Even if your single, come skiing this spring and meet someone special. 

The Ski Channel gives there picks for the top ten ski towns and resorts for singles.

Take a look below and enjoy the snow!

For the last ten years, the Olympic Effect on real estate has been jawed about amongst Realtors, researchers and statisticians.  They have studied previous Olympics for trends in cities following Olympic venues.  Most of the research has concentrated on bigger cities like Vancouver, Salt Lake, Atlanta, or Chicago... and most conclusions seem to be that there is little or no effect on real estate values long term.

However, for the small towns of Park City and Whistler and for that matter, all the ski villages and winter vacation destinations in North America, it doesn't take research to realize the Winter Olympics have had a very positive effect on mountain real estate values and the ski real estate industry as a whole.

Over the past two decades, the Winter Olympics have done a great job capturing the hearts of the younger generation by including a myriad of snowboard events, enhancing the alpine ski race disciplines and introducing other new snow and ice venues.  This can be witnessed especially in the United States where the Western mountain towns are pumping out young Olympic podium athletes at a fierce rate.

In addition, the expanded television (especially this year) and live Internet coverage of the games has allowed more and more people to experience the events.  The opening of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics was the most watched event on television ever. 

This continues to introduce new folks to outdoor snow and ice activities.  Having lived near Vail, Colorado for over twenty years, only recently has Twitter made me realize how many people are not familiar with snow sports.  ...one funny tweet I saw this month, "Cool, skiing and shooting!" speaking of the Biathlon.  As more people get familiar with mountains and snow and all we have to offer in the Mountains, the more people are going to like it.

The purchase of ski vacation property or a second home in the high country is largely a lifestyle decision and the winter games is one of the best experience catalyst the ski resort real estate industry could ever hope to find.   

In fact, Whistler Blackcomb and other ski resort market real estate appreciation over the last ten years has been so good, that it could be, in part, because of the Winter Olympics.

As the closing ceremonies this coming week draw an end the 2010 Winter Olympics, we will see if there is a renewed interest in ski resort properties despite the current economic conditions and see how many correlate ski towns with Olympic sports as they visit.  If so, Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller have done a great deal to help.  Thanks guys and congratulations from Ski Resort Markets everywhere; you should be very proud!

The Powder Ridge ski resort in Middlefield, Connecticut, has been closed for years. However, in order to help revive the area, the state is giving Middlefield a grant. The Hartford Courant reports on the windfall for the town:

The money, which will pay for utility upgrades, will help the developer of the 250-acre site build a facility that will create 25 full-time and 200 seasonal jobs, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. She made the announcement at a news conference at the resort site this morning.

The hope is that the ski resort can be re-opened as a recreation area that works year round, providing jobs and offering a lure for tourism dollars.