Nearly 50% of condos sold in the first half of 2011 were bank owned properties (REO's), or short sale listings, reflecting a continuation of the bargain shopping evident in the first quarter of 2011.
The median sold price for condos eased to $245,000 from $313,000 for the same period last year, while sales slid to 141 units from last year's 158 a possible reflection on Mammoth's record setting winter. Listing inventories remain subdued at just 226 condos including 13 Westin Monache suites being auctioned by the developer, Intrawest.
The weather was also a likely factor in lower sales figures for homes. Just 31 units sold in the first half of 2011 down from 40 homes sold in last year's first half.. The median price of a home sold in the first half of 2011 moderated to $680,000 from 2010's median of $723,250. REO's and short sales comprised just 26% of the sold market compared with 42.5% for the same period last year. Of the 68 active home listings at the end of the 1st half, 8 were short sales or REO's.
Continued weakness in the housing markets has produced pessimism to rival the euphoria that propelled housing to record heights in 2006. In such a climate it's easy to forget that markets are cyclical. Only the timing is uncertain. Warren Buffet in a recent Bloomberg interview predicted a strong recovery in housing in the next two to three years. Indeed, home builders are projected to build over 700,000 new units this year, below historic levels yet higher than the approximately 500,000 homes constructed a year ago.
"Be bold when others are fearful," has been a guiding investment philosophy for the Oracle of Omaha. Good advice too for anyone contemplating the bargain pricies of Mammoth real estate.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS REVEAL BARGAIN SHOPPERS
Prices continued to moderate in the first quarter of 2011. The median price for a sold condo for the period was $222,500 off 14% from the previous quarter and down 23% from the first quarter of 2010.
78 condos changed hands compared with 87 a year ago and the 141 condos sold in the final quarter of 2010. Bank owned (REO) and short sale listings made up nearly 50% of all condo closings in the first quarter of this year, an increase of slightly less than 10% from the year ago period.
Home sales totaled 11 in the first quarter of 2011, down from 17 sold in the same quarter last year. The median price of a sold home was $765,000, just $5000 off 2010's first quarter median but up sharply from the $649,000 median price of homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Only 2 homes transacted in this year's first quarter belonged to banks or were sold short compared with 40% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 and 58% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile price pressure is not coming from an oversupply as listing inventories remain fairly stable. There are 50 homes currently on the market and 203 condos, including 17 bank owned and 27 short sale listings. Rather, price pressure is coming from the distressed sector—REO's and short sales.
78 condos changed hands compared with 87 a year ago and the 141 condos sold in the final quarter of 2010. Bank owned (REO) and short sale listings made up nearly 50% of all condo closings in the first quarter of this year, an increase of slightly less than 10% from the year ago period.
Home sales totaled 11 in the first quarter of 2011, down from 17 sold in the same quarter last year. The median price of a sold home was $765,000, just $5000 off 2010's first quarter median but up sharply from the $649,000 median price of homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Only 2 homes transacted in this year's first quarter belonged to banks or were sold short compared with 40% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 and 58% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile price pressure is not coming from an oversupply as listing inventories remain fairly stable. There are 50 homes currently on the market and 203 condos, including 17 bank owned and 27 short sale listings. Rather, price pressure is coming from the distressed sector—REO's and short sales.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
APRIL SNOWFALL NUDGES MAMMOTH TOTALS HIGHER
A cold April storm dropped another 18 inches of snow on Mammoth Mountain last week pushing this season's already record setting snowfall further into unseen territory. As of April 12, the Mountain was reporting 624 total inches of snow for the season and has already announced the lifts will keep running until July 4th. Plan on a ski-bike-golf triathlon sometime in June.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN BREAKS 600 INCHES!
This morning Mammoth Mountain Ski Area reported a season's snowfall total of 606 inches--50 and a half feet--two feet more than the previous record set in 2005-2006. And it's only March.
Still the sun came out yesterday, the streets are clear and ski patrol is working hard on opening up the whole mountain. The forecast is for warmer temperatures, clear skies and epic skiing.
Still the sun came out yesterday, the streets are clear and ski patrol is working hard on opening up the whole mountain. The forecast is for warmer temperatures, clear skies and epic skiing.
Friday, March 25, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL RECORD SHATTERED. 600" THIS WEEKEND!
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| One Mammoth Neighborhood |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN APPROACHES RECORD SNOWFALL
You could be here when it happens. If you hurry. "Yeah, I was in Mammoth," you'll be able to tell your grand kids. "I was in Mammoth when the Mountain topped 50 feet of snow."
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
MAMMOTH LAKES: THE BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE?
