This ‘Cowboy Ski Town’ Is So Expensive That a Hospital Is Having To Build Housing For Staff

The city’s predicament was highlighted when it couldn’t find a suitable candidate for a $167,000-a-year human resources position because potential hires could not afford the local housing market. This situation underscores the broader issue of escalating real estate prices in desirable mountain towns.

This has left the Steamboat hospital with unfilled positions, impacting the community’s access to healthcare. 

She said,  “houses used to be for employees and hotels for guests. Now houses are for guests and hotels are for employee housing.” This reversal signifies the extent to which the housing market has been upended, affecting local workers’ ability to live and settle in the community.

As Margaret Bowes, the executive director of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns, stated, “housing is just so through the roof that unless you’re extremely wealthy, it’s unattainable.”This surge in prices has had a profound impact on the local population’s ability to afford homes.

Efforts to create more affordable housing and regulate short-term rentals have sparked debate among residents. Some community members support initiatives to increase housing stock, while others express concerns about potential impacts on the town’s character and infrastructure.

While some residents see it as a vital step toward providing affordable housing, others, like Jim Engelken, worry about its scale and the adequacy of the planned infrastructure. He said “We’re concerned that the infrastructure won’t be in place in this new, large, separate portion of our city, and it will create a second-class neighborhood. That the people living there will be treated like second-class citizens who don’t have access to public transportation or city parks, and we don’t know how many of them are coming from outside.”

Soniya Fidler, the hospital’s president, emphasized the necessity of this initiative, stating, “It is hard because we are here to deliver health care, we’re not here to deliver houses. Usually, if we have the dollars to spend, it is on state-of-the-art equipment and upgrading our facilities.”

The town’s character, known for its authentic, cowboy ski town feel, is at risk as real estate prices escalate, NBC News notes.

The rising cost of living is making it increasingly difficult for long-term residents and new arrivals to afford living in the town, impacting its diversity and vitality.

Initially finding a one-bedroom apartment for $1,100 a month, Gaspar witnessed his rent skyrocket to $2,300 within two years, a striking reflection of the broader housing affordability crisis in the area. This dramatic increase in living costs represents a significant challenge for residents, particularly those in service jobs, which are prevalent in Steamboat Springs.

He shared his predicament, stating, “Unless you have a really good salary in Steamboat, which is really hard to find because everything is a service job, it’s impossible. That is why I had to leave. The community is great and everything, but I am working two, three jobs, 12 hours a day, just to make it by.” 

While this measure aims to free up more homes for long-term residents, it has ignited a debate about its effectiveness and potential unintended consequences.

The median house price in the US is now six times the median income, which is significantly higher than it was just a decade ago.

This was the lowest amount on record since Redfin started tracking this data. In 2022, 21% of the houses listed on the market were affordable for the typical household, and this trend is not showing signs of slowing.

This means that houses will never truly run out for people, but only the ones that can afford an inflated price will actually be able to buy one.

This situation created a host of downstream effects, one of them being a lack of housing construction. Construction companies struggled to both get materials to build houses and also struggled to hire workers.

“I have to blame the difficulty in procuring lumber and other products, along with labor issues for the miss, in addition to likely cancellations due to skyrocketing costs for single family starts,” Boockvar said.

This puts strain on the average home buyer because a multifamily home often requires more money upfront that people can’t afford.

With a higher interest rate, a homeowner will have to make higher monthly payments, and a buyer have a harder time affording a house.

Since there is a lack of supply in the market, even if someone wanted to buy a home, they would have to pay an exuberant premium in many cases.

Typically, the housing market has the highest inventory in the Spring and Summer months. However, this is also the time when it has the greatest competition. Since fewer homes are available, this makes the competition even more intense, which will drive the price up further.

The price people pay to live in a house, apartment, or other shelter accounts for nearly 40 percent of the CPI. This means that even a small increase in housing prices can devastate a family’s budget.

This plan would call for a $10,000 tax credit for new homebuyers and people who want to sell their starter homes. Some see this move as a step in the right direction, but think it will ultimately not be enough to fix the problem for good.

However, until the housing supply can catch up and the economy itself can get back on the right track, these solutions may only be temporary fixes.