Real Estate in Mammoth Lakes - good deals on condos

Here are some listings of Mammoth Lakes condos that are sticking out from the rest. These sellers are signalling the market that they are ready to deal, possibly even for a loss as compared to what similar condos were selling for at the peak of our recent boom:

Sunshine Village 2/2 for $309,900 (average unit). This is 32.3% lower than an upgraded unit that sold for $458,000 in May 2006.

Sherwin Villas 2+L/3 for $414,000. Short sale that is listed 12.8% lower than what a similar condo went for in April 2006 ($475,000).

Woodlands 2/2 for $447,500. This is listed 23.3% lower than the $540,000 that two of these sold for in 2006.

Crestview 2+L/3ba with underground parking in between Village and Canyon for $514,900. This is a Foreclosure/REO that was just put into escrow yesterday. The owner paid $635,000 for it in Novembver 2004 (Current list price is 18.9% less than what they paid for it - subtract sales commissions and escrow fees and that is approximately a 26% loss without even knowing what the buyer negotiated the list price down to - we won't know until it closes escrow).

Snowcreek V 2/2 (without garage) for $529,000, which is 10.7% less than the highest sale at $592,500. But we've recently seen a sale at $510,000 (13.9% less).

Snowcreek III 3+L/2 listed for $739,000. Compare that to a very incely upgraded unit that sold for $982,500 in May 2005 (24.8% difference) or, more appropriately, to a similar unit that sold for $890,000 in May 2006 (17.0% difference).

Click Here to View Above 6 Listings

Remember the above list prices are just asking prices...most deals are negotiated even lower. For The 70 condos sold in the last 6 months (Jun-Nov and not counting developer sales at the Westin, Lodges, Stonegate or Woodwinds), buyers negotiated an additional 4.9% off of the current list price and 9.2% off of the original list price. So, deals are to be had.

Although I do not want to disclose the condo complex yet, I just negotiated a deal for my buyers that will end up being 24% lower than what the neighboring condo paid 1.5 years ago that wasn't even in as good of condition as this one. Please contact me if you are interested in more information on these or any other Mammoth condos. You can view more condos online at www.MammothRealtySearch.com.

What to do in Mammoth right now

Snow Sports: With mother nature holding out on us right now, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is busily blowing snow and plans to have the top of the mountain open today and Stump Alley (Chair 2 open tomorrow). But those of you signed up for their daily emails already know this.

Ice Skating on a lake: I am anxious to go see this site. My partner and her family ice skated on Lake Maime on Wednesday. With cold nights and no snow, it makes our lakes perfect for ice skating. Last year they skated across Convict Lake, which is huge. And they could see fish scattering beneath their feet as they skated. Word is there is hockey being played on Maime. The Ski Surgeon rents skates, but just make sure you can determine if the ice is thick enough. Anyone know a formula for this?

Running: Beautiful weather for a high-altitude run anywhere below the 8500' level. Trails down by Hwy 395 and Hwy 203 are nice and soft and you get great vistas of the Sherwins and of frost-lined creeks. In some years, the pros go down to San Diego or over to the Bay Area to train through winter, but this winter they don't have to leave their home town! So the lack of snow is at least helping their industry!

Mtn Bike: I rode Downtown two days ago and rode across some ice patches between Main Lodge and the bone yard.

Shopping: Sierra Jewelers is going out of business and is offering up to 60% on their inventory. Of course, the Outlet Malls are happy to unload their inventory at half off pricing.

Dining: LuLu was packed the other night - good to see for the village, but I still think it is overpriced (a individual mushroom pizza for $18?!). Alpenrose next door to RE/MAX is a better option with their new chef, Brian. I can't wait to try the White Bark restaurant in our new Westin 'Monache' hotel that just opened up yesterday. The Westin lured a chef from Las Vegas to come out and wow our palettes.

Real Estate: I met several folks over Thanksgiving who were in town just to look at real estate. They did not even ski (not that they were missing much). I helped one family find a good deal on a condo and are excited to start using it in early January. See my next blog for the current deals of the week!

Arts: Free Holiday concert this weekend at St. Joseph's Church on Sunday night at 7pm. Orchestral and Choral works to get you in the moood.

Mammoth represented in NY Marathon

We're pretty excited here in Mammoth Lakes, CA, about tomorrow's Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New York. We've got some pretty awesome dudes entered who trained in Mammoth all summer.

