In his newly published book “And then the Roof Caved In”, CNBC journalist David Faber details the creation of mortgage products by the investment and financial community which fueled the housing boom and ultimately lead to the bust. Faber also contends that the complicity of the ratings agencies was critical for these products to be created. He says, ” the great mortgage machine that Wall Street created simply would not have been able to operate” had the rating agencies not bestowed the triple A ratings. ”A structured product doesn’t exist until a rating is given.” i.e a mortgage product must have a rating before it can be sold on the open market. In the book he also details the high level of risk, leverage ratio, compensation, etc. which all fed the “machine”.
How does all of this affect real estate and Steamboat? New regulations are being enacted to address the excesses and lack of oversight which were part of the problem. Banks don’t want to lend fearing a wrong move will bring on the wrath of the government. Therefore, Lenders have increased loan qualification requirements. Development money is pretty much available only through private sources, obviously at higher rates. Jumbo loans ( purchase price over $675k, a significant part of the the Steamboat market) are just starting to become available but at a much higher interest rate. Additionally recently enacted regulation designed to address potential fradulant appraisal practices has an effect. As of May 1, communication is prohibited between appraissers and lenders and the buyer’s real estate agent. Appraisals must now be ordered through an appraisal management company. This additional step bogs down an already long and tedious process and allows appraisals prepared by those having little or no knowledge of the market. Closing dates are now extended to allow for the additional time required to receive the appraisal. Some lenders now require 2 and 3 appraisals. And unfortunately some contracts never close because of roadblocks encountered due to this new regulation. Bottom line, what happened on Wall Street (by a small and select group of individuals) affects everyone buying or selling real estate today, even in our small mountain resort community.
Society is changing at an incredible speed. Twitter is too slow. So Flutter was developed by 2 Sophomores at Stanford. Twitter is microblogging, Flutter is nanoblogging. The name describes the speed of the blog- the rate of flaps of humming birds wings. Regular bird tweets-too slow. Flutter allows only 26 characters in a “Flap”. Any message too long is automatically edited. They plan to develop an Iphone app. which allows Flutter to broadcast your every step. Walk into Startbucks -Flap:Kim Get Coffee. Should Nature call:Kim in Bathroom. In just 2 months 3.2M users have begun to Flutter. The next step:Flutter eyes. Highly sophisticated eye glasses connected to a wireless network. The wearer will see ticker-tape style lines on the inside of the lens scrolling new Flaps. Eventually Flutter will not be fast enough. The next step :Shutter-26 characters, no vowels. I’m wondering if this will give rise to the development of a new language? Guttural sounds-no vowels please. Perhaps similar to our early ancestors.
Two weeks of warm, sunny days left mountains conditions univiting. However, things changed Sunday afternoon when a major storm blew in and it started to snow. The sun is finally peaking out from the clouds after 3 solid days of snow. The powder is deep-spring skiing at it’s best. Hop onto Frontier, United, Continental, Northwest or American Airlines and get to Steamboat. The Hayden Airport is open with most flights arriving on time throughout the storm. Call now and make that reservation. As you know It’s always fun in the Boat.
With negative news dominating the media, skiing seems to be the perfect way to forget those problems for a few hours. Last minute bookings are up, perhaps due to airlines lower fares and American Skiing’s discount packages. Most of all, folks may need to escape. Scerenity, views, the sound of the skies (and boards) on the snow providing a way to get out and enjoy life. I don’t think this is an example of ignoring today’s problems or burying one’s head in snow. It’s just a way to focus on fun. We are thrilled to have visitors from all over the world. They love the champagne powder and friendly spirit displayed by everyone they meet.
If your passion is powder skiing, catch the next flight to Steamboat Springs.
According to the Weather Channel (weather.com) The Mt. Werner base is 59-71″ with 8″ of new snow in the past 2 days. The ski index is a 9 out of 10 and the temperature is a balmy 29 degrees. Adjusting to altitude is easier at our valley base of 6800 feet than most other ski areas. Enjoy the snow.
CHAMPAGNE POWDERTM SNOW ALERT!
Mother Nature tallied her own election night results Tuesday & Wednesday nights blanketing the Yampa Valley with 10 inches of snow at mid-mountain from our first storm of the season–and it’s still snowing! Cold temperatures and low humidity in the air created the perfect recipe for Steamboat’s snowmaking crews to fire up the guns and begin laying the foundation for this season’s base.
Last season was one for the record books with more than 40 feet of Champagne PowderTM snow. With airfares dropping as fast as temperatures, don’t miss out on what is shaping up to be a fantastic season by taking advantage of the great values and special deals at Steamboat-Ski Town, U.S.A.®
In less than 17 days, Steamboat is scheduled to open Wednesday, November 26th with its traditional opening day benefit, Scholarship Day.
Ski valets by the slopes
St. Cloud introduces luxury brand with private club in Torian Plum Plaza
Skiers who can manage the $40,000 membership fee will enjoy an unprecedented level of service at the base of Steamboat Ski Area this winter, when the private St. Cloud Mountain Club opens.
