Rick Evans - Sandpoint Idaho Real Estate Waterfront, Ski, and Resort Property

What a fantastic Fall season we have had in Sandpoint, and at Dover Bay! The foliage is amazing, the sun has been shining every day, and the pace has been relaxed and tranquil. For those of us fortunate enough to live at Dover Bay year round, the months of Sept and Oct are one of the best times here.

One of the more overlooked aspects of the Dover Bay location is the incredible mountain biking and hiking trails out our back door. Within two or three minutes from home I can access miles of single track trails in the hills behind Dover that locals call 'Syringa'. These trails are a local favorite and are user-friendly enough to be a great introduction to mountain biking. At the same time there are challenging, more technical routes that can be taken. Picturesque views are offered to the south overlooking Dover Bay and the Pend Oreille River, while to the north you get sweeping vistas of Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille from the top of Ravenwood.

Another favorite family activity of ours is to take our two little dogs and walk the miles of flatter trails that meander through the woods and estuaries of Dover Bay itself. The views from the top of Dover Point on the east side of Dover are as good as it gets. We also love started our walk at the beach park and crossing over the foot bridges, doing a couple mile loop that takes you around Browns Inlet.

These walks are when you really appreciate living out here, as we inevitably run into people we know or make friends with new visitors or residents of Dover. The pace here is unhurried and most everyone we meet is very friendly and shares common interests. In fact when we first showed up with our moving van I had two different neighbors show up offering to help out.

Other nice additions to this community have been the pool and jacuzzi, the fitness center, the Cafe, and the Market. We love hitting the Cafe for breakfast on Sunday mornings, overlooking the lake. This is another place that has become a popular local gathering place. The plan is for breakfast and lunch to continue through the winter from Wed through Sunday.

We are now looking forward to a Winter wonderland where we will be able to cross country ski literally out our back door, snow shoe in the nearby hills, access Schweitzer with ease, and finish the day in the lakefront jacuzzi.

Despite the slowing of the real estate market, the ownership of Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort is continuing to do the behind the scenes work to ensure that our ski resort gets better and better. Last year we saw the creation of the new arrival roundabout, and more importantly the addition of two new ski lifts.

This Winter 08/09 season will see a substantial increase in snow-making ability, with the goal of being able to open for Thanksgiving weekend every year. The installation is the most energy efficient and low impact snow making system available with the latest proven technology. Nine fully automated Techno Alpin M18 fan snowmaking guns will be moved between twenty-three hydrants. These high tech automated snowmaking guns are able to produce 25% more snow for the amount of energy consumed than other types of systems, while being 40% quieter than the average system on the market.. They sense when conditions make snowmaking possible and turn on automatically, and also turn off automatically to conserve energy when conditions are not ideal. The water and air mix can be adjusted
to get just the right density for the purpose, whether it be building a base or topping off the run with fresh powder.

Another exciting enhancement is the additional 6 miles of beginner mountain bike trails that start at the top of the mountain and include skill parks. Having hosted the NORBA races in the past, Schweitzer is already blessed with incredible mountain biking terrain. Many people do not realize that many miles of single track exist below the base of the village, where you can ride single track all the way down the mountain.

This fall several national snowsports magazines spotlighted Schweitzer with special honors. Skiing Magazine editors chose Schweitzer Mountain Resort as "Best Place to Ditch the Crowds" in the magazine's first annual Resort Awards issue. SKI Magazine readers placed Schweitzer in the top 10 resorts in North America for their chairlift system. Powder Magazine claims Schweitzer has the "best park in the Pacific Northwest" and Snowboard Magazine says it's a world class mountain with lots of soul.

Summer lodging at Schweitzer was actually up 25% over last year, with summer lift rides up 5.4%. On the heels of a record breaking winter (in terms of visitors), this is also a great sign for the future.

Having managed the Schweitzer Mountain Discovery Center over the past winter, many people have asked me what is going on with Schweitzer Mountain Real Estate. I had been recruited to take over the sales of Trappers Creek and the other Schweitzer owned property last year, bringing the Sothebys brand as the new exclusive listing agency.

My team and I worked very hard last year to provide Schweitzer's owners with the data, analysis, and recommendations for moving their real estate. I brought a number of area builders to the table with proposals for spec and custom building at Trappers Creek, we recommended a complete revamping of the pricing structure to entice the early investors, and we worked to re-engage those with a vested interest in Schweitzer. At the time the people we were reporting to were not relaying our information in full to the true decision makers, and therefore the needed changes were not made. There had also been a separation of Operations and Real Estate, so that the two components were often not working to the same priorities.

Here is the good news: The decision makers for Schweitzer are very engaged and have been in direct talks recently with Jeff Bond (Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys). Schweitzer's ownership is in the enviable position of having zero debt on their holdings at Schweitzer, and given today's market they are not in a huge hurry to move forward. However I do believe that the people now making decisions have a much better understanding of the facts that Jeff and I have been trying to impart for the past year. When they do move forward (if not this winter then certainly by next year), the new plan is likely to be just what Schweitzer needs.

