In the 1940s, famed psychologist Abraham Maslow defined a list of human needs that people now call the Hierarchy of Human Needs. The third basic need, shelter, has fallen under the spotlight, now more than ever.

For the first time in modern society, most of us are doing everything at home. It’s the place we eat, sleep, work, play, pray and homeschool. Aside from the economic worries many are facing, the current situation has people thinking about where they live.

The real estate market is experiencing an unpredictable shift; never before has the appeal for big city living been lower. Internet searches for suburban properties are up exponentially, as swaths of urbanites consider living in less proximity to so many people.

Our crash course in virtual living has reared endless possibilities. Goodbye long commute, hello to a work/ life balance. People in Routt County are singing the same tune. Residents here feel lucky in so many ways with green space further than the eye can see, fresh mountain air and a community that has each other’s backs. There are the same fears of unemployment and recession that currently consume the globe but the abundance of nature has a way of numbing the pain, even temporarily.

“It’s hard not to feel guilty sharing the fact that you had an epic morning skiing the backcountry, to friends who are locked up in a city during a Zoom happy hour,” said Eric Deering, longtime resident and Co-Owner of Steamboat Powdercats.

There is no barometer for the immediate future of the real estate market; those who need to sell will still need to sell and those who need to buy will still need to buy. The question is where will they want to buy?

Mountain towns like Steamboat Springs have the current cache of being able to offer rural living without forgoing a host of city amenities. Even in lockdown, restaurants still served, albeit with curbside pick up only, retail stores enabled online shopping, local art galleries, dance and exercise classes went virtual and the plethora of healthcare professionals remained prepared to care. Grocery stores and the LiftUp food bank continue to serve our basic needs. As for shelter, residents are in a good place. As Steve Goldman, CEO at Colorado Group Realty stated, “We could not be luckier living here during all of this. In time, we expect more people to share that view.”