Are Steamboat Springs Prices Falling While Sales Rise Because Buyers Are Back or Because Sellers Are Cutting? Reading Redfin, Realtor.com, Zillow and the Census Count of Second Homes

Why do the Steamboat Springs price figures point in different directions?

The levels are not close. Redfin's median sale price is $1,049,546, Realtor.com's sold median is $950,000, its listing median is $1,480,125 and Zillow's index is $1,313,950. Realtor.com's sold median is 9.5% below Redfin's, computed here, and Zillow's index is 25.2% above Redfin's. A sold median is a middle sale, a listing median is a middle asking price and an index is an estimate of every home, so a resort stock with many costly homes will give an index above the median sale.

The directions differ. Redfin's median is down 9.52%, which implies about $1,159,976 a year earlier. Realtor.com's sold median is up 8.57%, which implies about $875,012 a year earlier, and down 0.31% in three years, which implies about $952,954. Its listing median is up 4.17%, which implies about $1,420,875, and up 5.12% in three years, which implies about $1,408,034. Zillow's index is up 4.8%, which implies about $1,253,769. The months differ as well, June and August, so some of the gap is timing.

Per-foot prices are the steadier guide. Redfin shows $808, down 2.8%, which implies about $831 a year earlier. Realtor.com shows $868, down 3.68% in a year, which implies about $901, and up 11.73% in three years, which implies about $777. Both are down by a few percent in a year, and Realtor.com shows a rise of about a ninth over three years. A fall in the median larger than the fall per foot suggests that smaller homes and condominiums made up more of the recent sales, which is an inference.

The Census owner value of $1,055,900, plus or minus $106,110, is 0.6% above Redfin's median, computed here, and 24.4% below Zillow's index. It is 9.6 times the Census median household income of $109,659, which itself carries a margin of plus or minus $15,914. The multiple is high, and one likely reason, an inference, is that many buyers here do not live on local wages.

What the sources agree on is that prices are high, near $1.0M to $1.3M by most measures, that per-foot prices are slightly lower than a year ago and that supply has grown. An owner should treat any published median as a rough guide, since a mix of condominiums, townhomes and large houses produces medians that move with the mix. The better test is closed sales of homes close to the owner's own in type, size and view.

A short list of closed sales is the best check on all of this. Pick homes of the same type, whether a condominium, a townhome or a detached house, with a similar number of bedrooms and a similar setting, sold in the last year, and note the sale price, the days on market and the gap between the first ask and the last. In a resort town where the type of home changes the price more than the street does, a short list of true comparables tells an owner more than a published median does.

Sources as cited. Ratios and year-earlier values in this section are computed from the published figures and percentages.

Are buyers back in Steamboat Springs, or are sellers just cutting?

The count of sales is up, and so is the wait. Redfin counted 163 sales in August against 129 a year earlier, a rise of 26.4%, computed here and printed as 26.1%, while the median time on market rose from 27 days to 40. Realtor.com shows 85 days for June, up 46.43% in a year, which implies about 58 a year earlier, and up 127.78% in three years, which implies about 37. More sales and more days together fit a market in which sellers are accepting lower prices to move homes.

Redfin rates the postal area somewhat competitive, with a score of 40 out of 100. Some homes get multiple offers. The average home sold about 4% below list and went pending in around 63 days, and hot homes sold at around the list price in around 15 days. Zillow's own pending figure is 66 days. Of homes sold, 6.3% went above list, down 5.3 points, so a bid above the asking price is now unusual, and 37.1% had a price drop.

The cut is worth counting. The sale-to-list ratio of 96.5% means that homes sold for 3.5% below their asking prices on average, which is about $36,734 on a sale near $1,050,000, computed here. Realtor.com's June figure is 97%, with homes selling 3.03% below the asking price, so the two sources put the gap at about three to three and a half percent. A seller who lists high and then cuts pays for the wait with both the cut and the time.

Supply has grown over three years. Realtor.com shows 452 active listings, up 8.97% in a year, which implies about 415 a year earlier, and up 62.21% in three years, which implies about 279. Rental listings rose from a handful to 26, up 180% in a year, though the base is tiny. Against 163 sales in August, 452 listings are about 2.8 months of sales, an inference that mixes a June listing count with an August sales count and is offered only as a rough scale.

