By Stephen Smysnuik
The shift from destination visitors to a regional market has taken its toll on another side of Whistler business: golf.
Roger Soane, general manager of the Chateau Whistler and chair of Tourism Whistler, says that appealing to the regional market has reduced the rates for golf courses in Whistler. Like most of the hotels, the golf courses have been offering deals to woo customers.
"It's very similar to hotels," Soane said. "As the destination traveler has reduced because of the economics and the times we're in, we've gone to a regional model, so we're attracting more people from the region - which is great but chances are they're not going to pay the same type of rates as the international guests."
Soane says there hasn't been a drop in the number of golfers but the number of people willing to pay resort course fees has fallen.
For the Chateau Whistler, the drop in group business has had a negative impact on the golf course, which was built as an amenity to the hotel. The course is facing what the entire resort is facing: short end bookings and a failing American economy.
"When everyone is going through reduced business, as we have for the last two years, everyone is going to suffer, whether it be golf, restaurants (or) bike rentals. Anything that needs people has seen a downfall. Golf is no different to any other business," Soane said.
A recession that is particularly deep in the United States and a rising Canadian dollar slowed American visitors considerably, a market the resort had depended on. Destination travelers are sticking closer to home.
Earlier this year, Garibaldi Springs Golf Resort shut down after only six years of operation.
"Tourism was so high. The rates that were built around the resort area especially were created to reflect the popularity of Whistler. People came and they didn't really hesitate to pay a premium green fee for a premium product," says Paul Nijjer, general manager of Furry Creek Golf Club.
"While the product is still premium up there, people have tightened up the wallets since then.
He says his course is flat in rounds played to last year, and that "good news" is due largely to the completed Sea to Sky Highway expansion. Golf courses across B.C. haven't fared as well, and many of the courses he knows about are down compared to last year.
"That's not just golf, it's resort visitation in general," said Alan Kristmanson, general manager and director of golf at the Whistler Golf Club. "Corporations are more careful with their dollars and golf as an activity in a resort has definitely suffered from that, for sure."
Ro Davies, manager at Whistler Golf Club, says that while the customer base has changed over the years the Whistler golf club has been doing virtually the same number of rounds year after year.
He also says that the golf club fared better than others during the recession. According to statistics provided by Tourism Whistler, Whistler golfers tend to be affluent and avid players who take leisure golf trips frequently, even during economic downturns.
"People still play golf. We're a great golf course and there's still a bunch of people with money, so they're spending it here," he said. "We have a lot of loyal golfers that support our club and continue to support our club. You hear about courses in the States shutting down but we don't have as much product. You get a small percentage of hotel visitors coming to Whistler so if you get five per cent of those people interested in golf, all the courses in Whistler are full."
"We have minimum inventory a day," Kristmanson said. "It's not like the mountain where you put 18,000 people on the hill... If golf courses are managing their business properly you're going to target the mix of clientele that are coming, and for us that's regional."
Nijjer says there has been a noticeable boost in American tourists playing Furry Creek since the Olympics. The numbers are nowhere near the hey-day levels of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but any increase is good news.
"The rounds came down, there was a decrease, but if you were proactive enough in creating opportunities for people to play, they still came," he said. "It's such a sport that people absolutely love to play... it's consistently going to be at the forefront of activities that people will like to do," he said.
The economy is only part of the problem. The other problem, according to Soane, is that golf has become too big to sustain itself. In the U.S. in particular, where the real estate market drove the development of golf courses, there's a surplus of courses versus golfers. This isn't as much of an issue in Canada, which has the highest player rate per capita in the world, but it has affected business in Whistler.
"Golf, I think, as a product is over built, and I think the sport itself in its evolution has reached a peak," Soane said. "For the longest time, there was more and more golfers added every year and there was a great growth in golf. I'm not sure that's the case any more.
"I honestly believe golf as an industry has become too expensive," he added.
"A golf course will set its rate based on the times," Nijjer said. "When the economy is strong, it's easy to raise a rate and because of all the things that go in to the daily operation of a golf course you need to maintain a daily rate in order to have a successful operation. What ends up happening is you have to build opportunities for golfers of all types to come and enjoy your facility."
But with all the challenges facing the golf business in the Sea-to-Sky, there is optimism for the future of the sport. The four courses - Whistler Golf Club, Chateau Whistler, Nicklaus North Golf Course and Big Sky Golf and Country Club in Pemberton, have worked together to focus attention on the growing interest of women and junior golfers, offering a junior golf camp and ladies night. Targeting the younger demographic is of particular concern, as many have feared that as the baby boomers grow older the younger generations may not play in the numbers needed to keep the industry afloat.
Nijjer says that's not the case, noting that Furry Creek has a high proportion of players 21 to 35 years old.
"(The shift from older to younger players) will deplete the average amount spent per person, as with the baby boomers because they were spending the money, whereas the youth are a bit tighter with it. Then again, when you create the opportunities, you'll get them to your facility," he said.
