.5 million acres in Colorado, nearly all of the state’s lodgepole forests. |
August 10, 2008 |
Single-family home starts lag - Everywhere one turns in Steamboat Springs this summer, there are construction sites.
Old buildings are being torn down at the mountain while cranes erect new condominium hotels. Public school construction is bracketing Old Town, and mixed commercial-residential projects are nearing completion on Lincoln Avenue.
But all of the multi-story buildings obscure an emerging trend. The number of new single-family home starts through the end of June is less than 50 percent of historic averages in the city, according to records kept by the Routt County Regional Building Department.
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August 10, 2008 |
| Potential buyers see 360 Village appeal - The project will cover 350 acres and include 600 to 650 units, ranging from rental apartments to entry-level family houses to “estate” plots on a ridge overlooking the area. The plan also calls for restaurants, shopping areas and grocery stores, which Jaime Baughman said would be a major benefit on the western edge of town. |
August 7, 2008 |
| Dream Island under contract - Jim Cook and Green Courte Partners plan affordable housing on site -Better streets, landscaping, streetlights and tighter oversight of neighborhood covenants are all a possibility, Cook said. Green Courte’s profile in Steamboat is one of a luxury residential and commercial builder. However, Cook said the company has financial ties to a manufacturer of mobile homes. Green Courte announced this month that it was named “Manufactured Home Community Operator of the Year” at a convention for the manufactured housing industry. The company release states that Green Courte helped to found the Urban Land Institute’s Manufactured Housing Community Council, and has promoted long-term leases throughout the industry. |
May 16, 2008 |
| Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club scheduled to open May 21 - The chance to go low at Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club — formerly the Sheraton Steamboat Golf Course — certainly will exist this summer. Because of renovations and improvements to the irrigation system, the course never will offer more than 17 holes. |
May 14, 2008 |
| The Victoria strikes historic balance - The Victoria, nearing completion at Lincoln Avenue and 10th Street, was praised this week by the city’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee as part of its observation of Historic Preservation Month. Committee Chairwoman Pam Duckworth said The Victoria exemplifies the ways in which new construction can be compatible with a historic setting. |
May 11, 2008 |
| North, South Routt defy dollar volume trends - Focusing on neighborhoods and outlying towns paints a more detailed picture of how the Routt County real estate market performed during the first quarter of 2008. |
May 11, 2008 |
| Season ends with a splash - "Steamboat Springs residents and visitors spoke glowingly of the season and the biggest snowfall on record: 489 inches. The Steamboat Ski Area shut the mountain down with music from The Radiators and then Susan Tedeschi, and hundreds of people in costumes and standard mountain wear filled the slopes and Gondola Square for the action." |
April 7, 2008 |
| The gentrification of funky Fairview? Manitou Avenue home price nears $1 million - "Fairview has always been a charmingly funkified neighborhood on the edge of Steamboat Springs where neighbors pull together and tolerate each other’s architectural idiosyncrasies. There are folks occupying a yurt in Fairview and probably a couple of early 20th-century machine sheds." |
April 4, 2008 |
| Ski Time Square demolition scheduled for summer - "Demolition of Ski Time Square will happen all at once, and it will start this summer.""The Atira Group and Washington, D.C.-based Cafritz Interests are partnering to raze and redevelop the buildings around the base of the Steamboat Ski Area." |
Mar 6th, 2008 |
| Talking about town stretch of Yampa River - "The city of Steamboat Springs is seeking public reaction to a new master plan that would address the condition of both natural systems and manmade structures on the town stretch of the Yampa River.""The goal of the plan is to address everything from erosion problems to underutilized kayak wave structures" |
Mar 1st. 2008 |
| Sundance North condos close to shopping, dining."The city's newest mixed residential/commercial project won’t break ground until this summer — and more than 30 percent of the residential units already are under contract." |
Feb 17th, 2008 |
| All-time high at the Highmark "The condominium atop the six-story building at the corner of Village Drive and Aprés Ski Way comprises 2,386 square feet, meaning it sold for $1,329 per square foot. “That’s the highest-priced sale, in terms of price per square foot, of any property (in Routt County) I’m aware of,” Bruce Carta of Land Title Guarantee Company said." |
Feb 16th, 2008 |
| The year of multi-million-dollar home sales. Market hits $1.5 billion in 2007 - One year after the Routt County real estate market exceeded $1 billion for the first time, the market has dusted $1.5 billion. And the market pushed through that threshold while the number of transactions was declining. |
Feb 10th, 2008 |
| Property taxes rising -"several factors have come together to result in the property tax increase. One of them is the unprecedented increase in real estate values in the county during the past several years" |
Jan 25th, 2008 |
| Mainstreet Steamboat Springs sets 2008 goals -"The Colorado Department of Transportation is planning large-scale improvements on Lincoln Avenue, scheduled to begin in summer 2009. As a result, Mainstreet plans to work heavily with consultants from Britina Design Group in the coming year, to develop Steamboat’s proposed downtown improvements and implement them along with the CDOT work." |
Jan 24th, 2008 |
| Our View: The river runs through us - "The six-mile “town stretch” of the Yampa River is a year-round playground for residents and tourists who seek solace and recreation in fishing, kayaking, tubing or just enjoying the peacefulness of naturally flowing fresh water." |
Jan 23rd, 2008 |
| Ski-in, ski-out in high demand - "Both halves of a ski-in, ski-out duplex organized as a townhome subdivision sold this month for $5.4 million and $5.3 million, respectively. And duplex lots in the neighborhood are listed for nearly $2 million" |
Jan 20th, 2008 |
| Base area projects could stall - "In 2009, city officials hope to turn their focus to projects on private property, such as a promenade around the ski base. Consultants hope to begin design and engineering work this spring. But current policy could prevent that." |
Jan 18th, 2008 |
| In midst of record year - "The dollar volume of November real estate transactions in Routt County was off 35 percent from sales in November 2006. Nonetheless, the $89.8 million still represents the second biggest November on record." |
Jan 6th, 2008 |
| Commercial spots nearly full in downtown developments - "The new year will bring plenty of change to downtown Steamboat Springs, as hundreds of new residential and commercial tenants are scheduled to move into a number of mixed-use projects, and the next wave of development is scheduled to break ground." |
Jan 6th, 2008 |
