Vancouver Real Estate Blog

Whistler Has Received 17.5 Feet Of Snow Already

Wow what a season so far. With over 593 cm of snow in the alpine and 193 cm at it's base, it's time to look at Whistler for a ski trip. For us locals living in Vancouver, we can pop up to ski in 2 hours. One of the benefits about living in Vancouver. Whistler has developed nicely over the years. It used to be only a winter town, but now there are more people exploring and staying in during the summer. That's true.

One of my favourite times to visit is our Canadian Thanksgiving. The hills usually have a dusting of snow. This usually occurs a few days before we get up there. But it has also snowed and left its beauty over the Thanksgiving weekend. The market is open to buy those fresh baked goods at the "Benchland" Base. Plus there is the huge "Turkey Sale" during the Thanksgiving Weekend. I love the long hikes up the side of the mountain and always looking out for bears. I usually see at least one bear on this weekend. Respect the wildlife. Watch from a distance. This is a time when the bears are very hungry as they prepare to hybernate.

Whistler Real Estate - The Best Place To See A Wild Whistler Black Bear - By Mitchell Mingie

The Whistler home environment has more than just homes for humans in their chalets, cabins and hotels. Black Bears also live and breath in and all around Whistler.

The Black Bear's home is quite different then the homes of the humans. First of all it costs them nothing to have a slope side home along the many ski trails at Whistler. Humans have to pay millions for a slope side residence or pay a nightly rate that can be in excess of $500 a night. For the bears however, they can choose any place on the mountain. As a Realtor I would have to classify their home as a Studio. No extra amenities found here. One room called home. Most of the homes for bears are not very obvious to humans as they are well disguised and hidden for the most part. Some of the homes are relatively close to where humans work, play and rest, yet most of us will never ever see these homes. I have only see one such home many years ago and trust me when I say I have seen and been in 10,000's of human homes.

Where to see the bears in their native environment?? Well I will tell you where I have seen them while with my kids sking or by myself.

1) Chairlift: Going up the main chair from the base of Blackcomb(Wizard chairlift) The best time is in late spring when mom comes out with the cubs from their den(Home). I have also skied past many bears on the ski slopes. They usually stay along the side of the ski trail, but not always.

2) Hiking: When I visit Whistler I always go for at least one good walk. This walk always starts at the base of the  Fairmont Chateau and I climb the Blackcomb Mountain out front. The time when I see most of the bears is from Late April to June when their is fresh green leaves to eat and flowers coming out. I would say that I see a bear about every second to third visit.

3) Golf Course: While walking along the many trails in the Benchlands, and over to Lost Lake, I occasionally see a bear in the lower areas of the golf course where skunk plants grow. I have been told that the golf courses were made with this in mind, but I have never confirmed it.

4) Biking: Whistler has a vast array of trails and I have seen bears close to the lakes and far up on the mountains. But most of the time the bears are 6-10 feet off the trail in the woods

- Always make sure while being out in the bears environment, you never want to sneak up on a bear or it could be your last sneak up!!

- always talk, make periodic noise as the bears if they are close will wander off or usually get out of your way. This does not work if you are coming up to a wild blueberry patch or if you somehow get between mom and her cubs. This is bad news for you. Very bad!! So when taking a bike ride, a walk or hike be aware that you are not sitting in the comforts of The Chateau, you are in the Bears living room so to speak so be respectful. 

- Never ever feed a bear, as two things will certainly happen:

1) The bear will want more of your tasty little treats and will not understand NO.

2) This teaches the bear that humans will feed them tasty sweet food which will lead the  bear to become too familiar with humans and accidents will result. Leading to the bear either being re-located(Best Solution) or worse of all and this again is not the bears fault but some pretty dump humans, having the bear killed as it has become a danger to all humans.

On a personal note I have seen these beautiful bears close up and they are magnificent animals to say the least and I have seen tourist try to get close for that special picture. Please use your zoom lens and keep our bears safe and wild.

More about Whistler Bears follow this link: http://www.bearsmart.com/bear-smart-whistler

Types of Ownership in Whistler - Most Common is Phase One and Two

There are over twenty-five different types of residential zoning in the Whistler area. Some of these zonings allow the use of the property for the purposes of short term rental and some prohibit it. Individual properties that permit usage as tourist accommodation may also have covenants registered against the title which determine the amount and type of personal and public usage of the property. These are generally referred to as Phase One and Phase Two properties and are found, for the most part, in the Whistler Village and the Blackcomb Bench lands.

Phase One Units
These units are also known as "unrestricted" and are studios ( as low as $139,000) up to 4.5 bedroom Condominiums & Townhomes in the village and Blackcomb Benchlands ( highest 4.5 bdr Four Season Residence $ 4,8 million ). There are no restrictions on owner usage of these condominiums and owner can do his own rental or work with one of the rental management companies available for times when the owner would like the property rented out to produce some revenues.

Click the following URL to see other phase 1 opportunities:
http://matrix.buywhistler.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=12946XCU9M&p=DE-888062-783

Phase Two Units
These units are also known as "restricted" and are studio ( as low as $79,000) , one and two bedroom apartment condominiums (highest 2 bdr $919,000 at the Four Season Resort ) incorporated in an ongoing hotel operation. The number of days that the owner is allowed to use the unit is restricted to 28 days in the winter and another 28 days in the summer. There are no restrictions in the off-peak spring and fall. The benefits to these units include revenue, potential tax shelter and the various hotel services and facilities. These investments are best for the occasional visitor to Whistler or for the investor interested in revenue only.

Click the following URL to see some phase 2 opportunities:
http://matrix.buywhistler.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=12946XCU9M&p=DE-888063-217

Whistler sliding Centre - recreational bobsleigh course opens to the public.

Paul Shore of Whistler 2010 Sports Legacies said that bobsleigh course will be open to the recreational use sometime this winter 2010, 2011. This will be an opportunity to ride down the track in a 4-man bobsleigh with an expert driver. All I can say is Count Me In. I want to experience 120 -130km speeds, 5 G force and 60 seconds that will last me a life time. Just one more example of how the west coast living, will shapes the lives of those residences who live in the area. 

10 meters of snow at Whistler

Whistler is reporting that it has already received 10 meters of snow this season already. That's about 33 feet of pure ski heaven. This picture is of Black Tusk and is located on the Tourism Whistler site.

Whistler 10 year overview

 Whistler's housing market rebound at the end of 2009 capped decade-long growth that saw a 123 per cent increase in assessed values from 2000 to 2010, according to a new report from Landcor Data Corporation.

In this report Landcor's President Rudy Nielson explains all the relevant Real Estate facts and trends. For example.

- 13,134 residential homes in whistler,

- 2007 property owners came from 13 countries. Today that number is at 40.

- Condo prices increased 201% to $380,000

-Townhomes prices increased 204% to $677,000

Detached prices increased 141% to $1,396,000

Follow the link to read the full report.

https://www.landcor.com/market/reports/2010_Whistler_Report.pdf