Big White Real Estate Report: Q4 2023 Update
Happy New Year! One year has come to a close and another is just beginning. There’s been lots of excitement all around since ski season was delayed by a couple weeks and although there’ve been many good days on the mountain already the best is yet to come. Unless you are only joining us for the holidays, in which case, thank you for making it out and I hope you had a wonderful time.
In sharp contrast to last season when we had night-ski lift closures due to bone-chilling cold (temperatures dipped below -31 degrees Celsius overnight) and multi-day fog and rime ice conditions, this year we’ve had Spring skiing in December — well maybe not quite. However, the temperatures have been very enjoyable just below freezing, the fog not too persistent, and quite a few days with blue sky. You may have heard that the snow has been light but let me tell you, the Operations Team at Big White Ski Resort are really proving their worth this year with excellent grooming.
Big White real estate for the fourth quarter of 2023 was relatively busy compared to the rest of the year. There were a total of 35 Big White vacation properties sold in the fourth quarter of 2023. This included 2 detached private ski homes, 9 townhouses, 23 ski condos, and 1 building lots. The number of sales is up substantially over Q4 last year but still lower than all other of the past 5 years. In my opinion it has set the stage for a good Q1 ahead.
Big White Sales Numbers and Values
Q4 was arguably the busiest quarter of 2023 for overall activity and it saw the highest volume of sales in both transaction numbers and dollar volume; however, Q1 finished a tight 2nd in both those categories. The number of transactions for Q4 was up 59% over Q3 and 29.6% over Q4 of last year.
The value of Big White real estate rebounded in some categories and softened in others which is likely the outcome of purchaser demographics and their purchasing power in the face of record high interest rates. Big White real estate is predominantly a lifestyle purchase and consequently many higher priced vacation properties are purchased by those in stronger financial positions compared to the purchasers acquiring some of the lower priced or entry level properties.
The average sale price for Q4-2023 was CDN $664,361 compared to CDN 707,137 in Q4-2022 which translates to a 6% drop in value. With that being said, the average sale price for Q4 was 15.7% higher than it was in Q3 and 21.3% higher than it was in Q2. Total sales in dollar volume rose to CDN $23.25 Million compared to the CDN $19.09 Million for Q4-2022. As always a prudent purchaser or seller should look deeper at the stats to identify anomalies and gain a better understanding of both the overall market but also how it impacts the exact type of property they are looking to purchase or sell; for more keep reading below.
Big White Ski Condos
Looking a little more closely at these numbers, we see that of the 22 condo residences sold at Big White in Q4. The lowest priced condo sold for just CDN $140,000 and the highest priced condo sold for CDN $970,000. The average sale price for Big White condos was CDN $464,043. This average sale price is down 9% from Q4-2022 when it was CDN $510,100. This figure is also down from just a few months ago with Q3 recording an average sale price of CDN $530,353 for Big White condos.
Let’s dive a little deeper: adjusting for size, we can look at average sale price per unit size of living space: the average size of a ski condo sold in Q4 was 806 sq.ft. (75m²) which translates into an average selling price of $575.39/sq.ft. ($6,183/m²). So even though the average sale price is down since Q3 on this adjusted basis Big White condos actually sold for 8.5% more this past quarter than they did in Q3.
Another interesting difference from Q3 and what it can tell us: only 39% of Big White ski condos sold in Q4 were built since 2000 compared to the 70.5% of those sold in Q3. What this tells us is that the majority of ski condos sold this quarter were older condo residences. Add the fact that they were also on average about 20% smaller than those sold in Q3; it would make sense that a larger number of smaller and older ski condos would sell at a lower average price. For the 9 ski condos sold in Q4 which were built since 2000, the average sale price was CDN $593,000 which is down 6.89% from the Q3 average sale price for ski condos built since 2000 which came in at CDN $636,885. Compared to Q4-2022, this figure is down by a significant 23.4% from $774,500 (note there had been only 5 sales in this category and 2 were priced close to or above $1M).
