The mountain town of Fairplay is known as the inspiration behind the long-standing satirical cartoon South Park.
But now the former Gold Rush city is leading an affordable housing boom in Colorado.
Fairplay, with its Rockies views and world-class fly fishing, is less than a two-hour drive from Colorado Springs – one of the areas with the highest annual construction growth in the country.
The city of South Park, which is in Park County, is also seeing a similar increase in new housing, he said Realtor.com.
Driving the boom is the city’s proximity to wealthy Summit County, but the price is much more affordable.
Summit County is home to the expensive ski areas of Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne and Vail, where the average home costs as much as $2 million.
In Park County, meanwhile, first-time homebuyers can purchase a comparable home for $575,000.
“The majority of my business is becoming Park County,” local Sotheby’s broker Scott Lindblom told the outlet. “It’s because of the value.”
The mountain town of Fairplay is famous for being the inspiration for the long-standing satirical cartoon South Park (photo: Fairplay’s open-air museum of the gold mining town)
He added, “The area is more affordable than Summit County, but people also say they enjoy the feel.
‘It’s more wide open, has beautiful mountain views and offers many outdoor activities such as fly fishing, hiking and ATV trails.’
Although locals are aware that the city is the inspiration behind the beloved and foul-mouthed South Park, which has been running for 26 seasons, Lindblom said that so far no one has told him that this is the reason they want to move there.
The cheaper homes are the main draw, he said.
The average home listing in Fairplay is $775,000, compared to $1.79 million in nearby Breckenridge Ski Resort.
Fairplay is the inspiration behind the city in South Park, which has been active for 26 seasons
Fairplay offers views of the Rocky Mountains and is close to many ski areas
The largest new development is The Village at Spruce Hill, which broke ground in 2023.
It consists of 14 single-family homes priced between $545,000 and $650,000.
According to Realtor.com, five have been sold since the beginning of the year and one is under contract.
“This is a city where we see a lot of growth potential,” said developer Zak Richardson.
“It’s full of successful businesses, people who are proud of their city and its history, and picturesque views of the Rockies.”
Beyond its TV history, Fairplay has also retained its Western charm and is home to an open-air museum that recreates a 19th century gold mining town.
In a recent YouTube videoSotheby’s agent Anthony Sole took viewers on a tour of the city.
Fairplay offers views of the Rockies and world-class fly fishing (photo: Brooke Bodin, assistant manager of the Hand Hotel at Fairplay, below ‘Maynard’ the moose
The driving force behind the boom is the city’s proximity to wealthy Summit County, but much more affordable housing prices
The town has retained much of its western charm (photo: herding longhorn cattle at Fairplay)
Although the average home listing in Fairplay is more expensive than the national average, it is “a leader in affordability in the Denver metro area,” according to Realtor.com economist Joel Berner.
“At least 76 percent of sales in Park County so far in 2024 have been less than $500,000, while for the Denver metro area as a whole that is only 36.1 percent of sales,” he said.
It is a very attractive location for both builders to meet demand for new construction and for buyers looking for affordable housing with access to the city of Denver and nearby outdoor recreation, he said.
New resident Lauren Richards moved to the city from nearby Silverthorne in April, purchasing a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home for $530,000.
She moved from nearby Silverthorne, where she says homeowners’ association fees are “insane,” adding that many of her friends are following suit.
“An HOA fee in Summit is what I pay for my mortgage,” she said.