Despite Stellar Snow Season, It’s a Buyer’s Market for Ski Chalets
There’s a reason people make such a big deal out of après-ski.
After a few patchy years, this winter has seen spectacular snowfall in resorts around the world. Telluride got snow early and kept it; Aspen had mounds of fresh powder on Christmas. In Switzerland, anyone willing to brave the wind and low temperatures had spectacular skiing over New Year’s, and in the Austrian Alps, snowfall got so extreme that it tipped the area into a danger zone.
Even as people line up for ski rentals and jockey for tables at summit lodges, the real estate market around them is slowly becoming a buyer’s market. St. Moritz’s prices showed negative growth, according to a Knight Frank Ski Property report for 2018-19, while French resorts including Courchevel have stayed relatively stagnant. In America, resorts across the Rockies have continued to see sagging sales and rising inventory (Aspen’s fourth-quarter sales price averages were down more than 25 percent year-over-year, according to Douglas Elliman), even as developers continue to build new homes.