BY SOPHIE DINGLE
Bigger isn’t necessarily better and sometimes less is more. In recent years, these perspectives have begun to infiltrate our thinking. One area where this is manifested quite clearly is the housing market. Many people want to buy and build smaller, more efficient homes. They’ve begun to downsize and it’s not just retirees; it’s single people, families or those looking to purchase a second home. The trend is shifting so that people want quality over quantity. For many, it’s more important to have an efficient, well-built house that reflects the owner’s savviness and taste.
In recent years, we are starting to see a shift in that many people don’t want a large home to maintain and care for. This can be seen right here in Steamboat, a resort vacation town, where many homes are second homes. It seems a buyer of a new home has two options: a large home or a small condo or townhouse. However, many potential buyers balk at the thought of sharing a wall with someone.
Enter Steamboat’s third option: homes with the privacy of a single-family unit but the size and low maintenance of a townhome. New developments such as Flat Tops at Wildhorse Meadows offer homes with a smaller footprint which solve the problem of wanting a smaller space but with more freedom than in a shared unit. The community is comprised of 21 lots (currently ten have been sold and four are available in the current offering). The buyer chooses their lot and builds a semicustomizable house. The catch is the size: all the homes are 2,400 to 3,300 square feet. And while this may be on the larger size for some areas, in Steamboat, for a single-family home, it’s smaller…..(cont.) FULL ARTICLE
