THIRD QUARTER MAMMOTH REAL ESTATE RESULTS NEWSLETTER

 

MAMMOTH ATTRACTS GLOBAL WARMING REFUGEES

Summer Storm Clouds Over Mammoth Mountain

• Most people don't talk much about global warming. Don't really think much about the altered texture of their lives caused by increasingly erratic weather. Bigger storms. Longer more severe droughts. Higher temperatures. With the mercury hitting triple digits across much of the state this summer Mammoth saw an influx of heat wave escapees. Temperatures in Mammoth were in the pleasant 70's and low 80's most of the summer cooling to the 40's and 50's at night. Urbanites, miserable with the prospect of rendering down hot footing it across bubbling expanses of asphalt, bolted to the mountains in droves. Our mountains.

Minaret Lake and the Minarets Before a Thunderstorm

• After all, it's almost always a grand time to be here. This year the upper reaches held snow into August and streams continue to flow even now.  Take a hike and you'll encounter vestiges of lupin, Indian paintbrush and asters scattered among the first turning leaves of fall.

The Lakes Basin at Dusk

•  In Mammoth the wilderness is just outside your door. Recently, my wife and I, pent up from hours prepping for winter, painting railings and staining decks, drove to the Emerald Lake trail head  (4 miles) and hiked/bushwhacked the TJ Lake loop trail. It was so quiet we caught ourselves whispering. 4 miles and a couple blissful hours later we were ready to get back to our chores.

One Local taking the Retaining Wall Express to Twin Lakes

•  We weren't the only ones enjoying a pleasant hike.  Critters of all kinds are preparing for winter. Fattening up and stashing food. Deer have been pruning neighborhood landscaping and squirrels are busy caching pine cones in forgettable hideouts.

Bright Dot Lake and Mount Baldwin

The Meadow Above Mildred Lake

Convict Canyon

2018 FIRST QUARTER SALES

The the strong Mammoth Lakes real estate market of 2017 continued through the first quarter of 2018 with a nearly 10% jump in the number of condo units sold over the first quarter of last year. The median price of sold condos surged ahead 17% to $380,000. While the total value of condos sold in the first quarter spiked by 28% to nearly 38 million dollars.  Condo listing inventories over the last 18 months have been constrained, hovering near historic lows.

Home sales volume was nearly unchanged from the first quarter of 2017. 17 homes changed hands this first quarter compared to last year's 19. But, the median price bounced up to $850,000, a 21% increase over last year's $700,000 median.  The small number of homes listed for sale during 2017 and into 2018 confounded many home buyers limiting the number of transactions. We see inventories of available condos and homes increasing into the summer.