In addition to valet parking and ski service, members will be served breakfast, lunch, cocktails and après ski meals.
Developer Jamie Temple said the concept is modeled after successful ski base clubs in other resorts, some of them with heftier membership fees.
“It’s not inexpensive, and it’s not for everyone,” Temple said.
The business plan is intended to deliver many of the luxuries of ski-in/ski-out living to people whose luxury digs in Steamboat don’t happen to be slopeside.
The St. Cloud Mountain Club is under remodeling in an existing building in Torian Plum Plaza. The location, previously occupied by Home on the Range, is immediately behind the sales center for One Steamboat Place and across the plaza from Café Diva and Terry Sports.
Temple is a principal in Momentum Steamboat, LLC. He and partner Colgate Holmes have entered the city planning process with a proposal for a large luxury condominium project nearby — St. Cloud Resort and Spa.
Despite the similar names and shared ownership and management, the club and the future resort are separate projects, Temple said. Someday, he added, St. Cloud Resort and Spa will need a similar club of its own in order to command slopeside prices on condominium sales.
The St. Cloud Resort and Spa will not begin the lengthy process of petitioning the city for a development permit until the economy recovers from the current crisis.
“That could be 10 months or a year away,” Temple said. “We’ll let the capital markets and the local real estate market get healthy again.”
In the meantime, the St. Cloud Mountain Club will represent the first introduction of the brand in Steamboat.
All the amenities
The club is designed to welcome no more than 230 families into membership, and only the first 25 founding members will join for $40,000. Those who come after will pay $45,000.
What else will they get for their money?
When members wind down their skiing day, attendants will meet them at the edge of the snow and take their equipment to storage. Boots will be dried overnight on individual boot driers.
When they walk by the indoor/outdoor fireplace and enter the doors of the club, members will be confronted by the plush-but-modern aesthetic of designers from Hirsch, Bedner and Associates, the same firm that won awards this year from “Travel and Leisure” for its work on the Ritz Carlton in Beijing.
There will be a full bar, including espresso, flat-screen televisions and comfortable furniture, as well as a separate children’s area.
The concierge staff will arrange for the purchase of lift tickets, ski lessons and alternative outings.
Temple said he studied similar clubs in Aspen, Vail, Telluride and Park City, Utah, and concluded that Steamboat was being underserved in that area. A similar membership in Vail is priced at $250,000, he added.
He said he recently previewed St. Cloud Mountain Club to 50 interested people during a launch party at bistro c.v. and judged the response as enthusiastic.
“At lot of people will really appreciate this service,” Temple said. “It’s ideal for homeowners at Storm Mountain Ranch, for example.”
The resort
St. Cloud Resort and Spa entered the city’s pre-application process in March. The tentative plan for the building would include 780,000 square feet and 201 residences in multiple buildings.
The development would be built on the site of the existing Clocktower Building and the parking garage at the entrance to Ski Time Square, which is owned by Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp.
The Steamboat Ski Area sent a letter of permission giving the developers the ability to enter the city planning process. However, a sale of the parking structure has not consummated.
“We’re aware that they have contemplated that parking structure in the pre-application and have acknowledged that we have no objection,” Ski Corp. Vice President of Development Doug Beall told the Steamboat Pilot and Today at the time.
The general contractor for the St. Cloud Mountain Club remodel is GE Johnson, the same firm building Edgemont.
Temple was the developer of Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat with his brother Jeff, as well as Water Dance in Frisco and Uptown Broadway in Boulder.
Holmes is a founding partner and former president of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. His background includes operation and development of resorts and hotels in locations including southern California and Phoenix.
Construction workers for GE Johnson are remodeling the future St. Cloud Mountain Club in Torian Plum Plaza. Its members will receive parking and ski valet service at both ends of a day on the slopes.
Story Courtesy of The Steamboat Pilot and Today. By: Tom Ross
Yampa Valley Medical Center has confirmed tenative plans to for a new development located at the City’s southern edge.
The Bridges of Steamboat would included the relocation of the Doak Walker Care Center from it’s current location to this new experiential residential neighborhood. The neighborhood will be desinged around two themes: trout fishing and enthusiasm for the natural environment.
Currently plans include independant and assisted living units as well as The Doak. Additionally a cluster of small luxury homes would be build nearby in an area called The Yampa Club.
The seventh annual Bust of Steamboat fundraiser takes place Friday, October 24th from 5 to 8 pm at Three Peaks Grill. The fundraiser benefits the Yampa Valley Breat Cancer Awareness Project. Funds raised is past years have paid mammogram and ultrasound diagnostic tests for women unable to pay. Additionally, the project donated $15,000
to the Yampa Valley Healthcare Foundation to be applied to the purchase of a digital imaging mammography machine. Call 970-846-4554 to purchase tickets.
It’s a beautiful post card perfect morning in Steamboat. I awoke to a thin layer of snow on the branches of the pines and the few golden Aspen leaves that cling to the branches. Mount Werner remains shrouded in clouds. Can’t wait to see how much at the top.
