Rate And Investment Stats For The Year

Below are some rate and investment statistics for the year collected by Kathryn Pedersen and Holly Rogers of Yampa Valley Bank.

30 year fixed rate mortgage with 1% origination fee: (12/31/08) 5.0% (12/31/09) 5.0%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: (12/31/08) 8776.39 (12/31/09) 10,548.51

S&P 500: (12/31/08) 903.25 (12/31/09) 1,126.42

NASDAQ: (12/31/08) 1,577.03 (12/31/09) 2,291.28

Wall Street Journal’s Prime Rate: (12/31/08) 3.25% (12/31/09)3.25%

Number of Real Estate Agents (per the Board): (12/31/08) 408 (as of 12/29/09) 384


We wish you a prosperous 2010!

Kathryn and Holly can be reached at 970.875.1609

FREESTYLE OLYMPIC TRIALS FROM STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO

What an exciting year for our winter Olympic athletes! As we get closer to Vancouver, Steamboat was the location for the Freestyle and Nordic Combined Olympic qualifiers. Unfortunately this year I was out of town, however I have fond memories from 4 years ago. Watching my 2 daughters playing in the snow virtually under the freestyle jumpers, with the backdrop of a light snowfall was incredible. For those of you who couldn't watch this years event live, like myself, here is a link to NBC's video: Freestyle Olympic Trials from Steamboat Springs, CO

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

FORECLOSURE UPDATE

This week we saw a very high number of properties in the Steamboat Pilot going through the foreclosure process. These properties ranged from $200,000 condos to a $5,500,000 luxury single family home. This $5.5 million dollar home was in the paper showing an existing first debt of $3 million dollars in foreclosure. There is definitely an opportunity being created by the increase in foreclosures. Along with the new notices given, we also saw the sale of a bank owned luxury home and two others go under contract (one of which was the Alpenglow, FDIC owned duplex mentioned in a previous blog), at significant discounts to previous market values. For more information about distressed opportunities in the Steamboat market, send me an email at chris@mybrokers.com or call 970.819.1432 .

Think Snow!!!

Edgemont Closes Over $13 Million in Real Estate

Edgemont announced that they have closed their first 6 residences this week totalling over $13 Million in real estate. Edgemont is raising the level of luxury and experience here in Steamboat.
Below are a few photos of the interior of one of the residences. If you need more information or if you are interested in touring the brand new slope side Edgemont give us a call or send us an email.

November Home Sales Rise 7.4 Percent

Alan Zibel, Associated Press Real Estate Writer reports home resales surged last month to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Last month, Congress decided to extend and expand the credit to ensure the housing market could sustain its recovery.

"Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of real estate Web site Trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there."


To view the entire article click here.

2010 U.S. Olympic Trials in Steamboat Springs Today

Johnny Spillane won the 2010 United States Olympic Team Trials Nordic Combined race at Howelson Hill today. Todd Lodwick came in second place and Bill Demong came in third place. It was a hometown sweep! An exciting day for Steamboat!

$4.1 Million Townhome And Other Interesting Steamboat Real Estate Sales

This week saw some very good closings. One was a $4.1 million dollar townhouse located near the Thunderhead lift and a $1.8 million dollar Antlers condo at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area. Both of these transactions, combined with the One Steamboat Place closings and a land closing for $2.5 million dollars are a very good sign. Positive signs in the economy, backed by local evidence of a turn of sentiment is the start of a psychological change in the right direction!

Real Estate Round Table With Randy Rowe

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear Randy Rowe of Green Courte Partners speak at a real estate round table with some Steamboat Springs real estate professionals. Mr. Rowe is currently the Chairman of Green Courte Partners, LLC, a private equity real estate investment firm focusing on niche strategies. The agenda for the day included home prices, U.S. gross domestic product and unemployment.

To begin the round table Mr. Rowe gave a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation, discussing the current housing market and economy. Some interesting statistics:
- There is approximately $100 billion raised to purchase distressed assets. Obviously some people still have a lot of money and are ready to take advantage of opportunities when prices appear low enough.
- The Case-Shiller home price index is up 4.8% from it's bottom
- From the chart below you can see there is a big difference in the price drop for home prices in different areas. Areas such as Miami, Pheonix and Las Vegas show the greatest decline in values. This is primarily due to the extensive overbuilding and speculation.

- Denver home prices were only down 14% from peak to trough and currently is only down 1.8% from peak.
- New home sales have outpaced new construction for 8 consecutive quarters. If an oversupply of homes is part of the problem, this is a sign we are working through the inventory. Below is a chart of Existing home sales and Months of supply:



- Here in the Steamboat Springs local real estate market we too are seeing a significant change in monthly sales volume from the lows in January 2009:



The general message form the points above and the complete presentation was that things are getting better. Things are turning and we are seeing concrete signs that housing, along with the economy, is in the bottoming process. A good chart showing this is one of the us economic indicators:



As you can see from the above chart, the Leading Economic Index has made a significant positive turn, while the Coincident Economic Index has stabilized. The Leading Economic Index has actually improved for 7 consecutive months.

