Be Careful Out There, Always Check the Report!!
Steamboat Today: Avalanche danger could last all winter
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
it's good not great.
hi there. writing to you from my desk here at work where i just scarfed some cashews, drank some coffee and then proceeded to chew 6 pieces of gum, one right after the other as soon as they ran out of flavor like some feening smoker having a nic fit. i think i'm just a little, tiny bit frustrated with my ski season so far, or maybe not frustrated as much as jealous that our friends and family in southern colorado got absolutely hammered on over the past 5 days and our snow situation is, meh, at best. "it's coming" "it's on the way" "you have to be patient"...well i want it now! (in my best veruca salt hissy fit voice) we wait and wait for winter and then it arrives and you bet your sweet ass we want our cake and we want huge dumps of snow too! not to say i didn't enjoy the skiing this weekend or the weak "powder day in da boat" snow report this morning, i love getting to work at 11:30 with a little cold burn still on my cheeks. i'm just saying that it's more satisfying when you can't get the shit eating grin off your face all day until you drift blissfully off to sleep at night after a deep, light, champagne powder morning. it's coming, i know, but patience has never been one of my great virtues.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
keep the ball rolling
Metro Denver housing sales surge 23 percent in November By Margaret Jackson The Denver Post
Posted: 12/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Up 23% Over Nov. 2008
Metro Denver's housing market showed its first year-over-year improvement in 11 months, as the number of homes sold in November surged 23 percent over the same month in 2008, data released Tuesday showed.
At least part of the increase was attributed to a rush by buyers to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, originally set to expire at the end of November but later extended through the spring.
But it wasn't just first-time buyers who returned to the market. The median sales price for condos and single-family homes increased, a sign that more-expensive properties were also selling well.
"An increase of 23 percent versus a year ago suggests that confidence levels of potential buyers are higher," said Jeff Thredgold, an economist for Vectra Bank Colorado. "Part of that is based on better economic news, and part is based on the most attractive mortgage interest rates in 40 years.
"We were all in this massive state of flux a year ago. The sky was falling, for all we knew."
Last month, 3,599 homes sold, compared with 2,920 in November 2008. Sales last month were down 9.1 percent compared with the previous month, when 3,958 homes sold.
The data covers previously owned homes and not new construction purchased directly from builders.
"We're not out of it by any means, but even in a bad month where things slow down, there are still a lot of positives," said David Simonson of Re/Max Professionals Inc. "This time last year, we were looking at a market that had an absolute free-fall feel to it. We've definitely made some strides forward."
The median price for a single-family home was $218,000, up 11.8 percent from the November 2008 price of $195,000 but down 1.8 percent from the October 2009 price of $222,000.
The median price for condos increased to $135,900, up 4.5 percent from last year's $130,000. The price also was up 0.7 percent from October, when it was $135,000.
"As far as pricing, we're very close to the traditional mix of homes selling," said Gary Bauer, an independent real estate analyst. "Through the majority of this year, we've had a larger percentage of first-time buyers. Now we have first-time and move buyers. Move buyers definitely bring the average up."
Move buyers are owners moving from one home to another.
For the first time in nearly three years, sales in the $1 million-plus market increased 30 percent year-over-year, said Chris Mygatt, president and chief operating officer for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
"This is possibly the beginning of the recovery of the million-dollar market," he said. "You wouldn't have thought the tax credit would have an effect on the million-plus market, but the renewed energy and renewed confidence has spilled over into the upper-end market."
During November, six homes priced at $2 million or more sold; 23 homes priced between $1 million and $2 million sold; and 150 priced from $600,000 to $1 million sold, according to Bauer's analysis.
"There are pockets that are thriving regardless of their price range," said Mike Burns of Re/Max Professionals. "But overall, the market above $500,000 is not as healthy as below, and below is very, very good."
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
Posted: 12/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Up 23% Over Nov. 2008
Metro Denver's housing market showed its first year-over-year improvement in 11 months, as the number of homes sold in November surged 23 percent over the same month in 2008, data released Tuesday showed.
At least part of the increase was attributed to a rush by buyers to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, originally set to expire at the end of November but later extended through the spring.
But it wasn't just first-time buyers who returned to the market. The median sales price for condos and single-family homes increased, a sign that more-expensive properties were also selling well.
"An increase of 23 percent versus a year ago suggests that confidence levels of potential buyers are higher," said Jeff Thredgold, an economist for Vectra Bank Colorado. "Part of that is based on better economic news, and part is based on the most attractive mortgage interest rates in 40 years.
"We were all in this massive state of flux a year ago. The sky was falling, for all we knew."
Last month, 3,599 homes sold, compared with 2,920 in November 2008. Sales last month were down 9.1 percent compared with the previous month, when 3,958 homes sold.
The data covers previously owned homes and not new construction purchased directly from builders.
"We're not out of it by any means, but even in a bad month where things slow down, there are still a lot of positives," said David Simonson of Re/Max Professionals Inc. "This time last year, we were looking at a market that had an absolute free-fall feel to it. We've definitely made some strides forward."
