Frontier Tiny Homes, a family business in the quaint town of Silt, is a way to help the housing market, because so many people need places to live that are affordable.

The company truly is a family affair. Run by the Kelloggs, this includes brothers Brody, Kenny, Dally, Cardy and Rowdy, along with their parents, Susie and Dan.

The brothers have put forth the tiny home concept partly because they lived in a 36-foot recreational vehicle for eight years. 

“(It was) totally crazy, wild and insane,” Susie said of her family’s RV days. “But those eight years are something I will forever hold dear.”

She said the family learned about their consumption levels while living in the RV. 

“This consumption impressed upon them that living simply is living large, having things they cherished the most, they saw the cities, rural areas,” she said. “Life is more about living than living to pay bills. Living in an RV, you’re aware of water and how much you use because you have to fill up your tank.”

The brothers wanted to apply those lessons to the homes they built, along with making those homes beautiful in their simplicity, and also how people can be comfortable in compact living.

“All these things put together made them realize that finding an alternative way of housing was the best way for everything and it came together,” Susie Kellogg said. “Mostly my son Dally is the one who came up with it and everyone just ran with it and I’m beyond impressed.”

Dan expressed confidence about his sons’ business venture.

“One of my sons first approached with the idea — they built a cabin, afterward they realized they had the skillset to do it,” he said. “They loved doing it, loved the finished product, they could put their heart and soul into it, they loved the woodworking.”

He also said they lived in Glenwood Springs for about 21 years before they traveled in the RV, renting the house they’d lived in to other people. In 2021 they moved to Silt, into a place with space to build outdoors. 

“They’re making things for affordable living and wanted something they could live in as well. It’s a good business opportunity, and there’s a lot of young adults in the same situation they’re in, like dating or getting married, and buying a home is out of reach for these people,” Dan explained. “Do you leave the Valley to start a family or is there an alternative?”

On average, a tiny home price is $130,000. Labor costs have gone up, from trailers to lumber costs, so their margin is quite small, Susie said. 

Frontier Tiny Homes is exactly that: making homes that are tiny for anyone, because they want them to be affordable. The family encourages the public to set an appointment to come look at their floor model, Felicity, and get a firsthand experience of their craftsmanship of quality materials. 

Felicity is made out of cedar, is 38-feet long and has two floors. Tiny homes are mobile, but they’re not RVs or considered as a mobile home. 

For anyone looking for a tiny home from the Kelloggs, go their website, https://frontiertinyhomes.com/, and either submit a form on the website, call (970) 404-2333, or email info@frontiertinyhomes.com, both of which can also be found on the website. 

I am a first-born child – you know the research laden “responsible one?” Whether birth order, or DNA, it has been part of my identity as I make my way through life and obviously had an impact on my career path. 

When it comes to retirement finances, we have all heard what “responsible” actions entail and your traditional financial services industry encourages. Look and define your goals, get your estate plan in order, save, create a budget, rebalance your portfolio, position for taxation options, eliminate consumer debt. It can feel like a box of “should” does, leaving you wrapped up feeling pressured with a bow of guilt on top!

You may be imminently facing, fully ensconced in or a few years away from your fall season. Let’s unpack a new take on response — abilities as you head down your road to retirement.

Response

What is your response when you think about “retirement?” Freedom, optimism, excitement or fear, worry, dread? Do you have this response because of what has been pushed at you from the media, your social narrative, or the voice in your head?

Consider if you rewiring for something or retiring from something. In my 25 years of client interaction, people who intentionally envision what they want this season of life to look like and embrace uncertainties transition more productively than those who stare in the rear-view mirror, relieved by what they are getting away from. When a proactive, “choose to” stance is taken instead of the default “where did all the time (or money) go” you build on your agency to facilitate positive change in your life. 

Choose your attitude. Every day, you get to respond to life. Tough stuff happens to people every day. There will be health challenges, relationship angst, financial debacles, yet we have the opportunity to show up for ourselves and to support each other resolutely. Viktor Frankl put it so eloquently — “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Is this a season you are looking forward to or concerned about? Your response to the opportunities and challenges will radiate your character assets or illuminate your character liabilities. Your financial behavior flows from your beliefs and your identity. Are you resourceful, creative, relational, grateful, joyful? Build on the character strengths that will undergird your transition into elderhood. Age magnifies that which already exists — whether assets or liabilities.