On the other end of the spectrum, the 14 ski condos which sold in Q4 which were built before 2000, sold for an average price of CDN $350,214 which is up 5.9% from the Q3 average sale price for ski condos built before 2000 which came in at CDN $330,700. Compared to Q4-2022, this figure is down only slightly, by 5.38%, from $370,140. Even though these older and often smaller ski condos have risen a bit in value (and are down less YOY, the overall average sale price for a ski condo is down from Q3 because these lower priced condo residences make up such a large portion of the properties sold in contrast to Q3 when it was mostly larger and newer luxury condos that sold.
There were two top selling condo buildings at Big White for Q4 — Stonegate Resort and The Legacy — with each building seeing 3 individual ski condos change hands. The fastest sale occurred within just 11 days of the public listing (less than the typical due diligence period) and the longest took 441 days.
Ski Condo Inventory
One of the most interesting aspects of the Big White real estate market right now are inventory trends. Half of the properties sold in Q4 were only on the market for between 11-67 days and had an average of just 35 days on the market while the other half of the properties that had been on the market for between 77-441 days with an average of 205 days on the market. 31% of all Q4 sales were new listings during the quarter and 43% of all sales Q4 sales had listed during Q3. 14% had been on the market for more than a year!
To start January 2024 there are 50 ski condos listed for sale which is up by 28.2% from last year when we closed out 2022 with just 39 ski condos listed for sale. More than a third (38%) of the current inventory has been on the market for 3 months or less and of all the ski condos listed throughout Q4, 26.9% of them have already sold. Nonetheless, the ratio of Q4 sales to current inventory predicts about 6.5 months of inventory already.
Ski Condo Strata Fees
One of the most common set of questions I get from curious purchasers are related to a building or community’s common expenses and the monthly strata fee. While these vary from building to building and data is hard to compile I’ve begun tracking the strata fee of the properties that sold during the quarter so as to identify any trends that exist. Of the 23 ski condos sold in Q4 the average strata fee was CDN $519.29/month. The lowest strata fee was just $170/month for a 1-bedroom condo in Whitefoot Lodge and the highest was $1,360/month for a sprawling 3-bedroom condo in Stonegate Resort. Adjusting for size, the average strata fee was CDN $0.67 per square foot of living space ($7.21/m²). These figures illustrate that of the properties, ski condo strata fees are up just 2.27% from CDN $507.77/month in Q4-2022; however, are up 15.5% from CDN $0.58 per square foot of living space ($6.24/m²) on an adjusted basis. Interestingly (and please keep in mind this is just snapshot using a very small set of data) strata fees have nearly doubled in the past 10 years going from CDN $0.34/ sq.ft. ($3.67/m²) to the current CDN $0.67/ sq.ft. ($7.21/m²).
Big White Townhouses
Now looking at townhouses of which 9 Big White townhouses sold in Q4. The lowest priced townhouse sold for CDN $484,000 and the highest priced townhouse sold for CDN $1,650,000. The average price for Big White townhouses was CDN $852,741. This average price is once again up by 3.3% from Q4-2022 when it was CDN $825,230. This figure is up a significant 18% from Q3; however, as is almost always the case when drastic swings appear in our data, this is a case of transaction composition and not actual appreciation of value.
Before we start believing that townhouses are holding their value better than condos let’s take a moment to look at the numbers on an adjusted-for-size basis. The average size of a townhouse sold in Q4 was 2505 sq.ft. (233m²) which translates into an average selling price of just $340.45/sq.ft. ($6,183/m²). On this adjusted basis, Big White townhouses saw sale prices drop by 32.6% YOY and 39.2% just since Q3. Once again, even our adjustments can’t overcome the transaction composition; you see there is a diminishing return relationship between living space and price per unit of living space — all else being equal, the smaller the property the higher the price per unit, and the larger the property the smaller the price per unit. You simply can’t compare 2,500 sq.ft. and 1,500 sq.ft. townhouses on a price-per-square-foot basis.
