Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, November 28, 2008

Phones are still ringing at Tourism Whistler’s booking office, offering some hope to a waning Whistler real estate market.

“Our real estate activity does flow from our tourism activity,” Patrick Kelly, an agent at the Whistler Real Estate Co., said in an interview, “particularly where the international — American and European — market is concerned.”

“If they don’t come [to visit], we don’t sell to them.”

At Tourism Whistler, McDonald said operators at the resort are bracing for a slower 2008-09 season compared with the 2007-08 season. Forecasts are for five to 12 per cent fewer visitors than the previous year.

However, they have been marketing aggressively and offering deep discounts to attract early bookings and mitigate those expected visitor reductions, and indications are that some of those efforts are paying off.

He said the United Kingdom tour operators are reporting that their winter sales to all Canadian resorts are down, but they are down the least for Whistler.

McDonald said officials believe that is because of growing awareness of Whistler’s status as co-host of the 2010 Olympics.

Whistler Blackcomb’s new peak-to-peak gondola, which will transport skiers from the top of one mountain to the other and opens Dec. 12, is another amenity the resort hopes will be an advantage in attracting visitors this season.

McGregor said that over recent years, the Whistler real estate market peaked in 2003-04, then dropped considerably in 2005 before picking up again in 2006.

As for the longer term, he said new developments such as the upgrade of the Sea to Sky highway will stand the resort in good stead.

For now though, McGregor said that if sellers “have a valid reason to sell, it’s a solid market, but most definitely a buyers’ market.”

TOP 10 SALES FOR 2008

·        6715 Crabapple Drive $17.5 million

·        4669 Blackcomb Way $6.7 million

·        6669 Crabapple Drive $3.93 million

·        4922 Horstman Lane $3.88 million

·        9101 Summer Lane $3.61 million

·        3441 Heron Place $3.6 million

·        5750 Alta Lake Road $3.38 million

·        1534 Spring Creek Dr. $2.8 million

·        4299 Blackcomb Way $2.8 million

·        4700 Glacier Drive $2.75 million

TOP 10 SALES FOR 2007

·        6717 Crabapple Drive $10 million

·        82-4617 Blackcomb Way $6.8 million

·        81- 4617 Blackcomb Wa $6.5 million

·        7425 Treetop Lane $6.3 million

·        71-4617 Blackcomb Way $5.8 million

·        3586 Falcon Crescent $5.6 million

·        3851 Sunridge Court $5.3 million

·        3805 Sunridge Place $5.25 million

·        5468 Stonebridge Place $4.5 million

·        4937 Horstman Lane $4.4 million

Average prices for detached homes in Whistler:

      Year      Avg Price

·        2000     $695,654

·        2001     $796,247

·        2002     $1,055,308

·        2003     $1,181,906

·        2004     $1,384,904

·        2005     $1,305,276

·        2006     $1,364,775

·        2007     $1,370,017

·        2008     $1,299,802

Source: Landcor Data Corp.