Home

Craig — Second-home owners are playing an increasing role in the economies of four neighboring counties.

Gary Severson of the Northwest Council of Governments told an audience in Craig this week that the results of a recent study show second homeowners represent 20 percent to 25 percent of the total economy of four counties on Colorado's Western Slope.

"We've been finding out some incredible things about second homeowners," Severson said. "Second homes are an industry in themselves. We think second homes pump more into local economies than the ski areas do."

Severson spoke to more than 50 people attending the Northwest Colorado Rural Issues Forum on Friday at Shadow Mountain Clubhouse in Craig. He was one of the organizers of a new study funded in part by a grant from Gov. Bill Owens' office. It looked at the impact second homeowners are having on the economies of Grand, Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties. Routt County was not included in the study, Severson said, because it does not belong to the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.

A portion of the study surveyed 1,500 second homeowners.

One part of the study that has not been completed seeks to measure in dollars how much second homeowners contribute to the economy of the four counties relative to full-time residents. Severson said the data aren't complete, but there are signs second homeowners will come out on top.

The term "second home" is a misnomer, Severson said. In many cases, people acquiring vacation homes in mountain towns are buying their third or fourth home.

In Summit County, where Severson lives, there are about 23,000 residential dwellings. Of that number, 67 percent are owned by people who indicate Summit County is not their primary residence. The number increases to 80 percent in Breckenridge, Severson said.

Pitkin County, which includes Aspen, is famous for opulent vacation homes. But because Pitkin County also is ahead of most mountain counties in creation of worker housing, second homes account for 55 percent of about 14,000 dwellings, he said. Eagle County stands at 49 percent.

The 2000 Census reported that 47 percent of the homes in Steamboat were second homes or vacation homes.

In Grand County, which includes the towns of Kremmling and Granby, 63 percent of dwellings are second homes, a statistic that shocked survey participants.

"Grand County is exploding," Severson said.

It represents the most affordable market for Colorado mountain vacation homes, and a majority of purchasers in Grand County live on the Front Range, he added. While most second-home owners in Grand County indicate they plan to someday sell their homes, the majority in the three other counties say they intend to retire there.

The No. 1 reason second-home owners give for their choice of communities and towns is recreational amenities. The top amenity on their list is walking paths -- not hiking trails, but scenic areas for walking.

The preponderance of National Forest land in Colorado mountain counties is contributing to pressure on real estate markets, Severson said.

"The value of second homes, coupled with the percent of federal lands, drives all housing prices upward," he said.

With a scarcity of developable land and increasing demand for second homes by affluent baby boomers, Severson predicts the ratio of second homes to primary residences in mountain communities will continue to widen.

As a result, he said, workers in mountain communities will face increasingly greater commutes.

"Second homes are being built at a faster rate than full-time residences" are being built, Severson said. "Commuting distances for people that make towns run will increase."

The second-home trend will continue for at least another decade, Severson predicted, until the baby boom generation moves through the prime second-home buying age group of 55 to 65.

As second-home owners in Pitkin, Eagle and Summit counties begin to retire, vacation homes will be converted to primary residences, he concluded.