Updated 11/22/2011

The winter is upon us with resort operations in swing and snow on the ground. A major storm system is forecast for Thanksgiving weekend, much like last year, that could provide the foundation for full operations remarkably early in the season. Most importantly, early snow piques interest in our feeder market driving all forms of activity including real estate interest. Thus far, the greatest revelation of the multitude of new offerings at Northstar has to be Epic Mix. This technology clearly blends the best of information technology and social media in a way that will be hugely impactful for the resort experience.

On the real estate front, an article appears in today's San Jose Mercury News, detailing the migration of Silicon Valley families to Lake Tahoe.

 Lake Tahoe the Place to Park your Money San Jose Mercury

The article goes on to detail many of the high-profile companies based out of the Silicon Valley that have produced buyers in just the past year. These include Apple, Google, Oracle, Yahoo and many others as well as a large contingent of venture capitalists behind them. The greater point is the consistency in demographic, from age to income, with our buyer profile and how well the Lake Tahoe experience aligns with their lifestyle wants and needs.

Despite this being a typically quiet time of your for real estate transactions, there are several deals worthy of mention:

　

* Several sales are newly pending throughout Northstar representing the wave of buyers referenced in recent weeks seeking a quick sale in anticipation of the winter to come.

o 345 Skidder Trail is a very nice home on the Northstar Golf Course asking $1,165,000

o 1051 Martis Landing is a dated home near open space asking $790,000. At 2460 square feet the asking price is $321 / foot; a notch above a handful of similar vintage homes earlier this year; a positive indicator

o 4504 Great Bear Lodge; the trophy property in the Northstar Village, is pending for $1,590,000 asking. A slightly smaller floorplan, this equates to $719 / foot, well above the lowest comparables in the Village.

o A whole ownership residences is pending sale in One Village Place, the gondola building in the Village at Northstar, for $1,475,000. This residence, #505, is a prime 5th floor unit with up-mountain views.

o Most interesting is 7502 Big Horn in Northstar Village pending for $1,100,000. A closed sale anywhere near the asking price of this residence will be a high-benchmark for 2-bedrooms in quite some time.

* 1708 Grouse Ridge, a bank-owned home, closed escrow for $1,000,000. While this is a disappointing comp from a statistical perspective, it clears the deck of a distracting, distressed property that had been stripped of its appliances and other components.

* 8405 Catamount in Northstar Village, also a bank owned, closed for $654,000. Also stripped of its appliances, this sale represents a necessary clean up.

* At Gray's Crossing, two homesites closed escrow; R7 and W127 for $30,000 and $35,000 respectively.

Forthcoming updates will undoubtedly be more and more interesting as we get into the heart of the ski season.

　

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving.

Tim Lampe and Steve Kegal.