One of the current concepts that Schweitzer is evaluating is to pay for the building themselves of luxurious homes at Trappers Creek (the ski-in/out community located above Selkirk Lodge). A serious consideration is in offering Schweitzer's first Fractional Ownership / Private Residence Club opportunity. This requires a re-plat of the Trappers Creek PUD, and it could and should involve a change in density to allow for larger homes in this community. This could be a huge win for Schweitzer in opening up a price point and a completey new product for this area, one which has been a big success in other ski areas. Fractional ownership makes complete sense for a seasonal destination such as a ski resort.

There are also very active discussion underway between Schweitzer ownership and waterfront resorts in the Sandpoint area, to finally create the connection between mountain and lake that this area has needed for some time. The basic concept is for buyers of Schweitzer property to benefit from amenities at the lake such as a club component, boat access, etc with the reverse offered for Sandpoint resort buyers.

Another change in the management structure of Schweitzer is sure to benefit skiers and real estate buyers in the future. This is the merging of the Real Estate and Operations of Schweitzer into the same company and line of command. Tom Chasse, President and CEO of Schweitzer Mountain Resort, will have a more active role in real estate decisions. This will ensure that Schweitzer addresses important issues like parking, the tenant make-up of the village, and how development fits into the overall skiing experience.

While my wife and I are working with Dover Bay Development to build our Cottage at Dover Meadows, we decided to go ahead and move from downtown Sandpoint to a rental property at Dover Bay. We found a Bayside South condo and have just settled in this past week. When I got a text message from my wife today saying how happy she was that we were living out here, I knew this was a good decision.

What we really like about the Bayside condos is the spacious, open feel and the incredible amount of natural light that comes in. The ceilings are approximately 12 feet high throughout, which really gives you a spacious feeling, not to mention the fact that the Great Room and the Master Bedroom are very large for a condo. There are windows that go almost from floor to ceiling all the way around three sides of the condo. With all Bayside buildings having just 4 units, everyone is a corner unit benefitting from the windows on both sides.

The other thing we are already noticing is the incredible efficiency of new construction and new appliances, in comparison to the large older home we were in downtown. The entire 1380 square feet heat up in minutes and the house stays warm through the night.

The convenience of the Syringa mountain bike trails is certainly a huge plus for me. I can actually access miles of single track trails in about two minutes. The paved bike trails throughout the resort are great for roller blading, biking, etc.

Its fantastic to have the waterfront Cafe available essentially next door to us for breakfast and lunch, or last minute conveniences from the Market. And then there is the Fitness Center, Pool, and Jacuzzi that are open year round.

We are looking forward to the winter months when we will take advantage of all the trails for cross country skiing (from our door step), and snow shoeing on the adjacent hills at Syringa.

While Dover Bay has definitely quieted down with the passing of summer and boating season, there is just enough activity out here to maintain a sense of community. When we first arrived on Sunday with our moving fan, we actually had two random people come up and offer to help us unload. Its a neat environment here where you talk with your neighbors and everyone is on a first name basis!

Our company, Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys, continues to sell more real estate than any other agencies in Bonner County. Through the third quarter of 2008, Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys had sold $92 million in real estate, for a 23.6% share of the total Bonner County market. This is with just 16.6% of the total number of Realtors.

Sothebys has maintained roughly 1/4 of the total market share year after year, with a particular emphasis in high-end properties including waterfront and resort. In fact our Sothebys office is the exclusive representative of most of the resort projects in the area, including Dover Bay, Seasons at Sandpoint, and Schweitzer Mountain Real Estate (Trappers Creek). This is due in large part to the international network that Sothebys benefits from and the exposure we are able to give to these types of recreational properties.

Our buyers are coming from all over the country and the world; when they compare the relative values in Sandpoint to places like Lake Tahoe, Whitefish, etc. we get alot of interest. For example waterfront property on Payette Lake near McCall and Tamarack, Idaho costs $20,000 to $30,000 per front foot. Waterfront property on Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint typically averages $7000 to $8000 per front foot, for a much more desirable lake!

Another important note is that our $92 million sold through Q3 of 2008 is actually ahead of the numbers at this point in 2003, a year in which everyone here thought the market was fantastic and which had been the best year in the company at that time. 2004 through 2006 were anomolies, and we are back to more reasonable market activity.

The second place real estate company in terms of market share is Evergreen, at 12.26%; third place is Century 21 at 10.48%; fourth are For Sale By Owners at 5.63%; Riverstone is at 5.55%, Lakecountry at 3.78%. The balance of companies in Bonner County have less than 3.71% sold, including Coldwell Banker and Exit Realty.

What does this mean to you? As a Seller, your property is more likely to get the most exposure by Listing through us. As a Buyer, you will also benefit from our collective knowledge and representation in the market. Our Realtors cooperate very well with each other, continually promoting one another's listings and holding weekly office tours of all new listings.