| What's New | Recent News & Stories from Ski Resort Markets | |
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| July 02, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Communities and New Developments | | Interest in an airport to serve jets sharp in Sun Valley | The Sun Valley ski resort does have an airport nearby -- in Hailey, Idaho. However, the airport does not serve jets. Bruce Willis wants to remedy that problem by building an airport in the area that could possibly serve 150 monthly jet take offs. Summit Daily reports on the debate swirling around adding another airport to the Sun Valley ski resort area:
Meanwhile, squabbling continues about whether the Ketchum and Sun
Valley resort area needs a new airport. The existing airport is located
at Hailey, about 20 miles down-valley from the resort community. Larger
jets cannot use the airport safely, however, and expansion seems
impossible owing to nearby residential development.
Instead,
local officials have been looking to build another airport - one in the
general vicinity of Willis's proposed airport. Freed of geographical
constraints and other development, such an airport could perhaps allow
Sun Valley and Ketchum the sort of air portal enjoyed by Vail,
Steamboat and other destination resorts.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether Bruce Willis will get his airport.
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| July 02, 2009
Excerpt from: Buying and Owning a Second Home | | Loan to value ratio now acceptable at 125% | Not too long ago, a new program to help homeowners refinance was introduced. Making Home Affordable offered incentives to borrowers and mortgage lenders to help them refinance their homes to lower interest rates -- resulting in lower payments.
Originally, the idea was to allow those with a loan to value ratio of up to 105% to be able to refinance under this program. This allowed those whose home values dropped significantly to refinance -- even though they owed more than the home was worth.
The program has been expanded in response to its limited success. Instead of 105%, the program will now allow homeowners to refinance if they have up to 125% for a loan to value ratio. If your ski resort home has dropped in value, it might be worth it to see whether you can take care of the new rules offered by this program. It could save you a great deal over the long haul.
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| July 01, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Communities and New Developments | | New center to provide one stop for enrollment in a number of skiing classes | Revelstoke ski resort is well known for its extreme sports. Revelstoke, a British Columbia ski resort, offers heli skiing, snowcat skiing and the largest lift-served vertical in North America. Adventurous skiers have flocked to Revelstoke ski resort since it first opened in 2006 (this year will be its third ski season).
Now, the ski resort is adding the Revelstoke Outdoors Centre in order to better serve extreme skiers looking for adventure. Fast Track Ski offers this information on the new center:
Located at the foot of the Revelation Gondola in the resort’s new
Nelsen Lodge development, ROC will be provide mountain education,
awareness and performance programs. It will also be the place where
Snow School, Cat Skiing, Heli Skiing, Backcountry/Slackcountry Touring
and Avalanche Awareness Courses can all be booked through the one
location.
It will also be possible to rent a wide range of ski gear from the center.
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| July 01, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Resort Market Trends and Statistics | | Housing market news remains mixed | Today, the National Association of Realtors announced that pending home sales increased in May. This increase in homes that were under contract is encouraging for many. MarketWatch reports on the new data:
The pending home sales index rose 0.1% in May after an upwardly revised
gain of 7.1% in April, the National Association of Realtors said. The
index is 6.7% above May 2008.
"Strong activity by entry level buyers is helping to absorb inventory
and allow some existing owners to make a trade," said Lawrence Yun,
NAR's chief economist, in a statement.
He added that existing-home sales should trend up through the end of the year.
This news comes just days after a report that new home sales have decreased. New homes are those that are new-built. Existing homes are those that already have owners. Existing homes are more desirable right now, since they are often priced lower than new homes. Those with current owners are often more willing to negotiate on price. Additionally, foreclosures and other distressed homes are also considered existing homes, and the sales on those have increased due to bargain hunting.
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| June 30, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Resort Newsroom | | Economy caught in a vicious cycle |
Last week, the numbers showing that new home sales decreased in May came out. This has been followed up by some less than desirable housing market data. On top of that unemployment continues to inch toward 10%. These issues are weighing on consumer confidence. Today's reading showed the consumer confidence index sitting below 50, which shows that consumers are still concerned about the economy.
This represents a bit of a vicious cycle for the recession. Consumers need to have the confidence to start spending money again, but they won't have the confidence until unemployment starts to improve and the housing market picks up. But unemployment can't improve until consumers start spending and creating a need for jobs. Likewise, the housing market won't pick up until consumers feel good about buying a home.
If you are looking to buy ski resort real estate, now is a good time to do it. With the housing market struggling, prices are lower and it is possible to find some good deals.
