Whistler Resort Real Estate Blog

Mathew White of the Real Estate Channel interviewed me recently. The interview covers all aspects of of the local Whistler market, including the possible Olympic effect on Whistler Resort Real Estate values.

Its been quite a while since a posted to my blog, as way of starting up again I was wondering how to start over. I thought that the post should be fun.

That’s when it occurred to me that sales people always have their ‘patter’. Part of mine has always been to tell people that sales of Whistler real estate tracks the snowfall. Everyone nods in agreement, never been questioned, and on we go.

Winter is over, so I decided that I would test my patter and see how close sales do track snowfall.

Here are the results:

The small print. Five winters of Whistler real estate sales data, the ‘dollars’ are in millions, the ’snowfall’ in decimeters (10s of cms)

I’m not a statistician but that tracking looks close enough to me to me.

I guess that I can continue to use that line!

The new summer schedule for road closures has just been released. Couldn’t come quick enough for those of us ‘caught’ during the spring. Except for possible total closures in the very early morning hours during the week, the Highways Department is telling travelers to allow for 45 minutes maximum delay from West Vancouver to Whistler. This is outside of prime commute times, during the prime commute hours delays are minimal.

Confused? Then check the following web site Sea to Sky Highway Improvement , look for Closures and Delays Schedule.

The Sea to Sky Highway Improvement office has an informative newletter .

Whistler Blackcomb have just passed the 2 million skier visits for the season. It sure feels like it in the Whistler Real Estate market too. In the first quarter this year sales are up around 30% over the first quarter last year. Real estate sales seem to move in lock step with our visits. We have had a couple of ‘interesting’ years of snow, and real estate sales, but when it came back so did the visitors and buyers.

This years snow stats:

1,373 cm (541” or more than 45 ft) of snowfall since November 1. The total average annual snowfall for Whistler Blackcomb is on average 1,000 cm (396” or 33 feet) per year. It still falling too! 63cm (25″) in the last 7 days.

Whistler Blackcomb has finally announced the go ahead for the new Peak to Peak gondola.

After several years of planning, discussion and a small controversy over a municipality tax rebate, its a go. Construction starts next month, with a projected completion in December 2008. The lift will have several world records, span and height.

From the press release:

With 28 sky cabins each holding up to 28 people, total capacity will be 4,100 passengers per hour. The Peak to Peak terminal on Whistler Mountain will be located next to the Roundhouse Lodge and easily accessed from the valley by the Village Gondola. On Blackcomb Mountain the Peak to Peak terminal will be located next to the Rendezvous Lodge and accessed from the valley via the Wizard Express and Solar Coaster Express.

Construction will commence in May 2007, with the lift being manufactured and installed by the Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group (Doppelmayr) of Austria. The Doppelmayr 3S tri-cable gondola will span 4.4 kilometres (2.73 miles) in total distance from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain with the world’s longest unsupported (free) span of 3.024 kilometres (1.88 miles) between the two towers furthest apart. The highest vertical point is over Fitzsimmons Creek at 415 metres (1,361 feet) - the world’s greatest distance above a valley floor.

There is a great website giving further information Peak to Peak Gondola

For powder hounds this is great news. Blackcomb typically gets its some of its great powder runs opened quicker after a snow fall than Whistler. (Spanky’s Ladder for one). So now its feasible to get first tracks on Blackcomb and make it over to get first tracks as Whistler’s high alpine opens!

As a community we will now be able to really go after day trippers. A market we have not catered to well at all. I was doing consulting on Salt Spring Island several years ago, taking the 9:00am ferry from the Mainland to Vancouver Island. It annoyed me no end to see all the buses heading to Victoria, no matter what day of the week, or time of year. The whole lower ferry deck was almost full of buses! Yet we get minimal day business. Now this will be a trip to end all trips. Rumor has it that several cabins will have see-through floors just to add to the adventure. This will enable us to go after the day business aggressively.

What will be the effect on Whistler real estate? Aside from maintaining a competitive position in the North American ski market, which does help drive real estate values (we will shortly lose the highest lift serviced vertical to Mt Mackenzie, Revelstoke), probably not much. Except for Creekside. Now home owners in Creekside will have a lot faster access to Blackcomb. Previously one either had to take the Creekside Gondola up & ski down to the Village, then up Blackcomb, or take a bus to the village. Now up the Gondola, up Red, and across the Peak to Peak to Blackcomb. This should reduce the value gap between Creekside and the Village and Benchland properties.