• Meb Keflezhigi (go Bruins) will be running for the chance to defend his silver medal from the Athens games in 2004.
• Ryan Hall (pictured at far left, fastest marathon debut by an American-born man at London this year and a client of mine) is looking to make his first Olympic team.
• Dan Browne (pictured below, 2004 Olympic marathoner and 10k)
• Josh Cox (pictured in above picture at right, of TV's Bachelor fame, a long lost Cox brother, and getting married in December).
• Mike McKeeman (Deena's training partner and cool-guy)
• Antonio Arce (fast dude and a client)

It was fun to have these guys in town this summer (some live here and some came to try the high altitude regimen - let's see if it works). They graced us with their presence at our local running races and were seen flying down he green church road or down in Round Valley or doing core workouts at the gym.

They are all extremely focused and motivated on their own goals and yet work together as a team as if they were competing in a true team sport like crew or soccer. They also socialize together in the evenings, like to sample Yordanos' Eritrian cooking, Doug's homemade pasta or pomegranate salads, or compete against the locals at the Paiute palace casino poker tables. They are a great group of guys and I wish they all could qualify.



Cheering them on in NY will be Ian Dobson (pictured in middle, 5k and 10k Olympic hopeful and a client of mine), Andrew 'duuude' Kastor (3-0 this year in races including the Leuven 800 and Wild Iris Half Marathon, 'go to guy' for the Mammoth Track Project), and his wife Deena Kastor (clients of mine), Sara Hall (Ryan's wife), Cristan Browne (Dan's wife), Bob Larsen (Meb's coach, go Bruins), coach Terrence Mahon and wife Jen Rhines (clients of mine), and Doug Napp (wine aficionado and party host extraordinaire).

The Women's Olympic Marathon Trials will be held at the Boston Marathon next spring. The gals who have trained in Mammoth are Deena Kastor (go AHS Chargers), Kate O'Neill, Jen Rhines.

Me? (My marathon debut was 3:48 in Chicago 2005). I'm lucky these days if I can squeeze one run in per week in between real estate and raising two young girls. But I am excited for our cozy little town with a big ski resort to become better known than just for skiing. The formula of putting high quality long distance athletes together at 8,000 feet in a supportive environment has already produced two Olympic medals in '04 - let's see if it can double the results in '08.

So be sure to watch the 2008 Olympic Men's Marathon Trials online (4:35 am PST) at http://www.nbcsports.com/ !

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area improvements

Get excited! Cloud Nine Chairlift is nearly complete. I took this picture while mountain biking on Oct. 28. The 6-pack chairs (or 'couches' like MMSA's Tom Hodges likes to call them) are just awaiting the seat cushions and a load test. The ride will now take half the time to access some great powder runs.

Opening Day of the Ski Season is 1 week away from today! Althought the skies are clear and daytime temps are in the 50's, they are dipping low enough to blow snow at night, so I suspect just the runs around Main Lodge will be open.

But the mtn biking is still great. With recent weekly snow and rain storms, the dirt is compact and the snow level is just above Paper Route. Many trees are marked for removal down on lower Juniper for the paved bike path planned along Lake Mary Road.

Other upcoming developments include the following:
- High speed quad chair at Chair 5 (summer 2008)
- Eagle Lodge (starting summer 2009 - another year delay from what was expected). The 'temporary' white tent at Little Eagle is going on its 7th year, I think.
- A gondola from Canyon Lodge to the top of Chair 15 Eagle Express (2009). Helps to spread traffic to that side of the hill and towards the new Cloud Nine chair.
- The proposed ski-back trail (along Minaret, or along the uptown/downtown mtn bike trail) is open for public comment right now, which is an important step to getting approval for the trail. The whole point is to help elleviate car traffic from Main Lodge down to town after ski lifts close on busy weekends. Instead, you can right ski down to The Village.
- Real Estate: Altis will break ground again, instead of being a fractional concept, Starwood will be releasing them for 24 whole ownership units. These are located along Bridges Run near Chair 15 and have incredible views. Also planned are 68 condo-hotel units at Eagle Lodge and 19 townhomes at Canyon Lodge (on the lot between 1849 and Snowbird). Rumors swirl about the planned "1" Hotel, but a Starwood developer assured us that they will be releasing the project for sale in Fall 2008.
- Keep an eye out for charter air service (30-seater turbo-props) from Vision Air with a route from Las Vegas to Mammoth to Carlsbad and back again possibly starting this season.