Big White Real Estate Report: Q3 2022 Update
October? But it’s still Summer?! Is anybody counting down to ski season or is everybody still out mountain biking? No flurries this year, in fact, it’s still just about 20-degrees Celsius up on the mountain.
The Summer of 2022 will be remembered for nice days and clear skies as well as the first Summer season sans-restrictions after the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the 6th summer for the resort operating Big White Bike Park and Hiking Trails. It was very exciting to see the return of various events and festivities including the Okanagan Graveller race, the Craft and Country Music Festival, and Big White Freeride Days Mountain Bike Festival.
Big White real estate for the third quarter of 2022 experienced a typical Summer season with relatively little activity compared to the Spring. With that being said economic forces including rising interest rates also saw their effect through slower sales and reduced values compared. There were a total of only 23 Big White vacation properties sold in the third quarter of 2021. This included 8 townhouses and 15 ski condos. There were no transactions of private detached ski homes, nor vacant building lots. The number of sales is down substantially (by more than 50%) over Q3 last year when there had been 50 sales take place. This lack of sales did mean that the average inventory throughout Q3 rose by 41.7%; however, the number properties newly listed during the period was just about flat at 63 compared to 65 last year.
Big White Sales Numbers and Values
After watching the sale prices of Big White real estate increase sharply between Q3-2021 and Q2-2022, we are now seeing sale prices come down. The average sale price for Q3-2022 was CDN $515,843 compared to CDN $463,246 in Q3-2021. However, you may recall that the average sale price just 6 months ago at the end of Q2 was CDN $604,721. That’s a 14.7% drop! Total sales in dollar volume was down substantially to CDN $11.86 million compared to the CDN $23.16 million for Q3-2021. A prudent purchaser or seller should look deeper at the stats; for more keep reading below.
Looking a little more closely at these numbers, we see that of the 15 condo residences sold at Big White in Q3 the lowest priced ski condo sold for just CDN $155,000 and the highest priced ski condo sold for CDN $700,000. The average sale price for Big White condos was CDN $330,700. Hold-on! Wasn’t the average Big White condo sale price $555,458 just a few months?! That is absolutely right. The average condo sale price is down by 40.46% compared to Q2 and is also down by 21.9% from Q3-2021. But let’s clear something up: while these are the same stats quoted every quarter, in this case the average sale price is not a good representation of the average ski condo at Big White. Of the 15 condo residences that sold in Q3: all were in older buildings built before the year 2000, 11 of them were 1-bd or studio suites, and 7 of them were less than 400 square-feet (37m²).
The condo building with the highest number of sales was the Inn at Big White which saw 5 transactions and 1/3 of all condo sales for Q3. The average time condos took to sell was 64 days compared to 63 days for Q3-2021.
Now looking at townhouses of which 8 Big White townhouses sold in Q3. The lowest priced townhouse sold for CDN $501,000 and the highest priced townhouse sold for CDN $1,685,000. The average sale price for Big White townhouses was CDN $862,988. This average price is up substantially (by 41.29%) from Q3-2021 when it was CDN $610,750. The Tree Tops community in the Upper Village saw the most sales with 2 transactions. We also saw sales in developments Woodcutter Cabins, Blacksmith Lodge, Sundance Resort, and Trailside Heights. The highest price townhouse sale was a pre-construction, duplex-style ski home in the Sundance Resort community. This 6-bedroom and 5-bathroom sold for $60,000 above the asking price in just 42 days on the market! This one set a record price for a duplex-style home at Big White, smashing the January 2020 record by just shy of a half-million dollars. In case you’re wondering: the other half of the duplex remains available!
There were no public sales of private, detached ski homes, not vacant building lots throughout Q3 and inventory in those categories remains incredibly low.
Here’s a look at some of what sold
Ski Townhouse
#84 - 255 Feathertop Way - an exciting, yet-to-be-built luxury ski home in Sundance Resort, this duplex-style, walkout home sits adjacent to the Bullet chair lift and just below the Shortcut Ski run. This 6-bedroom, 5-bathroom ski home offers a total of 2,750 sq.ft. (164 m²) across two floors of living space. The main floor is built for entertaining guests with an open concept design, large view windows, built-in sound system, oversized hot tub, entertainment area and expansive kitchen. The upper floor features two primary bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a secondary bedroom and bathroom for guests or younger children. The lower floor has a large rec room with wet bar, two more large bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a large storage room.
Learn more about All-New Ski Homes in Sundance Resort at Big White.
#2 - 310 Whitehorse Lane - “Stunning views overt the valley and Monashee Mountains” is how the listing described what you’re about to experience when you enter this luxury townhouse in Blacksmith Lodge. This is a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom, ski home offering just more than 1,900 sq.ft. (177 m²) of living space and high end finishings like hardwood floors and real stonework. It also has a large family room, 2 gas fireplaces, and 2 spacious balconies, one with a new private hot tub.
Ski Condo
#300 - 5340 Big White Road - this was one of 5 budget-friendly ski condos to sell in the popular Inn at Big White building in the hear of the Village. This 456 sq.ft. (42 m²) studio apartment is one of the largest in the building built in 1998. The listing raved that it, “easily sleeps 4 with one full bed and another that flips up and coverts to a dining table.” This ski condo also featured vaulted ceilings, gas fireplace, and double windows with great view towards the village and mountain so you can wake up a see the conditions.
#309 - 215 Kettle View Road - “Unbeatable slope side location with direct ski in/out access off of the Hummingbird run,” was the Seller’s claim and what a truly perfect location the Legacy condo building is. This spacious 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom ski condo, offers a total of 1,690 sq.ft. (157 ²) of living space, gas fireplace, in-suite infrared sauna, and more. The only real downside is its 90s style but that can be updated with a renovation and some new furniture.
