Big Sky—Big Panache

So… did you see the night sky the other evening: so clear and dark, studded with millions of stars and planets? Then watch as the full moon inched its way into the firmament reflecting so much light off of the snow that one might have been tempted to venture out for a midnight cross country ski or snow shoe outing….?

The Big Sky Snow Report described the conditions the other day in one word: “Bluebird.” Just about sums it up. March usually has plenty of those Bluebird days.

Many surprises await the visitor to Big Sky. A few surprises fall into the “whoops” pile: Roads can be icy; the snow is pretty deep; it’s a good idea to have a reservation at the Lotus Pad before you show up; tree wells and snow machines don’t mix well; ski patrol volunteers are awfully nice; the clinic at the base is larger than imagined….

Yet, most surprises fall into the “pleasant surprise” category. Top of the list is usually the awesome beauty of the Valley suddenly exposed as you head west onto the Spur Road by the Conoco with Lone Mountain majestically positioned at the far end, at dawn illuminated like a giant fiery red pinnacle and at dusk like a brooding exclamation point back-lit by the setting sun with that neat contrail wisp barely holding onto the peak. Next is usually the realization that there are no lift lines (except for the Tram on a Bluebird day, of course…), and that skiing laps here adds up to more vertical in a few hours than a week at most other ski areas.

Then, of course, there is the curiosity that some lucky folks live here, and others own property here which then leads to the question: What is the market like?

Glad you asked.

Based on MLS reports, 392 properties are for sale of the Home, Condo or Town home variety. Pricing varies from $58,000 for a studio condo at the Mountain, to a De-lux ski in ski out spread at just under $8 Million dollars. About 200 of the properties are priced at under $600,000. 100 or so of the properties are priced from $600-1,200,000 and the rest are priced at over $1,200,000, in clustered increments.

On the vacant land side, there are 184 parcels available. 150 residential parcels are priced between $100,000 and $1,500,000. 34 are priced from $1,500,000 to $20,000,000 at the very top end, including development tracts, as well as larger spectacular residential estate size pieces…some the size of small municipalities.

There were about 120 home/condo/TH sales last since January 2009 from $62,000 to $4.2 Million, and 20 vacant land sales from $170,000 to $1,200,000, likely in response to the seasonal availability of quality builders and more modest building costs, as well as the opportunity to buy that adjacent parcel for a little extra space and privacy.

And that was in a very slow year.

So, what about the real deals, you know, the “steals”?

To paraphrase Mark Twain’s comment about the erroneous report of his death: The reports of distress sales and steals, while notable, are greatly exaggerated. While most pricing across the board has adjusted downward from the recent highs, less than 2% of inventory falls into the bank owned/distressed pile: fewer than a dozen properties. Some may be fantastic opportunities, and a positive sign that the market is responding by absorbing the inventory. Take a look: http://prumt.com/property/feed/Montana/Big-Sky-Area/All-Types/nomin/nomax/pick-feed/All-Cities/All-Squarefoot/All-Acre/All-Bed/All-Bath/?subType=any&daysOnMarket=all-days

The corollary is that many buyers are finding solid opportunities and great deals on non-distressed property as adjusted pricing stokes sales, sellers have readjusted expectations and the slower volume of transactions continues to favor Buyers at the moment. Nonetheless with close to a 25% market absorption rate, the amount of quality inventory coming on the market is becoming a trickle and opportunities will have a decreasing shelf life. The clamor to spur rising pricing may not yet be a threat, but the variety and selection is dwindling.

So: ski the tram, enjoy the sun, fish in the rivers, snowmobile in Yellowstone Park, take in a Big Sky Institute lecture on Bear or Wolf or High Temperature bacteria flourishing in the hot pot and geyser basins, skin up into Beehive Basin on your Nordic skis, enjoy diner in or out with your family, but don’t dilly-dally.
There are plenty of destination resorts that offer an abundance ways for you to spend your money. Big Sky is a little different in that it also offers you so many ways to spend your time. And time is all you really have anyway.

By Eric Ossorio

Broker
Prudential Montana Real Estate
55 Lone Peak Drive Ste. 3
Big Sky MT 59716
Eric.ossorio@prumt.com
p. 406-995-4040