"There's no reason to tell me that this won't turn around," Soane said. "As corporate business comes back, you'll see the golf courses becoming more prosperous again, but I also believe as an industry golf has to take a close look at itself and say, 'Are we priced in comparison to other activities?'"
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Great Comeback of Luxury Properties
September 9, 2010 · Published in Jerseys by zhanglingjuan114 ·
Recreational and luxury properties were the hardest hit when real estate markets took a nosedive a few years back. The global financial crisis had led to the downfall of a lot of property development projects. In fact, most industry experts had described the high-end segment of the real estate market as one enormous sinkhole.Faced with increasing construction cost,If you can’t afford to buy luxury brand watches, the best choice for you is to buy nba jerseys. tight financing and dwindling sales, a lot of development projects went down the drain even before they could enter the market.
There is now a renewed interest in recreational and luxury residences. In fact leading indicators
seem to show that this segment is well on its way to full recovery. Nonetheless, most marquee developers are still reluctant to ride the tide to recovery and plunge into action. Since most development companies took a serious hit a few years back, they could not afford to overextend themselves unless the real potential of the real estate properties is carefully assessed.
Is it time to buy recreational or luxury residences? Real estate players are not aggressive this time around. Property developers and industry experts alike were caught off-guard when the full impact the financial crisis finally reached the high end segment of the real estate market. They were blindsided by the unexpected turn of events and the rate at which the market dried up at the height of the global financial crisis. When the problem was at its peak, sales of these properties went zilch.
Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation then, the real estate markets made a strong rebound, and things are looking good again for real estate markets. Developers are again operating in positive territory, and the figures that are coming in point to a strong comeback across all segments of the real estate market.
What led to the dramatic shift? Experts attribute this positive development to the prevailing mindset of sellers. The global financial crisis had left a deep scar in the mindset of major stakeholders and high-priced property investors. Most, if not all of them, went into selling mode with the primary objective of unloading from their current portfolio high risk assets. The prevailing mood among these property investors was that they have missed the peak of the market, and they are left with no other option but to sell even below the assessed value of their properties.
This market situation bodes well for potential buyers of this type of properties. In urban centers, real properties with selling price above $3 million will attract few buyers, and in most cases it will take longer time before such properties are sold. The prevailing mood among sellers is that of the urgency to move the properties as soon as possible to cut their losses.
For buyers, this is good news. If you are searching for a recreational property,For generations,football jerseys is proverbially considered to be a man’s sport. then this is the right time to make a buy. In all real estate markets in Canada, serious buyers can find one-of-kind real estate properties with asking prices that are well below their assessed values and in some instances, below their replacement cost. This is the prevailing condition in markets of recreational properties in areas such as Whistler,. We take pride in our designs, quality, customer service, and chanel jewelry our favors have on your customers and their guests. Muskoka, Okanagan and Mont Tremblant.
Despite the positive development in real estate markets and encouraging leading indicators, experts are quick to point out that a recreational property is far from being a homerun purchase. Although there are great deals in the high-end segment, basic rules in real estate still apply. This means that the three most important variables that must be considered by buyers are location, location and location. For the high-end segment of real estate market, location is the number one driver of property values.
It is also important that you look beyond the great view when assessing the investment potential of recreational properties. Wise buyers must also take into account
the architectural significance of recreational properties. In most cases, size will not have much impact on the actual value of the property.You will first want to try jerseys wholesale on in person before you make any purchases.There are plenty of R4 ds games available on the internet that could be downloaded and installed directly on to these cards. However, you must seriously consider aesthetic appeal, quality of design and construction and overall function of the recreational property.
Recreational and luxury properties were the hardest hit when real estate markets took a nosedive a few years back. The global financial crisis had led to the downfall of a lot of property development projects. In fact, most industry experts had described the high-end segment of the real estate market as one enormous sinkhole.Faced with increasing construction cost,If you can’t afford to buy luxury brand watches, the best choice for you is to buy nba jerseys. tight financing and dwindling sales, a lot of development projects went down the drain even before they could enter the market.
There is now a renewed interest in recreational and luxury residences. In fact leading indicators
seem to show that this segment is well on its way to full recovery. Nonetheless, most marquee developers are still reluctant to ride the tide to recovery and plunge into action. Since most development companies took a serious hit a few years back, they could not afford to overextend themselves unless the real potential of the real estate properties is carefully assessed.
Is it time to buy recreational or luxury residences? Real estate players are not aggressive this time around. Property developers and industry experts alike were caught off-guard when the full impact the financial crisis finally reached the high end segment of the real estate market. They were blindsided by the unexpected turn of events and the rate at which the market dried up at the height of the global financial crisis. When the problem was at its peak, sales of these properties went zilch.
Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation then, the real estate markets made a strong rebound, and things are looking good again for real estate markets. Developers are again operating in positive territory, and the figures that are coming in point to a strong comeback across all segments of the real estate market.
What led to the dramatic shift? Experts attribute this positive development to the prevailing mindset of sellers. The global financial crisis had left a deep scar in the mindset of major stakeholders and high-priced property investors. Most, if not all of them, went into selling mode with the primary objective of unloading from their current portfolio high risk assets. The prevailing mood among these property investors was that they have missed the peak of the market, and they are left with no other option but to sell even below the assessed value of their properties.