Ability

Your ability to prepare, educate and empower yourself from a whole-life perspective for this season will not only generate more meaning throughout, but free you to enjoy it more deeply. How will you delve into, plan for, and talk about the emotional, physical, spiritual, relational, and financial components that are intricately interwoven?

While financial assets are extremely important, a holistic mindset will optimize how those financial resources are utilized. How will use your them to support you in living a life of no regrets. It is not lamenting on the question “will Social Security be around for me?” It is researching your best strategy based on your unique life variables. It is not complacency to the tax environment du jour, it is strategizing how to build or access income streams in tax-efficient ways to maximize your long-term cash flow needs. It is not burrowing your head in the sand when it comes to estate planning. It is entering into conversations and understanding the implications of the legacy you want to leave. It is not succumbing to “someday I will,” but responding with curiosity and “today, I am.”

Your birth order doesn’t need to matter when it comes to making the most out of this amazing season of life. Just look at your response – abilities differ. However, if you want a good birth order laugh — check out @tj-therrien on YouTube or Instagram.

Danielle Howard is a CFP® and CKA®. Wealth By Design is located at 76 Eagle Claw Circle, Glenwood Springs where they help you “Optimize Financial Possibilities and Unfold Life Potential”. www.wealthbydesign4u.com. Advisory Services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Inc., a broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Cambridge and WBD are not affiliated.

Finishing touches have been made and a new Love’s Travel Stop is now open in Garfield County, a news release states.

Opening its doors on Thursday just off the main Interstate 70 exit at East Cardinal Way in Parachute, the new Love’s includes 50 truck and 65 car parking spaces and has added 45 jobs in Parachute.

“Love’s is excited to expand its Highway Hospitality to a 16th location in Colorado,” Love’s President Shane Wharto said in the release. “In Parachute, we’re adding another safe, clean space where travelers can experience great customer service in a friendly environment with a staff that will get them back on the road quickly.” 

The more than 14,000 square foot location also includes a new McDonald’s, Chester’s Chicken, five showers, laundry facility and more.

Love’s originally proposed building this new location in 2020 and expected to complete construction by December 2022; however, construction completion got pushed until Spring and summer 2023.

In honor of the grand opening, Love’s is donating $2,000 to the Parachute Branch Library, the release states.

The location is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

All amenities include:

• More than 14,000 square feet  
• Chester’s Chicken and McDonald’s  
• 50 truck parking spaces
• 65 car parking spaces  
• Eight RV parking spaces
• Seven diesel bays   
• Five showers   
• Laundry facilities  
• CAT scale    
• RV dump 
• Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee   
• Brand-name snacks    
• Fresh Kitchen concept
• Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories   

Editor’s note: This is the second of the series The Longevity Project, a collaboration between The Aspen Times and the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

Switching professions in today’s demanding financial climate can be a magnificent task — especially in the infamously inflated Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys.

There are high bills to pay, groceries to buy, mouths to feed. This may seem like a never-ending cycle, which can be a nightmare if someone is ready to explore another profession.

As a former single mother before later getting married, longtime Valley View Hospital medical assistant Maureen “Mo” Hanson was working in the oncology department when she started to feel the need for change. COVID-19-induced layoffs in May 2020 put her out of work. She admitted, however, this downtime turned into the best summer of her life, when she got “the best tan.”

When she was later rehired seven months later, like so many professions and companies during and following the pandemic, she was required to hustle harder than ever.

“All my friends were still at the hospital working their butts off after that mass layoff, and they were having to do more with less,” she said. “When I got hired back, that’s what I was doing.”

Hanson loved her job, and former patients still stop her in places like City Market for free medical advice.

“It’s not a job I’m doing anymore, but the passion is there, the love is there, and the relationship is there,” she said.

Daily exposure to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Tuberculosis (TB), COVID-19, the flu and the common cold while constantly and thoroughly cleaning every piece of equipment in every hospital room left Hanson wondering if she could do the job anymore.

“That’s not what I signed up for,” she said. “I love my patients, I love what I did, and I wanted to give them quality care. And I feel like because of the demands put on me as a medical assistant or my peers that I was working with, we could not give that quality of care and do the other things that were being demanded of us for $16 an hour.”

In comes the crossroads.

Hanson said she would come home from work unable to turn off the physical and mental exhaustion, and in turn, she would sometimes become short with her family.

