Greetings from Snowshoe Mountain Homes, your on-mountain real estate office!
We are delighted to announce an addition to our staff of real estate professionals. Rachel Fanning was born and raised in this area and comes to us with a degree in Anthropology from Kenyon College, several years of business experience, three years of real estate experience, and an intimate knowledge of Snowshoe and its surrounds. Our other team members include Scott Millican, who grew up here and has several years of real estate experience with Intrawest Snowshoe Development and Snowshoe Mountain Homes. Kevin Wingfield has been on the mountain 12 years and spends most of his time in Property Management, and hence has invaluable product knowledge. Pam Turner is our Sales Operations Manager, with many years here on the mountain, and I have 30 years of experience in all facets of planned community development, sales and operations, here and abroad.
The economy and general real estate market over the last few years has created a near-perfect environment for buying property here on the mountain, and an increasing number of buyers are responding, causing us to see some signs of our market bottoming out and recovering.
Real estate inventory on the mountain has shrunk in the last couple years from over 300 to a more normal, yet still ample selection of 263 units as of this writing. Unit sales on the mountain increased this past year over the prior year from 70 to 82.
The pricing restructuring which continued unabated the last three to four years is beginning to sputter. The average price per sold property was essentially flat as compared to the prior year, and while some properties are still declining in value, we have seen instances where the last unit type in a particular complex went for a higher price than the previous one, or two, or three. At least for the near term, buyers will continue to go for foreclosures, short sales and regular distress sales, averaging fifty cents on the dollar off their peaks. The other properties that are selling are more unique properties, such as townhomes and single family homes, at generally more like 20% or 30% off their highs.
While still challenging, we are seeing more success than previously in securing financing for home purchases here, and are relying more on local and regional lenders familiar with our resort. Mortgage rates continue to set new record lows, which is great when you can get them. We are still seeing a substantial proportion of cash sales, and some seller financing.
Now is a great time to buy:
- Ample inventory
- Pricing at levels not seen in 5-10 years
- Mortgage rates at historical lows
- Continued signs the economy is recovering
- Prices in some markets are recovering
- Existing home sales are beginning to rise
- It is a great time to move up, since what you might sacrifice on the sale of the smaller property you would more than save on the larger property
We are bullish on the prospects for real estate here at Snowshoe:
- Years of affluent baby boomers will continue coming into the market
- The economy is recovering
- We are a few hours drive from major, recession-resistant markets
- The ability to drive here fits the new economy-minded culture
- Pocahontas County is gaining recognition as a destination
- Snowshoe Mountain Resort is gaining recognition as a destination
Helpful Hint: When you get your property tax bill, check to be sure your tax class is correct. Rental properties are Class 3 and have a tax rate of about 1.3% of assessed value. If you do not rent your property, your property should be rated Class 2, for which the tax rate is lower at just about .7% of assessed value.
Open House: We are spearheading a mountain-wide open house and have invited all local real estate companies to participate. It will be held on Saturday, August 18, 2012. That is the weekend of Food, Wine & Jazz and Homeowner Weekend. We expect about 20 properties to be open for viewing. Please come and see us!
We hope this has been helpful to you.
Please come by our office right in the Village by the big blue chair and let us assist you with the purchase or sale of property here at Snowshoe.
Bob Elwood, Broker – Snowshoe Mountain Homes
888-489-1943
www.snowshoemountainhomes.com
