Big White Real Estate Report: Q2 2022 Update
This year the snow just kept on coming even after the lifts closed. We probably could have skied until mid May. After a cool, wet Spring, it’s exciting to welcome the Summer season, even if we have to wait another week since it has been pushed back to July 7th because there is just too much snow on the mountain. This Summer season will mark the return of several events, and of course the Big White Bike Park is open Thursday through Sunday until after the Labour Day weekend.
The Big White real estate market continued to be quite hot for the beginning of the quarter but the typical off-season lull arrived in May along with the impacts of Bank of Canada rate increases. There were a total of only 34 Big White vacation properties sold in the second quarter of 2022. While this equates to a 42.4% drop in transaction numbers from last year it was still the 2nd busiest Q2 in the past decade! Sales included 8 townhouses, 24 ski condos, and 2 building lots.
Big White Sales Numbers and Values
It would appear that after a wild couple years of untraditional market behaviour the Big White real estate market may be back to its usual cycles. Along with reduced activity in the market we also saw the average sale price come down, but only ever so slightly from Q1. That figure is now at CDN $621,494 which remains exceptionally elevated from the Big White average sale price of CDN $506,885 recorded in Q2-2021; that’s a 22.6% rise. Total sales in dollar volume was down to a total of CDN $21.1 million compared to the CDN $29.9 million for Q2-2021. Overall Big White property values have definitely seen very strong appreciation over the past 12 months.
Looking a little more closely at these numbers we see that of the 24 condo residences sold at Big White in Q2. The lowest priced condo sold for just $125,000 and the highest priced condo sold for CDN $1,390,000. The average sale price for Big White condos was CDN $555,458. This represents a massive 36.4% appreciation from Q2-2021 when it was just CDN $407,174! This quarter’s average condo sale price was even higher than last! If you want to get a more accurate idea of what it’s going to cost to purchase a ski condo at Big White you need to consider the age of what you’re purchase. Of the 24 transactions in Q2, 6 of them sold for $200k or less — these are your budget friendly, smaller homes, in older buildings. Then 1 of them sold over a million dollars, something that even recently doesn’t happen all that often. Of the 17 others the sale price range had a much tighter spread — with all selling between $320k and $945k and with an average sale price of CDN $645,588 which is $90k above the average sale price of all 24. The most popular condo building in Q2 was Whitefoot Lodge right in the village with it’s budget friendly options which saw 4 condos sell in the building. This was followed by Southpoint in Happy Valley which saw the sale of 3 of it’s upscale ski homes right on the Happy Valley Ski Out.
Now looking at townhouses of which 8 Big White townhouses sold in Q2. The lowest priced townhouse sold for CDN $295,000 (a leasehold property) and the highest priced townhouse sold for CDN $1,175,000. The average price for Big White townhouses was CDN $811,238. This average price is up an immense 27.5% from Q2-2021 when it was CDN $636,108. Unlike for Big White condos though, Big White townhouses sold for less on average in Q2 than in Q1. Popularity was found on both the budget and luxury ends of the spectrum with 2 ski homes selling in Happy Valley’s Whitetail community and 2 ski homes selling in the Snow Pines neighbourhood’s Grizzly Ridge Estates.
There were no private ski homes sold in Q2. This was the first quarter in more than 5 years to record zero Big White detached home sales. The lowest priced ski home sold for CDN $769,000 (and the highest priced ski home sold for CDN $1,250,000. The average price for freehold Big White homes was CDN $962,575 which was just slightly higher than the average of $920,969 for Q2-2019. This is likely not a direct reflection of value but a testament to what was available. All Big White homes that sold in Q2 were either 15+ years old or were quite small (approx. 1,600 sq.ft. or 148.64 m²).
Possibly the most telling statistic this quarter though is the number of new listings. This was the most active Q2 in the past decade with 71 Big White properties coming to market. That’s substantially more than the 58 we saw in 2008 (the most active Q2 in the past 2 decades until now!) Interestingly, in 2008 there were also only 16 sales meaning the sell trough rate was a staggeringly low 27.6%. With demand remaining quite strong even with the large volume of properties to hit the market the sell through rate remained 47.88% which is not a lot below the 10-year average of 59.55% for Q2. Nonetheless, this is a sharp contrast to Q2-2021 when just last year that sell through rate was 92.2%! I believe it’s fair to say those considering selling are realizing that we reached a property value peak for the short-term.
Here’s a look at some of what sold
Lots
Homesite 75 Feathertop Estates - Homesite 75 at Feathertop Estates is a vacant, bare-land strata building lot in the most sought after Big White community. This is the perfect location to build a dream ski home with incredible views of the Monashee mountains and surrounding endless valleys and forests as far as you can see. This 0.08 acre, downslope, building lot backs onto the ski-access trail making it perfectly ski-in/ski-out. I can’t wait to see what the purchaser builds here!
Ski Condo
#28 - 5095 Snowbird Way - a beautiful ski-in/ski-out condo residence on the top floor of Southpoint in Happy Valley. This complex sits directly adjacent the Happy Valley Ski Out and right above the Gondola so you and your guests can easily ski down to the Gondola and take the trip up to the village. In the evenings, this location is perfect for families looking to take in all the action at Happy Valley — tubing, ice skating, game nights, fireworks, and hot chocolate by the bon fire. This 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom, ski condo built in 2006 offers 2,008 sq.ft. (187 m²) of living space that can accommodate 12+ people with several bunk beds.
Townhouse
90 Forest Lane - this home is everything you image when you think luxury ski home with it’s warm wood flooring, timber beams, and woodcraft throughout. This 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom detached townhouse with ski-in/ski-out access and a private hot tub was advertised as “a is a must see property.” This home offers plenty of room for family and friends across it’s three levels for a total of 1,780 sq.ft. (165m²) of living space.
