Leisure Living: Prices holding up in ski areas

Locals are hoping this season reverses the downhill slide in sales caused by the national housing recession and tight credit markets, which mean even higher interest rates for buyers who don't use a home year-round.

Sales in several Rocky Mountain resort towns are down 40 percent year-over-year. Prices, however, appear to be leveling out, or in some cases going up, a sign that investments in these areas tend to hold their value.

While the government bailout passed by the House and signed by President Bush on Friday doesn't specifically address second homes, many are hoping it will help the mortgage market and restore buyers' confidence.

In its October/November issue, Robb Report's Vacation Homes magazine features Aspen, Colo., and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho as two of the top 10 places to buy a second home, citing strong prices and steady economies.

These cities, along with well-known destinations such as Vail, Park City and Jackson, Wy., are attractive because they are smaller towns with lifestyle options that include skiing, hiking, and other recreational activities. But these pluses, and a relative scarcity of developable land, can drive prices above $1 million.

In Jackson, the average home sold in the first half of the year was a cool $2.1 million, up from about $1.95 million during the same time period last year, according to Jackson's multiple listing service. However, sales totaled 166 through June, down from 294 in the same period last year.

Park City, Utah, saw home sales drop to 675 from 1,166 in the first half of 2007, while the average sales price increased slightly from $1.10 million to $1.25 million, according to that city's MLS.

Vail, Colo., and Sun Valley, Idaho saw similar price gains and sales declines.

Those prices are being pulled up by sales at the Robin Leach, rich-and-famous end of the market--which isn't affected by the mortgage morass because buyers usually pay cash. Homes like President Gerald Ford's ski retreat in Vail, for example, which is on the market for $14.9 million.