The famous Victorian home at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area has come back on the market for $3.39 million. David Baldinger Jr. of Steamboat Village Brokers has the listing.

Here is the property description of the 6,000-square-foot, 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom house:
“Originally built in Kansas in 1880, the Victorian was famously dismantled into five pieces and moved to Steamboat Springs in 1991, when it was rebuilt and expanded to serve as a slopeside bed and breakfast. In early 2007, the home underwent an extensive restoration that combines Victorian-era charm with modern comforts. With over 6000 square feet, five bedrooms and eight baths as well as a new kitchen, new game room and countless luxurious comforts and updates, this is truly the most special and unique property in Steamboat Springs! Caretaker apartment over the garage and an additional mother-in-law area on the lower level offer great flexibility. Offered fully furnished and turn-key.”

Back in 2003, former reporter Christine Metz wrote about the house and described its history this way:

“Legend has it that in the late 1800s, a judge in Lyons, Kan., got into a dispute with his wife, eventually deciding to divorce her. Not content with a legal separation, the judge cut their beautiful Victorian house in half — literally — and moved it 6 inches away. Almost 100 years later, Larry Cole brought the judge’s half of the house to Steamboat and began renovating it. James Ecker later purchased it and continued the upgrades.”

Metz reported that the home was moved to Steamboat Springs in nine sections.

Real Estate Sales are in for the week of May 22 through May 28. There were 9 real property sales totaling $2.797 million and 3 timeshare sales totaling $165,400.

The Hayden real estate market saw five transaction in April with an average value of $252,000 and totaling $1.25 million.
Oak Creek and Phippsburg combined for two sales totaling $315,000. Stagecoach saw three sales for a combined $840,000.

The Steamboat real estate market put out some green shoots of its own in April, chalking up the greatest volume both in terms of dollars and units sold thus far in 2009. Bruce Carta of Land Title Guarantee Company reports 38 units sold in April accounting for $27 million.
Realistically, that $27 million still represents the lowest April total in six years – 2008 saw $67 million and April 2007 more than doubled any previous April at $154 million. April 2004 was next lowest recent total at $42.8 million.
Carta’s figures for units sold exclude all fractional/interval units, which totaled 15 last month.

The proposed high-speed gondola between The Meadows parking lot/Trailhead Lodge and Gondola Transit Center is on the agenda for the city Planning Commission meeting Thursday night (5 p.m. in Centennial Hall). Plans include a 1,300 square-foot lower terminal building resembling a barn and a covered bridge over a wetland area, also resembling a barn. Deemed a community project, the joint ski corp./Resort Ventures West proposal is undergoing an expedited review that puts it before City Council on June 2.

Lance Thompson, who became director of resort operations at Timbers Resorts in February, will oversee all operations at One Steamboat Place in Steamboat, due to be completed in December.
Thompson is actively reaching out to make personal contact with OSP buyers.
Most recently he was vice president of operations with The PlumpJack Group and previously with Auberge Resorts in a variety of management positions including organizing the operations at The Residences at Esperanza and Calistoga Ranch. At One Steamboat Place, Thompson’s responsibility will include oversight of the Truffle Pig Restaurant and the Spa.

A two-bedroom Saddle Creek Townhome listed by Steve Elkins of Prudential Steamboat Realty has had four showing this month. The townhome off Meadow Lane is listed at $535,000. At that price, the townhome has logged 55 page views at steamboathomefinder.com in the past 30 days.
Elkins said the last four sales in the complex have been at $585,000 or higher. The unit next door, with a $25,000 lost addition sold for $625,000 in February 2008. Other recent sales have been for $600,000 and $625,000.
The most recent sale on Elkins’ listing was for $330,000 five years ago.
The interior design in the unit was professionally done. Among its nicest features is a gas fireplace that is visible from both the living area and the master bedroom.

Prudential Steamboat Realty brokers Lisa Olson and Jody Gale have recently been certified as ePRO’s. That signifies that they have the skills and technical training to maximize client service through e-mail and other electronic strategies.
“Finding creative ways to market our listings and make valuable information available to buyers and sellers on the Internet is a top priority for us,” Olson said.
Olson is tweeting at twitter.com/StmbtBestBuys

Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen used plain language last week to describe his company’s future in resort real estate while participating in a panel discussion at the annual convention of the National Ski Areas Association in Marco Island, Fla.

Several published reports, including one in the Vail Daily, had Jensen saying the old Intrawest focus had been on real estate for 20 years but, “That went into the toilet, flushed down the sewer and into some ocean, so that business opportunity is truly dead right now.”

The dwindling prospects for Intrawest’s real estate business caused the company to refocus on its primary revenue generators and engage in cost cutting during the winter, Jensen added. The result is that when business comes back, those costs won’t have to be added back into the business model, he said.

Go ahead and ask: Are Kim and Peter Kreissig really going to build new townhomes in Steamboat this summer despite the sagging market and substantial inventory?
Kreissig Homes has begun digging foundations for the first homes at Rocky Peak Village off Hilltop Parkway. Prices for the 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom homes begin in the $700,000s.
Kim Kreissig, who hangs her real estate shingle at Prudential Steamboat Realty, said this week that more than half of the initial building is sold out. The first units should be delivered Nov. 1, complete with landscaping.