The skier bridge over Forest Trail has finally been completed. Here's the back story:
In the early 1990's a group of Mammoth landowners hatched a plan to redevelop the fading commercial district centered at Canyon and Minaret Roads. They dubbed this 64 acre expanse the North Village. What these pioneers envisioned was a new town center to replace the incoherent hodge podge of strip malls, isolated shops, gas stations and solitary businesses that had sprung up, without real planning or attention to theme, to become the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
When Intrawest, fresh from triumphs at the Whistler/Blacomb and Tremblant ski resorts in Canada, purchased 33% of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1996 they acquired the Mountain's real estate interests as well, including 14 key acres in the heart of the proposed North Village. The Canadian company quickly began drawing plans.
Their proposal created excitement. Not only did Intrawest have the clout to pull off a project the size of the North Village that might transform Mammoth's identity, they seemed to have the vision as well.
Full color glossy marketing material from 2002 show condo/hotels--White Mountain Lodge, Lincoln House, and Grand Sierra Lodge--assembled around a lively gondola plaza and bustling pedestrian promenade. At the end of the promenade a bridge spans Forest Trail, connecting the Village to a ski back trail winding through the nearby woods.
After nearly a decade it's finally here. The bridge opened on February 11th in a ribbon cutting ceremony dampened by weather, diminished expectations, escalating gasoline prices and a $30 million dollar judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Still you can now ski from Hanzel and Gretel right into The Village for a midday sandwich or Kioki coffee. So wax em up, you'll feel better after lunch.
In the early 1990's a group of Mammoth landowners hatched a plan to redevelop the fading commercial district centered at Canyon and Minaret Roads. They dubbed this 64 acre expanse the North Village. What these pioneers envisioned was a new town center to replace the incoherent hodge podge of strip malls, isolated shops, gas stations and solitary businesses that had sprung up, without real planning or attention to theme, to become the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
Their proposal created excitement. Not only did Intrawest have the clout to pull off a project the size of the North Village that might transform Mammoth's identity, they seemed to have the vision as well.
Full color glossy marketing material from 2002 show condo/hotels--White Mountain Lodge, Lincoln House, and Grand Sierra Lodge--assembled around a lively gondola plaza and bustling pedestrian promenade. At the end of the promenade a bridge spans Forest Trail, connecting the Village to a ski back trail winding through the nearby woods.
After nearly a decade it's finally here. The bridge opened on February 11th in a ribbon cutting ceremony dampened by weather, diminished expectations, escalating gasoline prices and a $30 million dollar judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Still you can now ski from Hanzel and Gretel right into The Village for a midday sandwich or Kioki coffee. So wax em up, you'll feel better after lunch.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN: FEBRUARY STORM DROPS 5-7 FEET
After a record snowfall in December and a nearly dry January, a four day storm system arrived February 16th and dumped 5 to 7 feet of dry snow on Mammoth Mountain's slopes setting up an epic President's Day weekend.
Many locals were calling the powder skiing some of best they'd ever seen. "It was thigh to waist deep in the Avi Chutes," local resident and powder hound Jon Lonne told the Flash about his Friday morning outing. "The only reason I quit was that my legs were shot."
Before the season weather prognosticators had warned that a large La Nina cold water mass in the Pacific could produce extremes of both wet and dry this year and so far they've been proved right. December's record 209 inches was followed by a mere dusting of 29 inches of snowfall in January.
The latest storm brings the season snowfall total up to a comfortable 394 inches, nearly 50 inches above the 40 year annual average and just 20 inches below the average for the past 10 years. More snow is expected by the weekend.
Many locals were calling the powder skiing some of best they'd ever seen. "It was thigh to waist deep in the Avi Chutes," local resident and powder hound Jon Lonne told the Flash about his Friday morning outing. "The only reason I quit was that my legs were shot."
Before the season weather prognosticators had warned that a large La Nina cold water mass in the Pacific could produce extremes of both wet and dry this year and so far they've been proved right. December's record 209 inches was followed by a mere dusting of 29 inches of snowfall in January.
The latest storm brings the season snowfall total up to a comfortable 394 inches, nearly 50 inches above the 40 year annual average and just 20 inches below the average for the past 10 years. More snow is expected by the weekend.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SKI AREA PLANS EAGLE BASE LODGE
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area hopes to begin constructing the long delayed base facility at Eagle Express (chair 15) in early 2012 according to MMSA director of planning and development, Tom Hodges.
The ski area is soliciting architectural treatments for a 40,000 square foot lodge that will replace the two temporary Little Eagle "tents" of just 15,000 square feet the Mountain has operated out of for nearly a decade.
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| Little Eagle 'Tents' and Eagle Express Chair |
Although MMSA has another 4 1/2 years of authority to use the temporary structures, Hodges said that visitors, who have made Eagle Run as popular as the Main Lodge in recent years, "deserve better."
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