Survey of Colorado resort communities highlights divide between full-time residents and second homeowners

Full-time residents in mountain resort communities are seeing different problems from second homeowners, according to a new study commissioned by the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments and the Colorado Association of Ski Towns.

The survey was completed by 4,000 people across five counties in the Northwest Colorado region, including Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, Routt and Summit counties. Individuals were asked about their income bracket, residency status and other factors.

More second/vacation homes near Denver metro area

Compared to the other surveyed counties, Grand County reported the lowest percentage of full-time residents.

Full-time, year-round residency varied a great deal between the five counties, ranging from a low of 54% in Grand to a high of 77% in Routt County.

Of the 666 respondents from Grand County, 54% (359 people) identified as full-time residents, while 43% (286 people) said they owned a second home or vacation property in Grand County. Summit County’s statistics were very similar, 55% of respondents (628 people) identified as full-time, year-round residents while 42% (480 people) identified as second homeowners.

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The survey came to the conclusion that “softer” full-time residency and higher second-home ownership in Summit and Grand counties could mean that “the proximity to the Denver Metro area is a catalyst for a more transient type of resident base in these communities”.

The data reported a 2.4-to-1 ratio of full-time, year-round residents to second homeowners across all counties.

As a result, this may lead to a lower focus on resident-centric policy by both residents and leadership.

On the other side of the spectrum, second homeownership decreases with distance from the Denver urban area. Routt County reported the smallest number of owners in this category, at 21%. According to the survey’s findings, this suggests that second homeowners are looking for easy access to their units.

The survey also found another pattern consistent across all counties; income levels for second homeowners and investment property owners are higher than income levels of full-time, year-round residents who either own or rent their residence.

Resort community residents are also more likely to be older and acutely wealthier than the U.S. population. The survey attributed this fact to the cost of living in resort communities, which can be a barrier for younger residents. Despite this, the wealthy (defined as $300,000 or more in household income) are less likely to be full-time, year-round residents and more likely to be second homeowners.

The survey reported the income bracket of 485 respondents from Grand County, with 13% (63 people) reporting under $50,000 and 23% (111 people) reporting $50,000 to $99,999.

The average per-person income for Grand County, according to census.gov, is $43,553.

Different concerns about housing among cohorts

Most residents who identified as full-time residents in Grand County reported owning their home at 72% (469 people), while 26% (169 people) identified as renters. Across all counties, 69% reported owning their residence, while 29% rented.

When it comes to concerns with vacation rentals in communities, the renters’ cohort had the strongest concerns.

A whopping 83% of renters indicated that they were concerned about vacation rentals’ impacts on housing supply for local residents, and 76% said that they are concerned about increases to the cost of housing.

Meanwhile, 24% of second homeowners that rent their unit as a short-term rental agreed that they impact supply, and just 17% say they increase the cost of housing.

Full-time residents experience a different quality of life

Changes in quality of life are inevitable, however discussions surrounding quality of life have become “louder” in resort communities, suggesting that changes to quality of life are happening more rapidly. The survey noted a surge in quality of life discussions since the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is a sense of declining quality of life in resort communities, according to the survey.

Respondents from all regions scored their quality of life in the community at 7.2 points out of 10. Summit County scored the highest on the quality of life, at 7.4 points, while Pitkin and Grand counties respondents each ranked at 7.0 points.

On the low side, 1% of all respondents in all counties said their overall quality of life was poor and reported a score of 0. The counties with the lowest perceived quality of life were Pitkin and Grand. Grand County had the highest percentage of 0 scores at 3%.

Most survey takers felt that their communities were more tourism-centric than resident-centric.

In general, survey takers felt that their communities were more focused on tourism rather than resident-focused. Although, there was a stark difference between full-time residents and second homeowners’ views, much like concerns about housing.

The study points out that those who live in the community full-time experience more impact from tourism, both negative and positive effects. As a result, these residents are more aware of tourism’s impacts on quality of life in the community.

Year-round residents are more in favor of a shift towards resident centricity. The renters sought the most significant change while also being dependent on tourism visitation, according to the study.

Second homeowners, especially those that rent their home as a short term rental, are the only cohort in favor of retaining a tourism-centric economy. This group was content with their perception of where their community is on the resident/tourist continuum. This group is likely satisfied because of direct financial ties to tourism and less exposure to the day-to-day impacts of tourism, according to the study.

However, when asked to score the desired position on the continuum for their community, all counties saw a shift away from tourism-centric toward resident-centric.

There is no universal consensus on how to achieve the shift, but for the most part, new taxes or fees are not a solution that is widely supported, however lower-income groups identified as being more willing to take on the burden of shifting their community towards residents.

Grand County respondents identify as actively engaged in community

The survey also asked full-time residents to identify themselves as an actively engaged resident, employed by a public sector/non-profit organization, an unelected member of local boards or commissions, an elected official, not active in local governance or other.

Grand County had the largest percentage, 41%, of full-time residents identify as actively engaged in their community. The county with the next largest percentage was Routt with 38%.

This statistic could be attributed to the fact that Grand County has a large population that has lived in the county for a longer period of time. Those who identified as not having lived in the county for very long were less likely to identify as actively engaged.