For a seller, the cost of a public sale in a market like this is time, price cuts and exposure. A home is prepared, listed, shown to visitors who may be browsing a second-home market, discounted and then inspected. A buyer who offers a close date, no financing condition and no repair list changes the arithmetic, since it ends the wait with a single number. Whether that number is better than the open-market result is the owner's judgment to make, and a seller should compare.

Seasonality matters too. A summer quarter, as in Redfin's three months ending in August, is a busy time for a mountain town, and a winter quarter can look very different, with fewer sales and longer waits. A seller who lists at the start of a slow season carries the home, and its bills, until the next busy one. The sources here do not split the data by season, so that is a caution and not a finding, and it is one more reason to compare a firm offer with an open-market plan.

Sources as cited. Year-earlier values and differences are computed from the published percentages.

Who lives in Steamboat Springs, and who is only visiting?

The place is part town and part resort. Of 13,552 housing units, 8,390 are occupied, 61.9%, and 5,162 are vacant, 38.1%. Of the vacant units, 3,826 are held for seasonal use, 28.2% of all units and 74.1% of the vacant, 824 are for rent, 110 are rented and not yet occupied, 46 are for sale only and 356 are vacant for other reasons. Few places have so many homes that no one lives in for part of the year.

Of 8,390 occupied homes, 6,171 are owner-occupied, 73.6%, and 2,219 are rented, 26.4%. Owners are of mixed tenure. Of 6,171 owner households, 73 moved in during 2023 or later and 1,201 between 2020 and 2022, so 20.6% moved in since 2020. Another 2,372, 38.4%, moved in between 2010 and 2019, 1,236, 20.0%, between 2000 and 2009, 1,043, 16.9%, in the 1990s and 246, 4.0%, before 1990. In all, 59.1% arrived since 2010, and many of them bought near the recent peak.

Homes are mid-sized to large. Of 6,171 owner households, 192, or 3.1%, live in a one-bedroom home, 1,049, or 17.0%, in a two-bedroom, 2,636, or 42.7%, in a three-bedroom, 1,579, or 25.6%, in a four-bedroom and 715, or 11.6%, in one with five or more bedrooms. So 79.9% live in a home with three or more bedrooms and 37.2% in one with four or more.

Costs are high for many. Of 4,063 owners with a mortgage, 4,040 with a computed figure, 1,570, or 38.9%, spent 30% or more of income on housing, and 715, or 17.7%, spent half or more. Among the 2,108 owners without a mortgage, 2,075 with a computed figure, 320, or 15.4%, spent 30% or more, and 136, or 6.6%, spent half or more. Owners without a mortgage are 34.2% of all owners, so a large share could sell without a loan to pay off.

Renters turn over quickly. Of 2,219 renter households, 236 moved in during 2023 or later and 1,038 between 2020 and 2022, so 57.4% moved in since 2020, and 707, 31.9%, moved in between 2010 and 2019. The Census median rent is $2,042, plus or minus $229, and Realtor.com shows a median rent of $3,050 for June, 49.4% higher, computed here. Among renters with a computed figure, 61.6% spent 30% or more of income on rent and 31.5% spent half or more.

Put together, a typical owner is a household that bought in the last fifteen years, lives in or visits a three- or four-bedroom home and carries a mortgage that takes a large share of income. Some of those households are away for much of the year, 3,826 homes by the Census count, and their owners may have little reason to endure months of showings in an empty house. For such owners, a sale on a date that suits them is often worth more than a few weeks of extra exposure.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B25003, B25004, B25038, B25042, B25064, B25070 and B25091, via Census Reporter; Realtor.com for the rent figure. Shares are computed here.

How old are Steamboat Springs homes, and what does a mixed stock need?

The stock is mostly from the 1970s to the 2000s. Of 13,552 units, 264, or 1.9%, were built before 1940, 12, or 0.1%, in the 1940s, 140, or 1.0%, in the 1950s and 321, or 2.4%, in the 1960s. Another 2,946, or 21.7%, were built in the 1970s, 1,851, or 13.7%, in the 1980s, 3,039, or 22.4%, in the 1990s, 3,486, or 25.7%, in the 2000s, the largest decade, 1,352, or 10.0%, in the 2010s and 141, or 1.0%, in 2020 or later. The median build year is 1994, and 27.2% were built before 1980.