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| June 29, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Resort Newsroom | | Remember to pay your mortgage first | Things are getting somewhat depressing in the world of credit cards and personal finance. Many Chase credit card account holders (especially those with low interest rates) are finding that their minimum payments have been increased. This is because Chase is adjusting how it figures minimum payments on credit card accounts. Instead of charging 2% of the balance as a minimum, Chase is now charging 5% of the balance. This means that some customers will have to pay $200 or $300 or more per month as a minimum.
This move represents Chase's move to
- Encourage higher payments (and faster payoffs) to limit risk.
- Force those with lower interest rates to agree to higher rates by offering them the chance to keep lower minimums.
- Make more money and change terms at will before February 2010, when new credit card regulations take place.
However, even if this means a financial hardship for you, it is important to remember the cardinal rule of repaying debt: Make payments on secured debt first. If you cannot afford your mortgage payment and your new credit card minimum, pay the mortgage first. Then you can worry about unsecured debt like credit cards.
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| June 25, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski-In Ski-Out Properties | | Quay West Resort and Spa Falls Creek opens to acclaim | While summer may be underway in North America and Europe, ski season is in full swing in Australia. And one of the latest additions to ski-in ski-out property in Australia is located in Falls Creek, which is just about two hours from the Albury Airport. (Transportation is available and provided by the ski resort.)
Quay West Resort and Spa Falls Creek is a ski resort centered around a ski-in ski-out lifestyle, reports Spice News:
Quay West Resort and Spa Falls Creek has two purpose-built function
rooms with mountain views that cater for up to 120 people in theatre
style, while dinners and events can also be held in ALTA Restaurant and
next door at tomdickandharry’s après-ski bar.
It's outside-centric design makes it ideal for enthusiasts of ski-in ski-out. Additionally, the amenities nearby make it the very image of a luxury ski resort that is likely to be quite popular down under.
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| June 24, 2009
Excerpt from: Ski Resort Market Trends and Statistics | | Unexpected home sales data today | The housing market hit an unexpected snag today as the latest new home sales data was released. Even though pending home sales and existing home sales have been showing some improvement, new home sales continue to struggle.
In May, it appears as though new home sales have dropped. This comes as some optimism regarding the housing market has been showing. However, what this new data shows is that builders can't compete with the low prices seen with regard to foreclosures and other existing homes.
This news probably holds true in terms of ski resort markets as well. New homes built in a ski resort are likely to be expensive. However, current home owners are more likely to offer deals on ski resort homes. However, it you look carefully enough, there are some builders who are offering special incentives and financing.
Before deciding to go with new built or existing, it is a good idea to consider your options, and compare the bargains available. If you are careful, now can be a great time to buy a home.
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| June 23, 2009
Excerpt from: Luxury Ski Resort Real Estate | | Luxury ski resort homes falling in price | With the housing market unlikely to return to normal until 2012, it means that you have the chance to buy some ski resort luxury real estate for a fraction of what it cost a few years ago. However, it is important to realize that, even if the housing market doesn't stabilize for a couple years, things could start looking up -- and a bottom could be reached well before things stabilize.
Luxury ski resort homes were behind in seeing reductions in values and prices, but now things have reached a turning point for ski resort property. Home owners are becoming increasingly impatient with selling, and some are even looking to real estate auctions in order to liquidate some luxury ski property. If you are in a position to buy, it is important to consider that there will be few opportunities like this in the future.
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| June 22, 2009
Excerpt from: Buying and Owning a Second Home | | Making sure that you can take a tax deduction on your second home | Right now is a reasonably good time to buy a second home to use for your ski vacation property. You can also use it as a rental property, making some money by letting others use it (and charging them) when you are not using the property.
The good news is that you can use your ski vacation rental property to get tax deductions. However, there are some caveats. MainStreet.com describes some of the considerations if you want to take a tax deduction on your ski vacation rental property:
Interest and tax payments on a second home would be deductible on
your federal return. If you rent the property out, maintenance,
advertising and other outlays can be deducted as business expenses.
But to get all the business deductions, you have to limit your own
use of the property, generally to 14 days or less. It’s a complicated
matter, described in IRS Publication 527.
If you use the property yourself, for example, a loss caused by rental
expenses exceeding income cannot be used to offset other types of
income, such as profits in the stock market. As you can see, you would get a tax deduction for the interest and tax payments on your second home, regardless of how often you use it. If you want more deductions, you will have to treat them as business expenses, and that's when the restrictions really start piling on. It is a good idea to carefully consider your options before you commit to buying a ski vacation rental property. Understand what is really at stake, and make sure you know what will ultimately be deductible on your taxes.
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