Big White Ski Resort’s real estate market is booming, and in the 2016/2017 season more listings were sold and more development took place than in the previous ten years combined, says a mountain real estate agent.
Big White’s last real estate boom took place between 2003-2006, when large accommodation projects such as Stonebridge, Aspens, Copper Kettle, and various units in Happy Valley were built to meet the demands of international buyers who desired a vacation home on the ski-in/ski-out slopes of Big White Ski Resort.
There were 128 unit sales in 2006/2007 with a total value of $41, 612, 356 and in the years that followed the numbers dropped dramatically. In the 2008/2009 sale period, only 53 units were sold with a total value of $12,275,575, according ot the Okanagan Mainland Real Estate Board.
Now sales are better than ever with 186 units being sold at a value of $48,724,070.
“Big White represents amazing value,” said Gary Turner, a real estate agent for Royal LePage, in a press release. “You can’t buy ski property in Europe, Americans love the exchange rate, and Australians love the snow.”
When the recession hit in February 2009, the demand for recreational property dropped, new development was put on hold, and there was more inventory than there were buyers. In recent years, however, there has been an exciting renewal of property buyers.
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“Renters from abroad are becoming buyers now, empty-nest baby boomers love the terrain Big White has to offer them and their grandchildren, and both groups believe investing in lifestyle and family always makes sense,” said Turner.
The demand at Big White for family-friendly, winter vacation homes is back and the opportunity to capitalize on new developments is evident from the many projects that regained momentum this summer, such as Stonegate Phase 3.
Other building developments that have commenced construction at Big White this summer include single-family mountain homes, individual family homes, townhouses, duplexes and a new neighbourhood of affordable ski-in/ski-out cabins.
“Having been in the alpine resort business for most of my adult career I have seen and experienced first-hand the wave of real estate ups and downs at beautiful Big White Ski Resort,” said Michael J. Ballingall, Senior Vice President of Big White Ski Resort, in the press release.
“Well, today and for the foreseeable future, Big White is on an upswing – time to jump in. As my good friend has said in the past, ‘If you’re going to sleep on it, you’re not going to sleep in it’.”
Now open for the summer season, Big White’s annual visitor numbers have increased significantly, and resort executives only expect them to grow more following the opening of its brand new downhill mountain bike park – Bike Big White.