Faced with the challenging dilemma of changing professions while on the brink of age 50, she took a leap of faith. She was so determined that she started applying for restaurants and service jobs. She finally landed a desk job working for a Roaring Fork law firm.

“What I was doing before, I love. I’m just doing what I’m doing now because it’s a job paying the bills,” she said. “It’s definitely not what I was made to do. I miss the patients, for sure.”

IT’S VALLEY-WIDE

Local peer support coach Vanessa Lane says since everything is so expensive in the valley, many locals must work two or three jobs to make ends meet. This is why she feels a lot of people in the region end up moving.

“I think that’s almost everybody here in the valley, depending on the type of work they do,” she said. “I’ve lived in the valley, and I’ve always had two or three jobs.”

But Lane has stuck with this hectic regimen of multiple jobs, and she has now gained enough experience and is beginning to start her own nonprofit.

“I’m trying to get my nonprofit up and going to where it winds up being sustainable,” she said. “But my whole life was that way as a single mother.”

JAMMING OUT

For Hanson, her days are filled with answering phone calls and helping with probate estate planning. But she values working more of an “8-to-5” job, which has opened up new windows for her. 

One, she said, she gets to spend more time with her family. Two, she used the extra time to start her own business. Called Mo Jam, Hanson sells homemade jelly at local farmer’s markets.

But looking back at her days at Valley View — the hospital has since raised salaries for many of its employees — Hanson thinks about her former colleagues.

She said perhaps they don’t want to rock the boat, and they simply need to stay the course. These are people who have children and families who are relying on their full-time wages and insurance, she said. They feel obligated, and there’s perhaps no way out.

But Hanson maintains that they, too — especially single mothers — should take the leap of faith toward change.

“You can do anything you set your mind to — anything,” she said. “It is expensive to live here, for sure, but there are so many resources. You just have to tap into them.

“You have to know what you’re looking for and what you want, and you just have to follow it, pursue it and be assertive and get it done.”

The honey comes from all over, Snowmass through the Roaring Fork, the high forest, California’s low Central Valley, and out to Meeker and Hayden.

And winds up in an unassuming shack off a country road in Silt near Exit 97 off I-70. That’s the Honey House, part of a hive of activity known as Colorado Mountain Honey.

The Honey House is where you’ll find eight varieties of honey to choose from, such as Trappers Lake fireweed and White River National Forest high altitude wildflower, Meeker to Hayden blend, dark amber wildflower, rabbitbrush honey and more.

The Honey House is an honor system operation. Take what you want, leave cash or Venmo (a digital wallet app) for your purchase. There are hundreds of gallons of honey to peruse and additional bee-based products such as raw pollen and bees wax. 

The honey comes from 3,000 hives spread across 100 locations statewide. 

“Every area is so unique from the altitudes, river basins, 100 feet in elevation makes a huge difference in taste, and then you have 1,000 feet difference, you get very different kinds of honey,” said owner Derrick Maness.

Maness is celebrating his one-year ownership of the Honey House. His business, Colorado Mountain Honey, purchased the operation from Paul Limbach, whose family created the sweet shack over 50 years ago. 

“I started working for Paul 27 years ago. I started when I was 14. His family has been in the area a while and have been beekeeping for the last 60 years,” said Maness.

“He’s really been my mentor. Paul’s dad was a beekeeper and Paul and his brother were his laborers. Paul went to CSU to become an entomologist. After graduating he returned to his family farm and continued the family business.”

Cowboy beekeeping and wrangling bees

Maness’ bees are everywhere. He’s a true wrangler. In summer, his hives are in De Beque to Snowmass, Meeker, Craig, Hayden and all the way up to Trappers Lake. 

“I spread bees across the White River National Forest,” he said. “I have hives from 5,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation and varieties of flowers that we have in the folds of the mountains is world class.”

However, as Maness pointed out, most beekeepers are really in the business for the pollination. The honey is literally the sweet icing on the cake. 

“I take the bees to pollinate the almond orchards each year to Chowchilla, California,” he said. “It’s about an hour away from Yosemite. Spring is about a month and a half earlier there. It benefits our hives and the California orchards. I take them to a food source to get stronger and help the farmers, and in turn, the spring feast for my bees makes bigger yields when they return to their Colorado hives.”

