Hayden officials announced last week that the town was investing in a new marketing campaign that promotes Hayden as an affordable place to live. The effort comes at an opportune time, when the average home price in Steamboat Springs has risen to almost $550,000 in West Steamboat and just over $741,558 downtown while single-family homes in Hayden are selling, on average, from $280,000 to $310,000.

The town set aside $6,000 to advertise Hayden’s affordable housing story, and the campaign is currently targeting people in the Steamboat and Denver areas with its “move here” message that brands Hayden as the “Heart of the Yampa Valley.”

We think Hayden town leaders are smart to jump on the opportunity to grow the small community located just 25 miles west of Steamboat, and we believe the housing options in Hayden could help meet the housing needs outlined in a housing market study completed in late 2016 that concluded Routt County would need 263 to 447 entry-level units of housing and 247 to 420 units of move-up housing by 2020 to meet demand.

Read more at Steamboat Today.