S T E A M B O AT
TODAY
FRIDAY
AUGUST 7, 2009
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
®
Vol. 21, No. 188
RO U T T
Steamboat Springs
Pot dispensary laws vague City Council considers regulations for budding marijuana industry
FREE
C O U N T Y ’ S
DA I LY
N E W S PA P E R
House of Cards ♦
♦
The rise and fall of Routt County’s real estate economy
Page 3
Steamboat Springs
Fortress loses $171 million Intrawest parent company reported 2nd-quarter financials Wednesday Page 12
Hayden
New taxes head to voters Hayden to decide in November whether to increase car-rental fees
Part 2: The mortgage market folds
Page 11
J
ust two years after Routt County real estate sales surged to a record $1.58 billion, a system built on relaxed lending requirements and skyrocketing home values has been turned upside down. At the center is the mortgage industry, which helped fuel the booming real estate economy of the mid-2000s with products such as subprime, interest-only and adjustable-rate loans. Although those types of loans helped many people — working-class residents included — get into Routt County’s resort real estate market, they’re now forcing some of them out. Local foreclosure filings are on pace to triple 2008 totals, and short sales also are on the rise. The mortgage meltdown is indeed taking its toll on Northwest Colorado. How did it happen? Who’s to blame? Should we have seen it coming? Whatever the answers, the questions affect us all, as homeowners, business owners, lenders and borrowers struggle to face a new financial reality.
Sports
Young racers head south
Story by Brandon Gee | Photos by John F. Russell
Snowmass mountain bike event offers new opportunity for riders
Inside:
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■ WEATHER
■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Classifieds . . . . .42 Colorado. . . . . . .28 Comics . . . . . . . .40 Crossword . . . . .41 Happenings . . . . .7
Horoscope . . . . .40 Nation. . . . . . . . .30 Scoreboard. . . . .39 Sports. . . . . . . . .35 ViewPoints . . . . . .8 World . . . . . . . . .33
Partly cloudy and breezy. High of 76.
Page 27
Part 2 of a five-part series from the Steamboat Pilot & Today
■ EXPLORE STEAMBOAT Your weekend guide to arts and entertainment in Steamboat Springs, including movie times and film reviews, begins on page 17.
Visit www.ExploreSteamboat.com