Ski Resort Real Estate Coming Down, Is It Time To Buy?

When I read about how an Aspens one bedroom condo in Jackson Hole was now in the $300,000 range I really took a double take. Ok, so this might not sound like a bargain for a 1970’s condo, but these units were scarce and selling for over $500,000 less than two years ago. Is it time to buy?

Ski resort real estate has been in the news lately. Say goodbye to the ski resort real estate economies they say, at least for now. Here is a column I just read in Pique Whistler’s newsmagazine about Whistler and ski resort economies.

As far as Jackson Hole, two recent articles discuss the current state of real estate in the valley. Sales fall far from peak starts …

Real estate sales in 2009 have dropped 85 percent when compared with their peak in 2007, according to data released Monday in a quarterly report.

For the first six months of 2009, the market study also found that available inventory has increased 123 percent from two years ago. Prices for homes that have sold are near 2004-05 levels, it found.

Jackson Hole News and Guide, Dose of reality shares interview with Jackson Hole Real Estate veterans, Bob Graham and Bland Hoke.

I remember when my (very smart) friend bought a condo in ‘99 (or ‘maybe 98) in the Aspens, right off the Village Road close to the resort, a one bedroom, one bath, for about $104,000. They had been hovering in that arena for years and then suddenly (when I started to look) they began to climb upwards and never stopped … until now. Now these condos are actually down 40%!

After what I witnessed in the Jackson market throughout the past twelve or so years, I would seriously consider getting in at these prices if I was in the market to buy (and could afford to do so). Prices are down in many of the resort areas. If you have or were to get a steady job in one of these ski towns where the market has softened, what do you think, is it time to buy?