No one townhouse community saw more than one sale during the quarter but when it comes to what’s popular I can only point out that Happy Valley was the most popular neighbourhood with a third of all townhouse sales. Ski homes sold in Snowfall Lodge, Spyglass, and Whitetail.
The lowest priced sale was a 1-bd townhouse in Trapper’s Crossing which sold for $484,000, followed by a 4-bd townhouse in Whitetail where a modest 3-bedroom townhouse sold for $630,000 after just 43 days on the market. The highest priced sale was a brand new, 5-bedroom, duplex-style townhouse within the Sundance Resort community which sold for $1,650,000. The fastest sale occurred within just 23 days of the public listing (less than the typical due diligence period) and the longest took 420 days.
Townhouse Inventory
To start January 2024 there are 34 Big White townhouses listed for sale which is up by 47.8% from last year when we closed out 2022 with just 23 townhouses listed for sale. Just like with the condos, more than a third (35.3%) of the current townhouse inventory has been on the market for 3 months or less. Unlike with the condos, only 2 of the 14 townhouses to come to market during Q4 sold; we really saw the townhouse inventory swell during this past quarter. The ratio of Q4 sales to current inventory predicts 11.33 months of inventory for townhouses which really means purchasers have a lot of options in this category and that’s not likely to change any time soon.
Townhouse Strata Fees
Of the 9 Big White townhouses sold in Q4 the average strata fee was CDN $509.78/month. The lowest strata fee was just $197.50/month for a multiplex-unit ski home in Snow Pines Estates and the highest was $1,075/month for a sprawling 6-bedroom duplex-style ski home in Sundance Resort. Adjusting for size, the average strata fee was CDN $0.26 per square foot of living space ($2.79/m²). These figures illustrate that of the properties, ski condo strata fees are up just 39.6% from CDN $365.15/month in Q4-2022; however, are up only 18% from CDN $0.22 per square foot of living space ($2.36/m²) on an adjusted basis. When it comes to townhouses in particular there is often a vast difference in what is included in these fees (thus making any comparison mostly just for curiosity); for example, for the ski home that sold in Snow Pines Estates this fee is going towards what is actually a bare land strata and each complex is responsible for their own insurance, building maintenance, utilities, and garbage disposal. In contrast, while the strata fees are about 5X more for the home in Sundance Resort, the strata fee here includes insurance, exterior envelope maintenance including the roof, windows, exterior cladding, driveways, water and sewer service, garbage disposal, and both the costs and benefits of all the resort amenities including the front desk, games room, theatre room, fitness centre, outdoor heated pool, waterslide, and hot tubs.
Big White Private Ski Homes
Now looking at private ski homes of which there were just 2 that sold in Q4. Feathertop Estates saw the sale of Inukshuk Lodge at a price of CDN $3.4 Million. It was in multiple offers just days after coming on the market, likely due in part to it’s expansive size and the fact that it was the first home Big White ski home of more than 4,000 sq.ft. (372m²) to come on the market in nearly 3 years. The other private home was a much more modest chalet which sold in Snow Pines Estates for just $730,000. I will give you the average sale price but it really does not tell you a lot — it was CDN $2,065,000 which is up 24.4% from Q4-2022.
Interesting to note: the Feathertop Estates home sold for CDN $715.63/sq.ft. ($7,703/m²) and while the much older and Snow Pines Estates home sold for the better part of $3M less, it sold for about the same (actually more) per unit size at CDN $717/sq.ft. ($7,718/m²) .
To start January 2024 there were 7 existing private ski homes listed for sale. Additionally, there are 4 brand new homes being sold pre-construction in the all-new Black Forest community of The Glades at Big White.
