Tom Ross

10-06-2009

Perhaps more than any neighborhood in Steamboat Springs, Silver Spur represents a self-contained single-family market where prospective buyers can look at six to eight homes in their price range and make realistic comparisons.

Silver Spur is just outside Steamboat Springs’ western limits, but has represented the land of opportunity for successful working families here for a decade.

As the Steamboat market has enjoyed a modest rebound in August and September, Silver Spur has accounted for six sales among a tentative 84 whole-ownership transactions across all categories of property — except for timeshares — in Routt County. Of the six transactions,  all but one was for or more than $600,000, suggesting that buyers are looking for good value in some of the nicest homes in the neighborhood. The sixth transaction was for $439,000.

Realtor Joy Rasmussen-Otterman of Colorado Group Realty worked with two of the sellers and brought one of the buyers to the recent Silver Spur sales.

Rasmussen-Otterman said buyers west of Steamboat are reflecting an apparent belief that the Steamboat market has stabilized.
“They’re offering amounts that seem to be in line with other homes in the county. It’s not like it’s because there are unreal bargains in Silver Spur,” she said. “It’s on par.”

Rasmussen-Otterman’s colleague at Colorado Group, Randall Hannaway, agreed that buyers and sellers are beginning to find common ground.

“Those are really wonderful neighborhoods where you can get a lot of house for a reasonable sum of money,” Hannaway said.
Buyers find newer homes and higher quality of finishes than they would for the same price in other Steamboat neighborhoods, such as Old Town and the mountain area.

“There’s a freshness and they are well cared for,” she said. “Some of the sellers have been original owners who have finished walk-out basements since they bought.”

Silver Spur was red hot in July 2007, when Rasmussen-Otterman reported that five homes there had gone under contract in a week. The five were on the market an average of five days, and a home Rasmussen had priced at $1 million went under contract before it was listed.

Two years and two months later, five home sales closed — not just contracted — sounds pretty good.
Of the six recent sales, a five-bedroom, 3,400-square-foot home at 27588 Winchester Trail had one of the lengthiest telling sales histories. The property, which sold for $635,000, originally sold in March 2005 as an undeveloped lot for $160,000. The lot was turned around three months later for $171,000.
The house was appraised for tax purposes at $672,470 at the peak of the market. Of the five recent sales, it came closest to that tax appraisal.

A house at 27561 Silver Spur Street sold on Aug. 4 for $600,000. Built in 2004, it comprises 2,140 square feet and has three bedrooms and three baths. Not far away, at 27510 Silver Spur, a 3,178-square-foot four bedroom, four-bath home sold for $702,000.

And at  27552 Winchester, a gabled home on a large elevated lot that was appraised for taxes at $853,770, sold this week for $740,000.

Finally, on Thursday, a 4,352-square-foot home with a full basement at 27665 Silver Spur, that was valued for taxes at almost $975,000, sold for $750,000.

The key to sales during late summer and early fall has been for Realtors representing both buyers and sellers to fully prepare their clients for the surprises that result from the current appraisal, underwriting and lending markets, Rasmussen-Otterman said.