Maness uses 18-wheelers to transport the bees between states.

“My beehives are on pallets to allow me to move them with a specialized forklift. I wait until January when it’s cold. Bees stay in their beehives to keep the hive warm. We use this to move them with the least amount of possible stress,” said Maness.

Bees come in different sizes and produce different amounts of honey. Maness’ hives are comprised of the European honeybee that came over in the 1600s.

“These bees are a non-native insect. This is an insect we brought over like the cow, horse, chicken. When we moved into the valley 100 years ago and starting irrigating and planting European crops, the native insects weren’t doing the job for pollination. This is where the beekeeper business came in,” said Maness. 

A honeybee beehive needs around a 100 pounds to 120 pounds of honey and pollen stores to have the food stores needed to make it through Colorado winters. 

“When talking about honey crop averages, it can range from 20 extra pounds a hive up to 100 extra pounds that we can take without compromising the hive’s honey stores,” he said.. 

From year to year, honey yields will vary in taste. Hives are impacted by late frosts, availability of wildflowers, rain. It’s never the same and like a “fine wine,” as he put it.

From Snowmass to downvalley, there is a specific honey from what those backyards.

“Plants are putting roots in soils, and that’s what’s amazing about bees, they live off nectar and sugars from plants. Each plant has a chemical makeup, and bees are in tune with that,” said Maness. “The pollen is literally vitamins, keeping all the minerals right from the backyard.”

Getting a bit of the honey

Maness and his wife, Melissa Adams-Maness, used to participate in the Glenwood Springs and Carbondale farmers markets and Strawberry Days and Mountain Fair, but two little bumble bees are keeping them busy at home.

“Once we had another child, we really had to slow down a bit and rely on word of mouth for the honey house,” said Maness. 

The honey house is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Aspen Times reporter Julie Bielenberg can be reached at jbielenberg@aspentimes.com

The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees on Friday decided to temporarily reduce CMC’s property tax rate to keep growth near inflation and “shield local property owners from the impact of extreme spikes in valuation,” the college announced.

Meeting in Glenwood Springs, the trustees previewed the upcoming year’s balanced budget for the college, discussed the impact of increased property assessments across CMC’s district, and stated their intention to temporarily reduce CMC’s mill levy to keep revenue growth near inflation (5.7%). They also approved a new strategic plan for CMC.

Mary Boyd, vice president of fiscal affairs, gave trustees a preview of the college’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. She noted that overall revenues are expected to increase by a minimum of $4.9 million due to property tax revenue, tuition, and strong state appropriations. She presented a balanced budget for 2023-24 with expenses increasing less than inflation.

The budget includes a 5% cost-of-living adjustment for all full and part-time faculty and staff. The board will officially approve the proposed budget in June.

Considering CMC’s stable financial position and the dramatic increases in property valuations across the district, trustees voiced their intent to lower the college’s mill levy in December 2023, so that overall increases in revenue from property taxes do not exceed inflation, CMC said in a release.

“We recognize that many property owners are significantly impacted by increased property valuations due to extreme inflationary spikes over the past several years,” Peg Portscheller, president of the CMC Board of Trustees, said in the release. “Fortunately, CMC is in a very healthy position financially and operationally and has the flexibility to adjust its mill levy downward temporarily to soften the blow while ensuring that the college’s budget is sustainable.”

Trustees also reviewed and approved the college’s new Mountain Futures: 2023-30 strategic plan. The plan has been in development for more than a year and involved conversations and input from nearly 1,000 community members, students, faculty, and staff. The new plan will be posted online in June.

“There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.” — Ecclesiastes 1:11.

There’s nothing new about the causes of the recent mega-bank failures. Case in point: the implosion of San Francisco’s First Republic Bank, which is the second largest bank failure in the nation’s history, just behind Washington Mutual (WAMU) during the Great Meltdown of 2008.

One of the root causes of First Republic’s takeover by the regulators was borrowing short and lending long, meaning that they made home loans to billionaires at below market rates, and fixed the rate for as long as 10 years with an eye to getting the borrower’s deposit and other banking business. It worked, as it always does, for a while, until short-term rates, and the bank’s cost of borrowing goes up. Then the yield on the low-interest loan is lower than the lender is paying to fund the loan, and the lender is losing money.

