Lower priced homes continue to attract the most traffic on SteamboatHomefinder.com. The 10 homes with the most viewings in August are all priced at less than $500,000.

Joan Conroy’s Stagecoach home on Red Cloud Way led all properties with 117 views during the month. The rankings are shown below, based on statistics compiled by Pulse Research of Portland, Ore.:

1. JOAN CONROY, 125651, $330,000, 117
2. DWIGHT WILLMAN, 125707, $265,000, 84
3. BOBBY ALDIGHIERI, 126295, $269,000, 67
4. KEN GOLD, 124362, $269,000, 67
5. CINDY ROGERS, 124829, $449,000, 64
6. SHARON MARTIN, 123721, $289,900, 55
7. DENISE CANTAFIO, 126209, $445,000, 53
8. SUE WEBER, 126063, $439,000, 53
9. SCOTT WITHER, 126086, $164,900, 52
10. PENNY FLETCHER, 126023, $360,000, 49

The Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors chapter of CARHOF (Colorado Association of Realtors Housing Opportunity Foundation) completed its second grant cycle for 2009 awarding $4,760 to six non-profit housing organizations.

Grant recipients include: Horizon Specialized Services, Routt County Habitat for Humanity, Advocates Building Peaceful Communities, Routt County Foundation for Senior Citizens, Lift-Up of Routt County and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority.

“Members of the Steamboat Springs Board of REALTORS® are pleased to announce funding for these organizations,” Tim McCarthy, local CARHOF chairman said. “A common bond many of the recipients shared this cycle is their request for monies to support the operating costs of housing programs. This has become the norm for many housing organizations we support. A decrease in government funding is making it tough for many of these vital organizations to continue to operate.”

Statewide, CARHOF donated more than $290,000 to housing organizations. To date CARHOF has given over $6.8 million in grants to nonprofit housing organizations.

“This is what CARHOF was created for, to make a difference in people’s lives,” McCarthy said.

Jane Blackstone of the Steamboat Springs urban renewal committee (URAAC) is relocating to take a job as economic development manager with the city of Lake Oswego, Ore., south of Portland.
It’s a return to her roots for Blackstone, who has previously worked on public projects in Portland.
Blackstone was previously employed in the private sector here, working on Edgemont and Thunderhead projects with the Atira Group.

Site preparation is underway for the first home to be constructed at Alpine Mountain Ranch and Club land preservation subdivision just south of the city’s southern limits.

Lot 31 on Golden Eagle Drive is being cleared with the expectation that a foundation would be poured this fall so that framing and vertical construction can begin in spring 2010.

Records on file at the Routt County Assessor’s office confirm that Lot 31 is owned by Steven and Karen Speer of Clifton, Va. They paid $1.65 million for the five-acre building parcel in June 2008.

Bill Rangitsch of Steamboat Architectural Associates collaborated with Miller Hull Architects of Seattle, Wash., on the design of a 10,000-square-foot home for the Speers. Described as a mountain traditional home, it will feature a blend of timber and stone on the exterior.

“This home is well-designed in accordance with the guidelines established by Alpine Mountain Ranch & Club and will make a strong value statement for the ranch and homes to come,” Jan Kaminski said. He is the review architect for the AMR Design Review Board.

Steamboat Springs building contractor Bill Badaracca of Fair & Square Construction has been awarded the building contract. C.D. Johnson of Johnson Excavation was selected for the site preparation work.
Alpine Mountain Ranch includes 63 home sites on 1,216 acres. A total of 900 acres of the property has been dedicated to wildlife and open space.

Amenities include an owners’ lodge and lake, guest cabin, multi-use trails and equestrian services.

Another good sign for for improving conditions in the housing market — home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years in data released today.

Following is the story from J.W. Elphinstone of the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — Home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years, signaling the housing market has turned a corner.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Home Price Index released Tuesday rose nearly 3 percent from the first quarter to 133, though that reading is still down almost 15 percent from the second quarter last year.

Home prices are at levels not seen since early 2003. Prices have fallen 30 percent from the peak in the second quarter of 2006.

The monthly index of 20 major cities increased 1.4 percent from May to June to 142, the second straight month the index registered a gain. All but two cities, Las Vegas and Detroit, saw home prices rise, and Dallas and Denver clocked their fourth-straight monthly increase.

Prices, however, have a long way to go to recover completely. Every metro showed annual declines, with fifteen reporting double-digit drops.

The Case-Shiller index is a composite of home price indexes for the nine U.S. census divisions. The 20-city index measures home price increases and decreases relative to prices in January 2000. The base reading is 100; so a reading of 150 would mean that home prices increased 50 percent since the beginning of the index.

Mortgage backer Freddie Mac announced Aug. 20 that the rate on 30-year fixed loans fell to 5.12 percent, the lowest level in three months.
The rate had been 5.29 percent. The new 15-year rate is 4.56 percent.
Mortgage rates hit an all-time low of 4.78 percent in April, but began to rise in early May on fears of an inflationary trend. Rates began to retreat again by late May.
July housing starts increased for the fifth straight month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Aug. 18.

The Vail Town Council this week split over the tabling of a question on the fate of a $900 million redevelopment of the Lionshead parking garage at the entrance to the ski area base.
Developer Mark Masinter is asking the town to grant him a 15-year option at no charge on his purchase of the garage. It could lead to the development of two hotels, condos, timeshares, retail and restaurants as well as a conference center and more public parking.
The town council will take the matter up again on Sept. 1.

Prudential Steamboat Realtor (and retail business owner) Steve Hitchcock told Rotarians Tuesday that as commercial leases in Steamboat come up for renewal, some tenants have been able to negotiate lower rent based on soft economy.
“When leases are up for renewal that’s when tenants’ leverage becomes more pronounced,” he said. Landlords can look around and see empty storefronts in downtown commercial district.
Rents here have been high – $26,$27, $30 and even $32 per square foot. However, Hitchcock said, those high rates are often justified based on the old axiom that the occupying expense of a business should be less than 10 percent of gross revenues. That’s because revenues of $350, $375,and $400 psf are not unheard of. The very best retailers and restaurant owners may gross $500 per square foot.

Deanne Stodden of Castle Meinhold & Stawiarski, LLC will give a foreclosure training session 1-3:30 p.m. Aug. 21, in the commissioners’ hearing room on the third floor of the Routt County Courthouse, 522 Lincoln Avenue.
Stodden will discuss House Bill 1276 (the “foreclosure time out bill”) which went into effect on Aug. 1, and House Bill 1207 (the public trustee “clean up bill”) that will take effect on Sept. 1. Stodden will discuss how each of the new laws will affect foreclosures, public trustee offices, borrowers and loans in default. She will speak for about 2 hours, and then take questions from the audience.
Anyone having an interest in the topic of foreclosures is welcome to attend. Questions may be directed to Jeanne Whiddon, Routt County Public Trustee, by email to jwhiddon@co.routt.co.us.

Business Week magazine this week rated Boulder the strongest housing market in the United States.

The rating was based on the fact that Boulder saw less impact from the burst housing bubble than most places, has sen many years of steady growth in values and has a stable employment base with the University of Colorado and large federal science labs.

However, the thousands of acres of protected open space that ring the city and limit the supply of housing add up to one of the biggest factors in the city’s strong housing market, the magazine concludes.