Aussie snow towns become winter wonderland for bargain hunters

It’s not just the temperature that’s colder this year – a deep chill has swept much of NSW’s popular winter holiday market, with homes in popular ski locations listed for discounts.

And for some property buyers, the heavily reduced chalets and cabins could be love at frost sight.

PropTrack figures showed property prices across the Snowy Mountains region were about 11 per cent below figures seen last year, with competition for housing falling rapidly amid higher rates.

Prices in the region moved in the opposite direction of NSW as a whole, which experienced a 5 per cent average increase in prices over the same period.

The average rise in Sydney prices was 7 per cent for the year.

Many snow homes have sold with much larger discounts than the 11 per cent average price drop in the region, with up to $500,000 shaved off the original list prices in some instances.

Among the current deals is a cabin in ski Mecca Thredbo available for a reduced price of $795,000.

There’s also a one-bedroom chalet near the chairlift, complete with cosy fireplaces, where the price has been reduced to $850,000.

These listings have followed a string of recent sales at well below the original prices, with a unit in Perisher Valley on Candle Heath Rd selling for $1.2m – $170,000 below the list price.

Agent Michelle Stynes of Forbes Stynes Real Estate, an expert in real estate sales across Thredbo and Perisher Valley, said interest rate rises had frozen much of the market.

“With cost of living and interest rates going higher, the first thing to go is the holiday home so there has been a sudden increase in stock for sale,” she said.

“It’s more the entry level cabins and houses where we’re seeing this. The premium properties are usually owned by people who aren’t affected by interest rates so they are actually still in high demand.

“Generally most properties are taking a lot longer to sell. Anything that was around the $800,000 mark has seen distinct price drops.”

Ms Stynes added that demand in Snowy regions with a more permanent population like Jindabyne had seen a dramatic drop since the early pandemic.

It comes as figures from online conveyancing group PEXA showed the treechange movement that dominated much of the property market during 2020 and 2021 had reversed in the last year.

Transactions in many regional areas were well below historical average, while sales in metropolitan areas were rising, according to PEXA.

PEXA chief economist Julie Toth said lower number of sales in regional areas were coming off a couple of big boom years during the pandemic.

SQM Research director Louis Christopher said holiday home sales reflected a trend among homeowners to do everything they could do preserve the family home.

“If repayments start to become more unaffordable, the last thing most people want to do is sell the family home. So the holiday home, the car, the private school for the kids all go first,” he said.

Ms Stynes said last year’s lacklustre snowfall probably also played a part in recent price drops on Snowy Mountains homes.

“Last season was dreadful. There wasn’t much snow,” she said. “Bookings are usually made a year before and there are bookings this year because there wasn’t much snow last year.

“It’s been colder this year but it’s only just started to snow and that makes a difference.

“Most people who buy properties in this area are families. They have their kids in extended programs learning to ski, so they see the value in having permanent accommodation here.”