3 Colorado ski trends to watch

3 trends that will impact Colorado ski town real estate values

Doing hundreds of loans in the various mountain communities throughout Colorado, I am always interested in the industries driving the various economies (whether it be recreation, energy, high tech, etc..). There are allot of exciting things going on in the Colorado Mountain towns and real estate continues to expand. There are three trends to keep an eye on that could derail the blistering pace of appreciation:

       1. Fake Snow, real money, how do our recent winters impact our ski resorts? Last year was an epic year due to copious amounts of snow, this years snowpack in most areas a little less than stellar;     how does this impact skier traffic?

• It is quite amazing, many of the large operators on the west coast have spent millions in blowing artificial snow. Unfortunately mother nature has not been forgiving costing many resorts their entire season. See a recent Bloomberg news article: fake snow, real money, the fight to save California skiing

2. Will California ski resorts boost Colorado? With the lack of snow in California this year due to record drought, what does this mean for Colorado ski town real estate?

• For Colorado, California’s woes are a boon to ski resort visits. Many resorts in California were unable to open leaving anyone longing for consistent snow heading to Rocky Mountain resorts. According to the recent data, Colorado ski resorts. which recorded record visitors, are pacing ahead of last year. See full article from the Denver Post

3. Colorado ski resorts on sale; who is being sold and for how much? What does it mean for the communities

• Crested Butte is one of 15 resorts on the block to be sold; a REIT (real estate investment trust) owns crested butte along with a number of other smaller resorts throughout the country. Fortunately the current operator of the resort has a long term lease so the impact should be limited for now. Although if a major resort operator made a run at the portfolio this could substantially change the small ski town real estate. See the full article: Crested Butte and 15 others worth hundreds of millions could be sold

Reference Articles:

1. Fake Snow: Real Problems from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-03-06/fake-snow-real-money-the-high-tech-fight-to-save-california-skiing
2. Best Colorado Ski town investments: https://coloradohardmoney.com/blog/2015/01/colorado-ski-town-real-estate/
3. 15 resorts on the chopping block from Denver 7: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/crested-butte-and-15-other-ski-resorts-worth-hundreds-of-millions-could-be-sold
4. Ski visitation: what impact has California had on the Colorado ski industry: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_27723278/colorado-ski-resort-visitation-pacing-ahead-last-seasons

Written by: Glen Weinberg: COO/Partner Fairview Commercial Lending

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