Continuing with the positive theme, the general opinion was that interest rates will remain very low at least through the next November election. A few comments regarding the future were that we will most likely see a spike in inflation and then a rise in interest rates. A potential opportunity is to purchase real estate with a fixed long term interest rate. If we assume that today represents a more true value in real estate and that from here the market will revert to a normal growth rate, the below chart represents how a homeowners equity may grow over time:



It was great to hear a positive opinion regarding the future of real estate values. In Steamboat, which entered the real estate down slide a year after the rest of the country, it may appear that all is lost. As we should have paid attention to when the rest of the country entered the down slide, we also should pay attention to when they exit. It may be that we have the luxury of watching the dog (US Economy) that wags the tail (Steamboat)as we make decisions.

A big thanks to Randy Rowe and his team at Ski Town Lifestyle Properties for putting on such a great event.

Change In Debt Ratio Guidlines From Fannie Mae

Here is some great information provided by Kathryn Pedersen and Holly Rogers of Yampa Valley Bank:

Fannie Mae will be changing their debt ratio guidelines as of the first of January. Debt ratio is total debt divided by gross (pre-tax) income. In the past, if a borrower had a strong financial profile, we could get loans approved up to a 60% debt ratio. The new changes will limit the debt ratio to 45% for most borrowers and 50% for only the very top tier borrowers (high credit, lots of assets, low loan to value, etc.). This limits what people can afford to purchase. It may also restrict people from refinancing their current loan.

For example, if a borrower makes $5,000 a month, their maximum of total payments (all debt payments and new housing payment) could have been $3,000 a month or 60% debt ratio.
$1,000 of car loan payments and credit card payments
$2,000 mortgage payment
$3,000 Total

With the new guidelines, they would be limited to a $1500 a month payment or a 50% debt ratio.

$1,000 of car loan payments and credit card payments
$1,500 mortgage payment
$2,500 Total

This results in a $83,000 difference in purchasing power! This adds one more incentive to buy now. If we start the loan in December, we can use the more flexible guidelines. Also, it is more important than ever to make sure that your buyers are pre-qualified.

Kathryn and Holly can be reached at 970.875.1609

WOW, The US Lost Far Fewer Jobs

Today it was anounced that the US cut far fewer jobs than expected and the unemployment rate actually fell to 10% from 10.2%. After many quarters of heavy job losses and a rising unemployment rate, this is a very big change. To read the full story on the jobs report, click here.

Have a great weekend!!

Luxury Home In Sanctuary Sells For $2.9M

A exquisite home located at 1067 Steamboat Boulevard in the Sanctuary subdivision on the 13th tee box of the Rollingstone Ranch Golf Course originally listed at $3,950,000 closed yesterday for $2,900,000. This single family home is 6,657 sq ft with 4 bedroom suites and 5.5 baths. Other features of the property include a gourmet kitchen, theatre room, wine station, European spa, large steam room, exercise room, over sized 3 car garage, mature landscaping and complete irrigation system. To view photos and more details please click on the link below.

Link to property

Tax Credit Extended

President Obama on November 6th signed legislation extending the $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and at the same time approved a new tax credit of as much as $6500 for current homeowners interested in buying a new home.
According to the website at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan extends the existing tax credit of as much as $8000 for first time home buyers to the middle of next year and establishes a new credit of as much as $6500 for current homeowners who plan to buy. It requires that a contract be signed by the end of April. Buyers also need to have lived in their current home for five of the past eight years. Homeowners may retain their existing home and rent it, or use it as vacation home.
Other provisions include the $6500 credit is available for home buyers who sign a contract on an existing home by April 30,2010, and close by July 1, 2010. The cost of the new home may be as much as $800,000. Buyers will not have to repay the $6500 as long as they occupy the new home for at least three years. The credits do not apply to previous sales-the purchase must have happened after November 6th. The home purchased must be the primary residence of the buyers. It is allowable to trade down to a less expensive home. Income limits for existing homeowners are $125,000 for a single person and $225,000 for a married couple.

One Steamboat Place closes $15.25 million

The first 13 condominiums closed at One Steamboat Place for a combined $15.25 million. The closings included 10 residence club sales totaling $4.45 million and three whole ownership sales that combined for $10.8 million. The most expensive was a penthouse that sold for $4.2 million, according to records at the Routt County Assessor's Office.
One Steamboat Place is scheduled to open January 9th.