Big White Building Lots
Lastly, a quick look at building lot sales of which we saw 1 sold in Q4. This was a mountainfront homesite with epic views of the Monashee Mountains located in Feathertop Estates which sold for $775,000 after more than a year on the market. It was the first and only building lot to sell within Feathertop Estates in 18 months and one of only 2 building lots to sell in all of Big White in 2023. This past year was the slowest year for building lot sales in more than a decade. Even 2013 and 2012 saw 4 sales each. What’s more poignant is that 2023 saw transaction numbers at just 14.7% of the 5-year average which sits at 13.6 building lot sales per year and a low of 7 in 2018 and a high of 24 in 2021.
When it comes to inventory, we closed out 2023 with 10 vacant building sites on the market. Furthermore, there are at least 3 others which are likely still options for purchasers… they expired during the quarter and have yet to re-list. The average time on the market for those 10 properties is 148 days or about 5 months so it has not been a case of not having enough inventory. I speculate that the single greatest factor holding purchasers back is fear of the future cost to build. Even though some material costs have come down since the highs of 2021-2022, custom home builders are still having to price new Big White homes in the $500-700/sq.ft. or ($5,400-$7,500/m²) on top of the price for the land.
Want to know what’s been selling in your building or Big White community?
Here’s a look at some of what sold in Q4
Ski Townhouse
#7 - 5045 Snowbird Way - a beautiful ski-in/ski-out, townhouse just steps from the Happy Valley Lodge. This 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom townhouse offers a total of 2,105 sq.ft. (196 m²) across two floors of living space. This small complex offers space and privacy and as a corner unit with an open design it gets lots of light. Premium finishes include hardwood floors and granite countertops in the kitchen and amenities include a gas fireplace, private hot tub, and one private garage parking spot.
Learn more about Snowfall Lodge at Big White.
#83 - 255 Feathertop Way - Ski right from your property and back home to your front door when staying in this exciting new home within the Sundance Resort community. This duplex-style townhouse was an opportunity for exceptional value offering 6-bedrooms and 5-bathrooms across more than 2,700 sq.ft. (251 m²) of living space. This custom home by award-winning H&H Custom Homes featured high end finishings like hardwood floors, quartz countertops, stonework, and wood accents. One of the bedrooms can alternatively be used as a lower level rec room with a built in bar and its own balcony. The upper level balcony included a private hot tub. Guest benefit from all the Sundance Resort amenities including the games room, theatre room, and outdoor heated pool with water slide.
Ski Condo
#205 - 355 Rock Ridge Road - this was one of 8 incredible ski-in/ski-out condo residences to sell in the popular The Raven building in the Happy Valley neighbourhood. This 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, ski condo built in 2007 offers a spacious 1,250 sq.ft. (116 m²) of living space. Advertised as, “Your own private hot tub with sensational views,” one look and you are captivated. This penthouse unit also benefit from high, vaulted ceilings, cozy in-floor, radiant heat, and high quality wood and stone finishings.
#307 - 250 Feathertop Way - a fantastic ski-in/ski-out condo residence on the edge of the Black Forest. This 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, ski condo built in 2004/2005 in the first phase of Copper Kettle lodge offers an abundant, 1,548 sq.ft. (141m²) of living space to relax and enjoy family time before and after a day on the mountain. Here you can also take in fantastic winter wonderland views of the forest and Monashee Mountains beyond from the open plans main living spaces and from the private hot tub on the balcony. This is Big White’s only concrete building but you wouldn’t know it thanks to the wood finishings throughout including timber ceilings.
Private Ski Homes
620 Feathertop Way - a true legacy property, Inukshuk Lodge, is a custom ski home built into the mountain side at the edge of the Millie’s Mile ski run. This 4-bedroom and 5-bathroom masterpiece includes a bunk room with handcrafted millwork and altogether the home can comfortably sleep 14 people. Additionally there is plenty of space for the entire family with an office space, theatre room, spacious games room, home gym, sitting room, flex-room, and as perfectly adverised: “a Great Room impresses with soaring 30' ceilings, a well-appointed bar, and a billiards table for entertaining.” The space is amazing and the views are magical. This home was well equipped with a sauna, hot tub, and also included a triple car garage.
