Summer is here! Mammoth Lakes Real Estate Market Conditions

Once again, summer is upon us in beautiful Mammoth Lakes!  This is my favorite time of the year, especially after such a long, cold and snowy winter, which lasted through May.  With the warmer temperatures (and even warmer weather on the way), the snow pack is finally beginning to melt.  The streams and creeks are overflowing, and areas like the Snowcreek Meadow Preserve are partially under water, including parts of the Snowcreek golf course.  This will make for a very green and lush landscape in the next couple of months.  Although we all love a good ski/board season, it does make for a very short summer.  Typically, the weather really begins to cool off end of August.  Let’s enjoy it! 

After touring Europe and the Mediterranean for the past month, I have never been so grateful to return home to Mammoth.  This place is paradise…  Although the Mediterranean is stunning, Europe has gotten so crowded since the last time I was there over 20 years ago, which made it hard to appreciate the beauty.  Spring is a popular time to visit Europe, but not yet “high season”.  I couldn’t even imagine what the crowds must be like heading into July and August.  Every place was so crowded that it took away from the experience of being there.  Having visited so many places it was wonderful to return to the peace, serenity, and beauty of a lush and green Mammoth.  No wonder Mammoth is becoming such a popular destination for year-round visitors.  All four seasons in the high Sierras have something wonderful to offer, along with a definite change in climate and scenery from one season to the next.  I’ve worked with many buyers who have said they wanted to own something in Mammoth because they would get a chance to “experience the change in seasons, and the change in scenery” that they don’t have a chance to experience at sea level.  The more you come to Mammoth, the more time you want to spend here throughout the year to experience the change in seasons from spring to summer to fall to winter.  Each change of season brings a picturesque change in scenery and a variety of recreational opportunities to take advantage of.  Apart from skiing, boarding, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing in the winter months, the summer offers endless mountain-biking trails both on and off the Mountain, an abundance of road cycling with little or no traffic,  fishing, golf (both golf courses are now open and in full operation), hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, rock climbing, and just about any sport you can think of. 

So, what is the real estate market doing here in Mammoth?  Prices are going up.  Although this winter was unusually quiet considering the amount of snow we received, spring was very busy in real estate.  Seems that perhaps the combination of the Ikon Pass and marketing by Alterra to put Mammoth on the radar, along with a huge winter, created heightened interest in owning a piece of this paradise.  However, we haven’t reached our historical peak of the market property values of late 2006/early 2007. We are getting closer, and this depends on location, upgrades, views, light, etc.  Those properties that are either close to or at the ski slopes, golf courses, meadow or VILLAGE are in high-demand and prices have noticeably increased within these resort areas of Mammoth for both condos and homes.  Taking a good look at one particular area that has been in high demand, The Village at Mammoth, property values continue to increase year over year.    

The chart below shows all sales in the actual three buildings of the Village at Mammoth (White Mountain Lodge, Grand Sierra Lodge and Lincoln House) that closed between June 1, 2006 and March 1, 2007, peak of the market to the beginning of the decline in property values:

The chart below shows sales for the Village at Mammoth: White Mountain Lodge, Grand Sierra Lodge and Lincoln House from August 2018 to present (June 30, 2019) for all floor plans:

In comparing where the Village prices are today vs. where they were in the peak of the market (late 2006), the average price per square foot was between $800 and $900 PSF.  Today, given recent sales data at the Village, price per square foot is averaging between $600 and $700 PSF. 

So, what drove prices so high during our historical peak of the market in late 2006?  That was the end of an era of substantial development by Intrawest.  Intrawest built several condo complexes and the development that was going on, the announcement of Starwood Capital Group acquiring the Mountain and holdings, and the improvements to the ski area had a lot of people very excited.  That’s what got the frenzy started and then the ease of access to borrowed funds did the rest.  Then the crash came.  Our values dropped approximately 60% at the lowest point in the market in 2012 and then gradually began to climb from there (incrementally).  So, although we are not yet at peak prices for the Village, prices have increased substantially in the last few years.  It would have been great to have foresight a few years back on how much property values would rebound and buy a few units at the Village. 

What makes the Village so popular to buy into is not only the convenience of being in the center of all the action, ease of access to the Mountain, shopping, dining, underground parking, resort amenities, etc., but the income that these units are generating.  The one-bedroom units are generating around $60K plus gross per year depending on the location within the Village.  The two-bedrooms are generating around $70K plus gross per year and the premium three-bedroom units (penthouse) are generating over $130,000 gross per year.  Although the Village management takes 50% right off the top to handle all aspects of the rental management, owning a unit at the Village has never penciled better for an owner who is looking to cover all of their costs and “be in the black”. 

Thanks for reading and as always, any questions regarding The Village at Mammoth Condos for Sale or any Mammoth Lakes real estate listings, feel free to contact me directly.

Verena Robinson, 01512209
Broker/Owner
Mammoth Lakes Resort Realty
(760) 924-8521 Office
verena@mammothlakesresortrealty.com