Short-term rental yield in the Colorado high country tells a different story depending on which side of the Continental Divide you're standing on. Summit County continues to lead on raw occupancy, but Steamboat and Winter Park have closed the gap on net yield once you back out HOA dues, management fees, and the new short-term rental licensing costs.

The headline numbers

Across the eleven resorts we track, average nightly rates climbed 6.4% year-over-year in Q4 2025. Breckenridge and Keystone led the front-range demand, while Telluride and Aspen — already at the top of the price stack — saw rate growth moderate to a healthier 3.1%.

The best Ski Condo investments of the next five years won't be in the resort that posts the highest occupancy. They'll be in the resort that pairs strong occupancy with the friendliest short-term rental regulation.

Reading regulation as a yield signal

Local licensing caps and zoning restrictions are now the single biggest variable in net yield. Towns that have grandfathered existing condo-hotel inventory — Copper Mountain and parts of Keystone, for example — are quietly rewarding owners who bought before the moratoria. We expect this divergence to widen through 2027.