Building Lots
Feathertop Estates — Homesite 43 - the only building lot to sell at Feathertop Estates this year, Homesite 43 was on the market for more than a year before that perfect fit was found and I’m sure the purchaser is ecstatic about the opportunity to build their dream ski home on this fantastic piece of land. This homesites is just before the second hairpin as you wind your way to the top of Feathertop Estates and while it’s an “interior lot” the grade is astonishingly high compared to the adjacent lower homesite so it has unobstructed and commanding views of the Monashee Mountains. Measuring in at about 0.011 acres (328m²) and will allow the purchaser to build a wonderful vacation home with ski-in/ski-out access from the the lower level door..
What does the future hold?
While optimistic for an active Q1 I’m not expecting that we will set any number of transaction or valuation records anytime soon. We’ve seen mortgage interest rates come down slightly from their height this past Autumn already due to financial market conditions; combine this with future central bank overnight rate cuts which would be expected to further reduce mortgage interest rates but also and more importantly shave off some of the cost being born by businesses and we could definitely see a rise in demand. Nonetheless, any future rate cuts are coming in support of a softening economy so the return to greater discretionary spending may very well be delayed. If rate cuts don’t come until April or June it’s plausible we won’t see any meaningful impact on the Big White real estate market until late into Q3 or even Q4 and even then the impact may be moderate.
Stepping aside from speculation. There is a decent level of inventory currently on the market and even if Q1 sales are quite strong it wouldn’t all sell, not to mention there will be new inventory coming to market too. Additionally, for the first time in more than a decade there are numerous new construction projects that have either already begun or are just coming to market. This adds a considerable number of units to that inventory count. This is fantastic for anyone considering the purchase of a new ski home. Below is a quick summary of these new construction projects.
New Construction Ski Condo
The View — in the heart of Big White’s lower village.
New Construction Townhouse
Solitude — the completion of an existing community in Happy Valley
Cambia Creekside Residences — in the new Black Forest neighbourhood
Sundance Resort — the continuation of the existing Sundance Resort community
New Construction Private Ski HOme
The Glades at Big White — in the new Black Forest neighbourhood
Looking further into the future: if you haven’t already heard, back in late October, Big White Ski Resort made a new application to the BC Government for a sizeable Crown Land Grant for additional development lands within their resort management area. This roughly 207 acre (83.96 hectare) parcel sits across Big White Road from Snow Pine Estates and extends from quite from well past the Big White welcome sign in the West to approximately the Ridge Day Lodge in the East. The area is proposed to be developed with 271 single-family residences at this time; however, there is no specific plan being presented for it’s development at this time. The Resort has noted that these lands would be suitable for additional community space and amenities such as a Community Centre and a gas station and that access to the South side of Big White Road would be provided by a new skier overpass bridge which would connect to the existing Lower Snow Pines Ski Out. This type of investment is exciting and is sure to mean considerable growth for Big White over the next 5-10 years.
Some property owners I’ve talked to are concerned about how all this new development will impact their property values. After all there is a mantra in real estate: “Buy land, you can’t make more of it.” However, at Big White these Crown Grants do make more lands available for development. While it’s true that additional development will add to the overall supply which has the potential to put downward pressure on sale prices and thus overall property values I believe it is important to consider that development does not happen overnight. A typical Big White home will take 18-24 months to build and a ski condo building like The View will take 2-3 years from start to finish. So all of this new inventory will trickle onto the market over quite a few years and during that time skier visits, occupancy rates in accommodation available to rent, and other Resort infrastructure are all likely to continue increasing. The future at Big White is something to be excited about!
All the best in 2024!