The median price for a single-family home was $218,000, up 11.8 percent from the November 2008 price of $195,000 but down 1.8 percent from the October 2009 price of $222,000.
The median price for condos increased to $135,900, up 4.5 percent from last year's $130,000. The price also was up 0.7 percent from October, when it was $135,000.
"As far as pricing, we're very close to the traditional mix of homes selling," said Gary Bauer, an independent real estate analyst. "Through the majority of this year, we've had a larger percentage of first-time buyers. Now we have first-time and move buyers. Move buyers definitely bring the average up."
Move buyers are owners moving from one home to another.
For the first time in nearly three years, sales in the $1 million-plus market increased 30 percent year-over-year, said Chris Mygatt, president and chief operating officer for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
"This is possibly the beginning of the recovery of the million-dollar market," he said. "You wouldn't have thought the tax credit would have an effect on the million-plus market, but the renewed energy and renewed confidence has spilled over into the upper-end market."
During November, six homes priced at $2 million or more sold; 23 homes priced between $1 million and $2 million sold; and 150 priced from $600,000 to $1 million sold, according to Bauer's analysis.
"There are pockets that are thriving regardless of their price range," said Mike Burns of Re/Max Professionals. "But overall, the market above $500,000 is not as healthy as below, and below is very, very good."
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
my 29th december
well stuffed and still suffering from my thanksgiving hangover with some sniffles. what an outstanding weekend, lots of food, drinks, and skiing! no new snow to report unfortunately but hey, when the sun is shining and the man made snow is softening, there is nothing better to do with your turkey stuffed ass than rip the strip. that's right, put that ski pass to use and start putting notches in the bed post for the 09/10 season. in celebration of the snow to come we hosted a beacon dig party at the house on saturday night. i use the word dig loosely since we had about 2 inches of crusty icesnow on the ground but the combination of waiting until it was really dark and thus most of the boilo had been drank, kept things interesting. but hey, this is a reminder that now is the time to get out and practice with your beacon, shovel, probe, blow the dust off the backcountry equipment and make sure everything is still functioning and the batteries are fresh. cuz the big dumps are inevitable and you want to be ready! but leave the boilo at home, there is no room for that in your pack, maybe just a pbr or 2. be safe!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Steamboat Today: Copper Mountain to sell
Steamboat Today: Copper Mountain to sell
this is interesting news. sounds like the rocky mountain ultimate pass and others will still be honored this year. better be, or else!
this is interesting news. sounds like the rocky mountain ultimate pass and others will still be honored this year. better be, or else!
Monday, November 9, 2009
she's crafty
first friday artwalk in steamboat is definitely catching on as THE thing to do on the first friday evening of each month. i prefer to start the evening at happy hour, to grab some cocktails, some apps, and gather a group of pseudo-art loving friends. you don't want any uber-art loving friends because they use fancy words when describing art and they make you sound stupid, kinda like wine tasting with wine geeks. anyways, gather your friends and your buzz (i prefer riggio's as my starting point) and then head out into the night and check out some really sweet local art. my favorite artist in steamboat right now is susan schiesser . wherever her work is being displayed is a necessary stop on my artwalk, even if there isn't wine being served, that is how much i dig her work. you'll find much more than wall art on these friday night events, for instance last week i stumbled upon some great jewelry being sold by ten thousand villages which offers fair trade arts and crafts with 10% of proceeds going to help women in kenya get ahead. so i got some really cute earrings, felt good buying them, and they were serving wine, bonus. long story short: we live in a small town and should jump at the opportunities we are given to experience some art and culture. just don't drink too much cheap wine or you might end up going home with an expensive piece of art and culture. doh!
Friday, October 30, 2009
i refuse to get political but...
GET OUT AND VOTE!
if you live in steamboat you know there is an important city council election coming up and there are no polls to report to on november 5th. that' s right, this time it is an all mailout ballot race so you either got a ballot in your mail box or you didn't. if you didn't then you need to go down to the courthouse on 5th and lincoln, march up 3 flights of stairs, follow the neon orange signs that say "ELECTION OFFICE" and grab one. you can even fill it out right there and turn it back in. done. the scary thing is that as of wednesday, only 17% of votes tallied came from the under 40 crowd. where is everyone? put down your morning PBR and get your ass down to the courthouse, it's not even windy anymore.
if you live in steamboat you know there is an important city council election coming up and there are no polls to report to on november 5th. that' s right, this time it is an all mailout ballot race so you either got a ballot in your mail box or you didn't. if you didn't then you need to go down to the courthouse on 5th and lincoln, march up 3 flights of stairs, follow the neon orange signs that say "ELECTION OFFICE" and grab one. you can even fill it out right there and turn it back in. done. the scary thing is that as of wednesday, only 17% of votes tallied came from the under 40 crowd. where is everyone? put down your morning PBR and get your ass down to the courthouse, it's not even windy anymore.
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