Luxury Ski Property at Schweitzer is Selling

Yes, its true. The luxury real estate market at Schweitzer has had solid activity since the first of the year. Prices at Schweitzer Ski Resort have always been exceptionally low when compared with other comparable ski resorts, and I would define the luxury market at Schweitzer as above $500,000.

There has NOT been a wholesale price reduction across the board at Schweitzer, or in Sandpoint for that matter. As I typically explain to my clients, it is difficult to put a percentage on how much market prices have dropped. This is because you have too many sellers with independent motivations and pressures, some much more than others. The key as a Buyer in this market is to find the place that really fits and to be ready to pounce when the price is right. As you can tell by the following recent transactions, Buyers are getting exceptional values right now if they are willing and able to make offers.

The Bornholm Lodge is four luxury townhomes just below Schweitzer Village on Northwest Passage (before The Glades). This is one of the nicer products on the market and it is priced very attractively right now. Originally these 2700 sft, ski in/ ski out townhomes were offered at $1.25 million, which might have been a great value somewhere else but was clearly above the current market at Schweitzer. As the Seller became more motivated, along with the national financial crisis, the listing prices were gradually reduced. Finally this Winter they were put on the market at $879k. The first buyer showed up almost immediately and closed for $856k on Dec 31. The price on the remaining three units has now been pushed back up slightly to $890, 900k and 920k.

A client of mine is about to close on a beautiful 4bdr, 2250 square foot home in The Glades. Located on the ski trail immediately below the Village, the Glades have been one of the most desirable locations at Schweitzer and were selling at close to $900k a couple years ago. This unit was listed in April 08 for $999k, then changed to $899k in Sept, then to $799k on Dec 30, and finally to $699,900 on February 1. I told my client about this price reduction before it went on the market, and he has an accepted offer expecting to close next week. This will be perhaps the best buy at Schweitzer in years, and there may never be another Glades unit at this price.

One of The Cabins, another very popular development at Schweitzer, just closed at $650,000 on Feb 9. It was originally priced at $849k in December, and represents another example of how Buyers are getting great deals TODAY.

70 Hemlock Lane, a brand new 2000 sft, 3/3.5 luxury townhome next to The Cabins just sold for $850,000 in February. This true ski-in/out home sold was only on the market 12 days!

Just above Schweitzer Village, a 3+loft, 1700sft, ski in/ski out Highlands condo just sold in a private transaction (not through the MLS). The final price was $625k, which was a cash deal.

Another brand new condo in The Summit sold on Jan 15 for $575,000. This is also ski in/ski out, 3/3, with high end finishes throughout.

I guess the message of all this is that if you have been looking for that ski home for your family, I encourage you to call your Realtor (or me of course) to see what is out there. A good, active Schweitzer agent will be able to help you weed through everything to show you what the truly exceptional values are. Sure you could wait 6 months to see what happens. But remember you are only looking for one individual property (typically). When you find that property at an attractive price, there is certainly no guarantee that something better will come along. There will continue to be price reductions at Schweitzer. But there are enough buyes out there that the really good values will get sold relatively quickly. Also keep in mind that other factors such as higher interest rates can cause the relative value to go up should you wait.

If you would like to search the MLS for Schweitzer visit http://www.sandpointresortrealty.com/propertyfinder.html. I also have a couple of luxury ski properties that are now being offered at prices well below what you would pay to build the same quality. Visit http://schweitzer.sandpointresortrealty.com/ to see a virtual tour of the finest ski home at Schweitzer, recently reduced $200k to $1,095,000. Another client of mine has a beautiful ski home in a quiet neighborhood near Musical Chairs, and has just reduced the price to $899k: http://www.tourfactory.com/468822. Or just call me for any price range: 208-304-5665.

Photos of the above listings