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Steamboat Springs — The recent housing survey revealed a lot of information, experts said, but not much that is surprising.

The work force housing demand analysis, long-awaited by city and county officials and all those with eyes on the local housing market, was conducted by Robert Charles Lesser & Co. for the Yampa Valley Housing Authority. The aim was to determine what kind of housing Steamboat Springs workers want.

Those desires are predictable, developer Jim Cook said. The challenge is to combine the wishes with reality.

"If you ask a person what kind of home they'd like to have that's affordable, they're going to tell you a single-family home with a two-car garage and a white picket fence," Cook said. "But when we get into affordability issues, we talk about shelter: What does it take to sustain a family here?"

The survey revealed that most workers want single-family detached units. Singles, couples, empty nesters and families all preferred houses with more than one bedroom.

The study's executive summary presented three options: build more small-lot single-family homes, build permanently affordable homes that target buyer preferences or build more market rate and subsidized apartment complexes.

Cook said the data will be useful in developing housing.

"I think there are some initiatives that government and the private sector are going to have to work on jointly to try to come up with solutions now," he said. "It appears that Steamboat 700 and a couple of plans that are up for annexation are addressing at least some of those."

That desire for multi-bedroom units might explain why some of Steamboat's deed-restricted housing is tougher to sell, said Nancy Engelken, community housing coordinator for the city. Cook and Engelken said the response hasn't been overwhelming for First Tracks at Wildhorse Meadows. The development consists of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that cost $165,000 to $299,000.

Abby Varner, a property specialist at First Tracks, said about 25 percent of the 47 units have been sold since they went on the market a month ago. The property is scheduled to open next summer.

She said the units were generating buzz but that red tape can confound would-be buyers.

"Affordable housing typically takes a bit longer to sell just based on the qualifications and the application process people have to go through," Varner said. "Unfortunately, it's not like people can just walk in and say, 'I want one of these' and sign the contract. There's a bit more paperwork involved. ... I think we just need to educate people."

Cost and quality

Now that the desires have been nailed down, the Housing Authority will take a look at the basic needs of the community. But the desires revealed a troubling gap: middle management. Those employees are struggling to buy homes, Engelken said.

Workers ages 30 to 49 whose household income is less than $100,000 a year said in the survey that the quality of housing negatively affects their ability to stay in Steamboat.

"This is the same cohort of employees that were pointed out in HR interviews as the least willing to remain in Steamboat Springs and the hardest to recruit," the study's executive summary stated.

In other groups, government, hospitality, education and health care workers indicated that cost and quality of housing made it difficult for them to stick around.

The study, which surveyed nearly 750 people, wasn't just about buying properties.

There was an "overwhelming consensus on the need for additional rental units," the study stated. "Available units are typically expensive, overcrowded ... and not necessarily well-maintained."

The survey doesn't tell Steamboat officials, developers or the Housing Authority how to move forward, said Jane Blackstone of The Atira Group. But it could help guide or change city policies, she said.

"The hard work remains to be done, but it gives us a set of tools to help get to the right answer," Blackstone said. "It's not going to make it easy street, for sure. But it'll help."

Housing issues don't just fall to government, Engelken said.

"I think this also points to a broad-based community need, and it should not be just something the city of Steamboat Springs is involved in," she said. "There need to be other opportunities for employers to participate and to be able to find creative ways of making sure they have a healthy work force."

Those solutions won't be simple, she noted.

"There is a disconnect between what it is people want, what it is people can afford and what is feasible in this community," Engelken said.