The savings and loan industry did this from the mid-1840s. Finally, about 130 years later, it was realized that the entire business was either insolvent or on the verge of being so. To correct this, the Garn-St. Germain Act was passed by Congress in 1982, with the ironically risible title of, “An Act to Revitalize the Housing Industry by Strengthening the Financial Stability of Home Mortgage Lending Institutions and Ensuring the Availability of Home Mortgage Loans.” (Whew!) I’m sure you’re not surprised to learn it did just the opposite. The law gave a bushel basket of new powers to S&Ls without mandating additional capital (net worth) as a buffer against loss. And it gave that lending ability to operations untrained in its application.

In every endeavor or business there are core guiding principles that are essential to the success of the activity or business model. For example:

Investing: Buy low; sell high.

Landscaping: Green side up.

Skydiving: Do not exit aircraft after takeoff without parachute.

And, in banking: Do not borrow short and lend long.

So why do lenders do the same thing over and over and expect different results? Well, yes, they’re probably insane, but it’s a valid question and the answer is elusive. Leading up to the Financial Crisis in 2008, very bright people decided it was a good idea to make mortgage loans to borrowers who demonstrably could not afford the debt service. Why?

Possibly it’s “hubris,” from the Greek “hybris,” meaning “wanton … arrogance resulting from excessive pride.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). For example, if you’re really, really smart, you come to think you’re smarter than everybody else, and soon you figure maybe natural laws might not apply to you. In any event a lot of MBAs crossed the border into La La Land at the turn of this century motivated by, possibly, a dash of hubris and a lot of greed.

So far, with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and now First Republic, the major causes of their bankruptcy were as old as banking. Besides borrowing short and lending long, they took in so-called hot deposits that were uninsured and would leave quickly at the first sign of trouble, resulting in bank runs that turned into sprints, thanks to smart phones and social media. And, in the instance of SVB and Signature, they made loans to questionable borrowers. Startups with negative cash flows at SVB; crypto related enterprises at Signture.

We’ll close with a comment that might give credence to the hubris theory. At the time of SVB’s failure, news sources reported that Greg Becker, CEO of SVB, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, often ran the institution from his home in Hawaii.

Marie Antoinette, when told that the people were rioting because they had no bread, was reported to have said, “Well, let them eat cake.” She never said it, but it’s become an iconic phrase to describe the clueless insensitivity of the 1 percent.

I guess “clueless” is the proper word in these circumstances.

C’mon Greg, have you no shame?

Pat Dalrymple is a western Colorado native and has spent more than 50 years in mortgage lending and banking in the Roaring Fork Valley. He’ll be happy to answer your questions or hear your comments. His email is pdalrymple59@gmail.com

Construction is expected to begin this summer on the River Grand Residences, overlooking the Roaring Fork River where the old Rivers Restaurant used to be.

The townhome project is one of several new Glenwood Springs multi-residence developments over the last 10 years.

The development plan includes three buildings, with two right on the river, and a third on South Grand Avenue near 27th Street, developers said last week. Each building has different amenities, including an elevator, riverside balconies, rooftop decks, views of Mount Sopris and private garage options.

The buildings will share an outdoor walkway next to the river, a green space south of the buildings and a fishing easement. 

“The public will now have access within this easement to fish, drop anchor or get out and stand on the side of the shore, on our site, that is currently not allowed,” Brian Wilson, founder and chief executive officer of North Mountain Partners, said.

There are also some deed restrictions.

“Tw​​o additional deed restrictions, market-rate, but deed-restricted on title for local primary residence, and that’s really who we’re aiming for,” Wilson said.

Construction is scheduled to begin this late this summer, and pre-construction pricing ranges from $1.5 million to $2.5 million, but deposits are kept in a separate account and not used as investment money for the project, he said. 

Wilson and his partner, Peter Wells, said they worked closely with the city and the Planning and Zoning Commission to make sure the residences would fit well into the Glenwood Springs community.

It is rare to have riverside housing for a more affordable price than Basalt or farther up the Roaring Fork Valley.

The building on Grand Avenue will have five townhomes, six riverside and three riverside connected to three viewing Sopris, 17 all together. The three facing Sopris are significantly less expensive, at $1.5 million, while the riverside townhomes range higher to $2.3 million and the Grand Avenue townhome at $1.75 million.

“Being able to create new construction on the banks of the Roaring Fork is a very rare opportunity,” Wilson said. “Not to mention, the views that the property offers for Mount Sopris.” 