Mountain homes face weather that others do not. Roofs carry snow, decks and exterior wood face sun and moisture, and heating and plumbing systems work through long winters. An inspector in a mountain town will look at all of them, and a house left empty for part of the year can hide a leak or a failed heater until someone returns. That is an inference from the climate and the seasonal use shown in the Census data, not a finding from any source here.

The stock is varied in type. Of 13,552 units, 5,887, or 43.4%, are detached houses, 1,946, or 14.4%, are attached, 916, or 6.8%, are in buildings of two to four units and 4,131, or 30.5%, are in buildings of five or more. A further 672, or 5.0%, are mobile homes. A town with this mix has condominiums at one end and large detached homes at the other, so a single median blends two different markets.

The population is working-age heavy. Of 18,525 people counted, 3,140, or 17.0%, are under 18, 1,470, or 7.9%, are 18 to 24, 2,055, or 11.1%, are 25 to 34, 2,742, or 14.8%, are 35 to 44, 5,584, or 30.1%, are 45 to 64 and 3,534, or 19.1%, are 65 or older. The Census margin on the total is plus or minus 458, so the shares are close but not exact.

An owner of a second home may hold it for family use, for rental income or for the future. A household that has used a home less than it expected, or that is watching listing counts rise, may weigh a sale, and the timing is the owner's choice. A seller in that position often wants a date that fits a move or a tax year, privacy while the decision is made and a price that needs no repairs first. Those are the things a private buyer can offer. Readers comparing markets can also read the Franktown brief and the Edwards brief.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B01001, B25004, B25024 and B25034, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

What should a Steamboat Springs owner ask, and what does a private sale change?

Five questions are worth asking. Is my price based on closed sales of homes like mine, and not on a median that mixes condominiums and large houses? What will the buyer's inspector find in a home of this age and climate? What do taxes, insurance and upkeep cost me per month while the home is on the market? Do I want a public process with showings, especially for a second home? What will the fees be?

Fees are simple arithmetic, and no rate is assumed here. Each 1% of a $450,000 sale is $4,500, of a $725,000 sale is $7,250 and of a $1,200,000 sale is $12,000. Three percent is $13,500, $21,750 and $36,000, and five percent is $22,500, $36,250 and $60,000. A seller can put their own quoted costs into those rows. On the Redfin median of $1,049,546, 1% is $10,495, 3% is $31,486 and 5% is $52,477.

A private sale has no showings and no neighbors talking about it, which is the first benefit. For an owner of a second home that sits empty for part of the year, strangers walking through are a real cost, and a quiet transaction has plain appeal. The second benefit is a closing date that fits the seller, which helps an owner who needs time to find the next home or to settle a season.

The third and fourth benefits are no commission costs and no closing costs, and the fifth is no inspection repairs. In a postal area with a climate that is hard on houses, an inspector will find work, so the fifth is worth pricing. An owner should set an offer beside what the same home would net after preparation, after fees, after price cuts averaging about three and a half percent and after the cost of time.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. It does not say that a private sale always beats a public listing, and in a market where some homes still sell above list, an owner is right to compare carefully. If you would like a private, no-obligation offer for a home in Steamboat Springs, call 401-219-4207 or use the contact form on this site.

Sources as cited. Fee illustrations are arithmetic only and assume no commission rate.

Methodology and limitations

Each page's date, title and place were read before use. The Redfin page is for the three months ending August 2026. The Realtor.com page is for June 2026, three months older, and its columns are one year and three years. The Zillow page states that it was updated on August 31, 2026. Only established data publishers and the Census are cited. The Census figures are five-year estimates for the postal area that the sheet lists for Steamboat Springs, and the margins of error on income and value are stated where they matter. Percent changes were taken as printed, and ratios, sums, fee figures and year-earlier values are this brief's arithmetic.

Conclusion

The record for Steamboat Springs is a price near $1.0M to $1.3M depending on the measure, homes that sell about three and a half percent below list in six to twelve weeks, supply that has risen sharply in three years and a stock in which more than one home in four is held for seasonal use. The useful number for an owner is a closed sale of a comparable home, and a private buyer can price the home in front of them and close on the owner's schedule.