Looking back at a decade of Revelstoke mountain town real estate

It has now been over 10 years since the sleepy mountain town of Revelstoke received word that Revelstoke Mountain Resort was a go. This was long awaited news after 20 something years in the approval process.

The Revelstoke area is idyllically situated in the world’s only inland temperate rainforest, spanning from the US Border to Wells Gray Park. Since the late 1960s this area has been a well-known, steep and deep destination for its world-class snowmobiling and heli-skiing, famous for ridiculous powder conditions that can actually require a snorkel some days.
This was a game-changer for the local economy; this was big news. The quiet mountain town that played host to the extreme winter enthusiasts on an epic, yet small scale on the whole, was about to open its doors to the world offering a playground said to rival the finest. In the second year of operation, RMR expanded the gondola to the existing village base, now with the most vertical in North America at 5,620 feet and great potential to be one of the best in the world with strategically planned lifts for the predicted rising snow lines in the coming years.

Initial real estate sales at the Sutton Place, originally named Nelson Lodge were a big to-do. Investors were flown in helicopters viewing estate lots and the three-phase strata hotel which were put on the pre-sale market. Building one sold out in just two hours. With the demand for these home-suite-homes, they released the next two phases with great success and construction began.

At the time in Revelstoke, the average sale price for a single family home in 2007 was $440,000 and at the end of the third quarter this year it was $458,000.

You could feel the momentum; the whole town was alight. I had arrived on scene exactly on time, it seemed. Something I often look back on and chuckle at. Whatever force called me here, I am thankful for daily. The town definitely has changed in a lot of ways since 2007, but it seems that it was time for a re-energization. The railway, hydro and mill were the town’s main economic drivers. Winter was by far the busiest time for tourist season with the nuking powder days calling the winter adventurers, sledders and heli-skiers. Those who lived here full time then know that the summer (and spring and fall) are also incredible in Revelstoke. The creation of RMR provided a reason for people to pull off the highway. How many times have I heard a visitor to town say ‘I usually just stop for gas on the highway and keep going. Didn’t know there was anything here?’ RMR gave them a reason, in every season.

But just as soon as it was off the ground it seemed the worst possible thing happened. The global recession in 2008 evaporated the original developer’s financing. The resort did not, however, go under as commonly thought. A private investor group backing the original deal, the Gaglardi family of Northland Properties in Vancouver, stepped up an took over controlling interest, thus keeping the gondola spinning and construction underway. Building one was just half built at the time. So that’s exactly what they did. Finished the hotel, changed the name to Sutton Place with their recent acquisition of the brand by Northland in combination with their original and magnanimously successful Sandman Hotel Group and Denny’s Canada.

RMR continued to operate on a global scale, just at a slower pace than originally planned. The resort has not experienced the original growth pattern planned out, but has grown every year with extensive glading, a 25% increase to the lift capacity this year after the resort added 24 more gondola cabins and 21 high-speed quad chairs.

Good things do take time. We are incredibly lucky, most would agree, to have had a somewhat private playground the past 10 years. As time healed the wounds inflicted in 2008, people are again out and seeking adventure, both on the mountain and in real estate investments. Real estate sales at RMR have increased with continued, renewed interest in both the condo and estate lot sales with sale prices in the range of 30% below original list price in 2007. Rental revenues are on the rise. It’s like a second chance to discover one of the world’s finest playgrounds.