The four-story condos all have three rooms and different amenities, like the Grand Townhomes having a full-roof balcony and a two-car garage. The six-unit Riverside has an elevator and a two-car garage. The Sopris-view units have a one-car garage.

There will be a choice between a light Colorado interior or a dark interior, called Aspen Grove with dark wood and stone, and powder days with lighter wood and stone. 

They said they would likely attract move-down buyers, business professionals and maybe families. 

“We actually had a buyer that wanted to buy four units for short-term rentals and we passed on that; that’s not the right type of community we’re trying to create,” Wilson said. 

There is a homeowners association but there is no yard maintenance required. They create a kind of ‘lock and leave’ lifestyle,” he said. 

Wells said the homes should appeal to many demographics, including people aging and looking for a home with an elevator, or young professionals looking for a home to settle into.

This article previously had a picture that showed development already began. Development on the property will not begin until late summer 2023.

Post Independent city and business reporter Cassandra Ballard can be reached at cballard@postindependent.com or 970-384-9131.

Aunque el resto de Colorado parece tener un mercado de viviendas en desaceleración, el condado de Garfield sigue siendo un mercado de vendedores, aunque aquí también hay algunos signos de desaceleración.

“Todavía es un mercado competitivo,” dijo Erin Bassett, miembro de Glenwood Springs Realtor y Glenwood Association of Realtors. “La cantidad de nuevos listados que normalmente tenemos que salen al mercado en el período de abril y mayo, no están saliendo. Estamos luchando con la falta de inventario, lo que mantiene altos los precios.”

Bassett dijo que la tasa de interés de la hipoteca no ha afectado demasiado al condado.

Las casas unifamiliares tenían 69 nuevos listados en abril con 216 nuevos listados desde abril del 2022. Las existencias actuales de viviendas en el condado de Garfield muestran 116 casas, según el informe de abril de la Asociación de Agentes Inmobiliarios de Colorado.

El precio medio de la vivienda es de $775.000 y el promedio de $976.636 sigue siendo un aumento de la mediana de $595.000 y un precio promedio de $748.367 en este momento el año pasado.

“El precio medio de venta es tan alto que ha eliminado a muchos de los compradores de vivienda por primera vez más jóvenes en ese rango de precios y el rango de precios más bajo por debajo de $500.000, especialmente en Glenwood,” dijo Bassett.

Silt and Rifle están en el rango de precios más asequibles en este momento, mientras que New Castle se ha vuelto menos asequible. Bassett dijo que un cambio que ha notado es a los vendedores comprando a altas tasas de interés.

“En lugar de ver muchos artículos de inspección, los vendedores están comprando o reduciendo la tasa de interés entre $8.000 y $12.000 para que el comprador tenga una mejor tasa de interés durante los primeros dos o tres años del préstamo,” dijo. “Con suerte, entonces podrán refinanciar y estar en una mejor posición con esa tasa de interés.”

Las casas adosadas y los condominios vieron 25 nuevos listados en abril, con 75 nuevos listados desde abril del 2022. El stock de viviendas actual en el condado de Garfield tiene 116 casas.

Un precio de vivienda promedio de $390.000 y un promedio de $713.250 también mostró un aumento constante desde la mediana de $452.000 y un promedio de $515.765 en el 2022.

En todo el estado, el precio medio de venta se estabilizó entre $400.000 y $450.000 en el otoño del 2022, mientras que siguió aumentando en el condado de Garfield al ser inferior al precio medio de venta estatal, saltando de alrededor de $400000 a más de $460.000 desde el otoño del año pasado.

El precio medio de venta de una vivienda unifamiliar alcanzó un máximo de más de $560.000 a finales del 2022 y parece que ha bajado ligeramente desde principios del 2023.

El condado de Garfield tuvo un breve descenso en el precio de venta medio de viviendas unifamiliares a principios de año, pero comenzó a mostrar un ascenso nuevamente, en la actualidad a más de $610.000 en el informe de abril.

Aunque el mercado en el valle no se está desacelerando tan rápido como el resto de la nación y el estado, se ha calmado drásticamente desde el punto álgido de la pandemia de COVID-19.

