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news article published on CBS news written by Megan Cerullo who reports the housing crisis is so bad that 6-figure jobs can't be filled because employees can't afford to live there

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news article published on CBS news written by Megan Cerullo who reports the housing crisis is so bad that 6-figure jobs can't be filled because employees can't afford to live there

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Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has a problem that's prevalent among all resort communities where housing costs far exceed local incomes: recruiting staff. That's because job candidates say they can't afford to live there.

While home prices and rents have soared across the country over the past year, rent and real estate prices in uber-wealthy enclaves are in a league of their own. The median listing price for homes currently available in Steamboat Springs, for example, is $2 million, according to Realtor.com. Median rent is roughly $4,000 a month according to Zillow.com. The high prices put area housing out of reach, even for those earning above-average salaries.

Steamboat Springs city manager Gary Suiter told CBS MoneyWatch that the city government has struggled to recruit a human resources director, a management-level position with a six-figure salary to match, NBC first reported.

"That's the case for one position. In these higher-end resort communities, there are multiple positions at all layers of the organization that can be difficult to fill," Suiter added.

The city, with a population of 13,000, previously made job offers to two candidates, both of whom declined.

"We had two recruitments previously and in both cases they couldn't afford to live here," Suiter said. The position's salary? $167,000 per year.

Other local job openings pay far less, including a posting for a rodeo maintenance worker, which pays up to $29.62 an hour.

Signing bonuses

Suiter said he's all too familiar with the rising housing costs in communities like Steamboat Springs and how challenging they make it for local businesses to staff up. Wealthy individuals shell out millions for second homes in such areas and drive up housing costs, a trend that was exacerbated by the pandemic.

The particular difficulty the city has had filling the HR director role "tells the story of what's happening in resort communities, and it's been happening for a long time," he explained. "The same thing is repeating itself in higher-end areas."

Home prices in the country's 20 biggest metro areas went up an average of 6.7% in 2023, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data. Across the nation as a whole, housing prices rose more than 5% over the last year, pushing home ownership out of reach even for high-income earners.

To make the six-figure offer more palatable, Suiter said the city has added a signing bonus that - for the right candidate - is negotiable.

"We will provide a signing bonus within reason, if it's necessary to recruit the most qualified person," he said.

Dormitory-style housing

It is harder to house members of the city's roughly 300-person government staff, many of whom earn far less than six figures annually, Suiter said. The city is in the process of building dormitory-style housing to accommodate some of them.

Housing challenges "permeate every level of the organization," Suiter said."It's not only with management positions, it's boots-on-the-ground jobs. Bus drivers have been difficult to recruit, especially during the pandemic with the mask mandate."

The town's world-class ski resort provides up to 800 beds for staff "at below market rate," according to a resort spokesperson.

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Ski town struggles to fill 6-figure job because candidates can't afford housing

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High housing costs make it near impossible for towns, companies in upscale resort areas that cater to recruit workers.

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Planning for Terrain Traps: The Effects of Tourism on Ski Town Housing

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a thesis published on the University of Otago research archive written by Keegan L. Wells, he points out how tourism does have a significant affect on the housing market in ski towns, not just in the US but across the world 

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a thesis published on the University of Otago research archive written by Keegan L. Wells, he points out how tourism does have a significant affect on the housing market in ski towns, not just in the US but across the world 

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news article published on High Country News written by Nick Bowlin, he reports that govt. has to be involved in issue to help reduce the housing crisis, especially for the employees 

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news article published on High Country News written by Nick Bowlin, he reports that govt. has to be involved in issue to help reduce the housing crisis, especially for the employees 

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Mountain towns are trying all sorts of solutions to the housing crisis - High Country News

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A new report details the many ways that high-altitude communities are wrestling with ballooning housing costs.

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news article published on Outside by Susan Reifer Ryan about the increased population of non-residents who are promoting tourism and making a quiet ski town not so quiet anymore

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news article published on Outside by Susan Reifer Ryan about the increased population of non-residents who are promoting tourism and making a quiet ski town not so quiet anymore

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The Ski Town Housing Crisis Is Coming For This Beloved Montana Community

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In northwestern Montana, a once unheard of little burg has become a symbol of the quality-of-life crisis confronting ski towns everywhere.

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a practicum published on University of Manitoba's institutional repository by Christopher David Lang reporting about possible cases to help develop or maintain affordable resident housing

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a practicum published on University of Manitoba's institutional repository by Christopher David Lang reporting about possible cases to help develop or maintain affordable resident housing

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developing affordable resident housing in ski resorts...

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Washington Post news article by Andrea Sachs that poses an alternative perspective to my idea, she claims that resorts are expanding to accommodate tourists

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Washington Post news article by Andrea Sachs that poses an alternative perspective to my idea, she claims that resorts are expanding to accommodate tourists

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Ski resorts roll out massive expansions as crowds and prices swell

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Mountain resorts like Deer Valley in Utah and Steamboat in Colorado are introducing upgrades like speedier chairlifts, new terrain and lodge amenities.

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article published on Colorado Sun by Jason Blevins, this offers insight that resorts should focus more on the long-term residents and less on tourists

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article published on Colorado Sun by Jason Blevins, this offers insight that resorts should focus more on the long-term residents and less on tourists

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Colorado resort communities want more focus on residents, less emphasis on tourism, survey shows

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Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, Routt and Summit community members see their quality of life in decline and want more of a focus on resident priorities, survey shows.

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report by Jordan Smith on Utah State University, shows the socioeconomic affects of expanding ski resorts on the town

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report by Jordan Smith on Utah State University, shows the socioeconomic affects of expanding ski resorts on the town

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Social Impacts of Extended Ski Resort Operations on Forest Servic

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The main people who can reduce this problem is the tourists who are buying second homes in these used to be small ski towns. This is a huge problem that is clearly hard to solve so the first step is bring more awareness to the issue.

The stakeholders are the current residents, the tourists, business owners in the town, real estate agents

Some constraints could be my bias towards the topic, I clearly already have an opinion on the issue so that could affect how I write about it. This also applies to readers, some people also will already have an opinion on this topic which could affect how they interpret my writing. Another constraint is this issue is relatively broad and there might not be a certain solution.

An affordance is I have a lot of experience living in or near ski towns and have seen the increase in real estate. This can build credibility and help me build connections with the readers.