Why Is The Paoli Group so bullish on the Steamboat Springs Real Estate Market?
Supply, Demand and Replacement cost all signal strong prices for some time to come. Here is a graph of the total square feet of property built in per year since 2000. On the same graph is the total amount of square feet sold per year:
Construction in Steamboat has been slow since the great recession. The table below compares the total square feet built and sold between 2000 and 2009 vs 2010 to 2019. While total square feet sold in the past 9 years was only down 28% from the prior 9 years, we built 70% less square feet!
How do we compare today to past cycles in Steamboat? While we empathize with all the people impacted by this unprecedented economic shutdown, we view today’s market interruption more like 9/11 vs. 2008. 9/11 was a major shock to our view of potential risks associated with our comfortable lives. While it caused an economic set back, more significantly it caused people to re-evaluate their lives. We expect a large number of people with location neutral work situations will migrate to places like Steamboat in much larger numbers in the next couple years.
If you do not need to live in an urban environment, why expose your family to the risks associated with larger population density? This is a major reason my family moved to Steamboat is 2003. Here is a chart showing how sales in Steamboat rebounded after 9/11 vs 2008:
Without question, those with financial freedom will make the choice to leave areas like congested, urban areas after this pandemic.