Hay mucho menos de la “locura” que se vio durante e inmediatamente después de la pandemia. Las personas que compran muy por encima del precio de venta, las cláusulas de escalamiento, las evaluaciones y las inspecciones se han detenido en su mayoría, dijo Bassett.

“Creo que la única señal de algún tipo de debilitamiento que hemos visto o el agotamiento del comprador es en los días en el mercado,” dijo Bassett.

El inventario de listados activos ha disminuido constantemente desde un máximo histórico de más de 800 en junio del 2010 a un poco más de 100 a principios del 2023, pero las casas están comenzando a pasar más de 100 días en el mercado, según datos incluidos en la presentación del economista Nathan Perry en el evento Pronóstico económico y estado de la comunidad para 2023 de la Cámara de Glenwood Springs el 8 de mayo.

Julio tiene el promedio más corto de días que las casas permanecen en el mercado en el condado de Garfield, alcanzando mínimos de 20 en el 2021 y 30 en el 2022. La cantidad de meses de inventario de viviendas en el condado de Garfield muestra un ligero aumento desde el 2021 y 2022.

Traducción por Edgar Barrantes. Puedes contactar a Cassandra Ballard, reportera de la ciudad y de negocios para el Post Independent, en cballard@postindependent.com o al 970-384-9131.

Although the rest of Colorado seems to have a slowing housing market, Garfield County remains a sellers market, though there are some signs of slowing here, as well. 

“It’s still a sellers market,” Glenwood Springs Realtor and Glenwood Association of Realtors member Erin Bassett said. “The amount of new listings that we normally have that come on the market in the April and May timeframe, aren’t coming on the market. We’re struggling with a lack of inventory, which is keeping the prices up.”

Bassett said that the mortgage interest rate has not affected the county too terribly. 

Single-family homes had 69 new listings in April with 216 new listings since April 2022. Current housing stock in Garfield County has 116 homes, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors April report. 

The median housing price of $775,000 and an average of $976,636 is still a hike from the median of $595,000 and an average price of $748,367 at this time last year. 

“The median sales price is so high that you have knocked out a lot of that younger first-time homebuyers in that price range and the lower price range under $500,000, especially in Glenwood,” Bassett said. 

Silt and Rifle are in the more affordable price range right now, while New Castle has become less affordable. One change Bassett said she has seen is sellers buying down the high interest rates. 

“Instead of seeing a lot of inspection items, sellers are purchasing or buying down the interest rate anywhere from $8,000 to $12,000 to get the buyer a better interest rate for the first two to three years of the loan,” she said. “Hopefully, then they can refinance and be in a better position with that interest rate.”

Townhomes and condos saw 25 new listings in April, with 75 new listings since April 2022. Current housing stock in Garfield County has 116 homes. 

A median housing price of $390,000 and an average of $713,250 also showed a constant climb from the median of $452,000 and an average of $515,765 in 2022. 

Statewide, the median sales price flattened out between $400,000 and $450,000 in fall 2022, while it continued to spike in Garfield County from being less than the statewide median sales price, jumping from around $400,000 to above $460,000 since fall of last year. 

The median sales price for a single family home peaked at above $560,000 at the end of 2022, and looks like it has gone down slightly since the beginning of 2023. 

Garfield County had a brief downward turn in the median sales price for single-family homes at the beginning of the year, but began showing an upward slope again, currently at more than $610,000 in the April report.

Although the market in the valley isn’t slowing as quickly as the rest of the nation and state, it has dramatically eased up since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There is far less of the “craziness” that was seen during and immediately after the pandemic. People buying really high above asking price, escalation clauses, waving of appraisals and inspections have all mostly stopped, Bassett said. 

“I think the only sign of any kind of softening that we’ve seen or buyer exhaustion is, in the days on market,” Bassett said. 

The inventory of active listings has been consistently decreasing since an all-time high of more than 800 in June 2010 to a little more that 100 in the beginning of 2023, but houses are starting to spend closer to 100 days on the market, according to data included in economist Nathan Perry’s presentation at the Glenwood Springs Chamber’s 2023 Economic Forecast and State of the Community event May 8.

July has the shortest average for days houses stay on the market in Garfield County, reaching lows of 20 in 2021 and 30 in 2022. The number of months’ supply of housing inventory in Garfield County is showing a slight increase since 2021 and 2022.

Post Independent city and business reporter Cassandra Ballard can be reached at cballard@postindependent.com or 970-384-9131.