This market situation bodes well for potential buyers of this type of properties. In urban centers, real properties with selling price above $3 million will attract few buyers, and in most cases it will take longer time before such properties are sold. The prevailing mood among sellers is that of the urgency to move the properties as soon as possible to cut their losses.
For buyers, this is good news. If you are searching for a recreational property,For generations,football jerseys is proverbially considered to be a man’s sport. then this is the right time to make a buy. In all real estate markets in Canada, serious buyers can find one-of-kind real estate properties with asking prices that are well below their assessed values and in some instances, below their replacement cost. This is the prevailing condition in markets of recreational properties in areas such as Whistler,. We take pride in our designs, quality, customer service, and chanel jewelry our favors have on your customers and their guests. Muskoka, Okanagan and Mont Tremblant.
Despite the positive development in real estate markets and encouraging leading indicators, experts are quick to point out that a recreational property is far from being a homerun purchase. Although there are great deals in the high-end segment, basic rules in real estate still apply. This means that the three most important variables that must be considered by buyers are location, location and location. For the high-end segment of real estate market, location is the number one driver of property values.
It is also important that you look beyond the great view when assessing the investment potential of recreational properties. Wise buyers must also take into account
the architectural significance of recreational properties. In most cases, size will not have much impact on the actual value of the property.You will first want to try jerseys wholesale on in person before you make any purchases.There are plenty of R4 ds games available on the internet that could be downloaded and installed directly on to these cards. However, you must seriously consider aesthetic appeal, quality of design and construction and overall function of the recreational property.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Buyer’s market conditions continue in Greater Vancouver
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
by RE/MAX Real Estate Services on Tue, Sep, 7, 2010 12:09 PM
VANCOUVER, B.C. – September 2, 2010 – Conditions in the Greater Vancouver housingmarket continued to favour buyers in August. Since April, prices have edged down slightly as the number of sales and the number of properties coming on to the market have been declining.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,202 in August 2010. This represents a 36 per cent decline from the 3,441 sales in August 2009, the second highest selling August ever recorded, and a 2.4 per cent decline compared to July 2010.
From a wider perspective, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.4 per cent increase over the 1,568 residential sales in August 2008, a 34.9 per cent decline compared to August 2007’s3,384 sales, and a 26.6 per cent decline compared to August 2006’s 2,998 sales.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.5 per cent to 3,750 inAugust 2010 compared to August 2009 when 4,544 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,421, a 6.1 per cent decline from last month and a 29 percent increase from August 2009.
“We’re seeing moderate demand, low interest rates and a healthy but slowing stream of supply inour marketplace, all variables that favour those looking to purchase a home,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said. “The last few months have also shown some stability when it comes to price fluctuations in the region, which is a welcome trend after reaching record highs in April.”
Since spring, housing prices have decreased 2.8 per cent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the residential benchmark price was $593,419. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 6.9 per cent to $576,597 in August 2010 from $539,600 in August 2009.
“Canada remains an attractive destination for foreign buyers, a fact that continues to affect activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market,” Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in August 2010 reached 893, a decrease of 34.7 per cent from the 1,367 detached sales recorded in August 2009 and a 66.9 per cent increase from the 535 units sold in August 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 8.5 per cent from August 2009 to $795,076.
by RE/MAX Real Estate Services on Tue, Sep, 7, 2010 12:09 PM
VANCOUVER, B.C. – September 2, 2010 – Conditions in the Greater Vancouver housingmarket continued to favour buyers in August. Since April, prices have edged down slightly as the number of sales and the number of properties coming on to the market have been declining.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,202 in August 2010. This represents a 36 per cent decline from the 3,441 sales in August 2009, the second highest selling August ever recorded, and a 2.4 per cent decline compared to July 2010.
From a wider perspective, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.4 per cent increase over the 1,568 residential sales in August 2008, a 34.9 per cent decline compared to August 2007’s3,384 sales, and a 26.6 per cent decline compared to August 2006’s 2,998 sales.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.5 per cent to 3,750 inAugust 2010 compared to August 2009 when 4,544 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,421, a 6.1 per cent decline from last month and a 29 percent increase from August 2009.
“We’re seeing moderate demand, low interest rates and a healthy but slowing stream of supply inour marketplace, all variables that favour those looking to purchase a home,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said. “The last few months have also shown some stability when it comes to price fluctuations in the region, which is a welcome trend after reaching record highs in April.”
Since spring, housing prices have decreased 2.8 per cent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the residential benchmark price was $593,419. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 6.9 per cent to $576,597 in August 2010 from $539,600 in August 2009.
“Canada remains an attractive destination for foreign buyers, a fact that continues to affect activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market,” Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in August 2010 reached 893, a decrease of 34.7 per cent from the 1,367 detached sales recorded in August 2009 and a 66.9 per cent increase from the 535 units sold in August 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 8.5 per cent from August 2009 to $795,076.
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