Daily Real Estate News | Friday, January 17, 2014

As some skiers hit the slopes, investors are hitting the real estate market in these ski resorts, hoping to cash in. Some investors are finding they don’t have to be into skiing or snowboarding to enjoy the benefits of a home in a ski town.

The properties can be rented out weekly, monthly, or as seasonal vacation rentals that can sometimes generate the cash flow to cover the costs of ownership, Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac’s vice president notes.

RealtyTrac analyzed housing and economic data from resort towns with some of the nation’s top ski resorts to come up with a list of some of the top ski resort towns for real estate investing. They considered factors such as the town’s unemployment rate, distance from the nearest airport, foreclosure inventory for finding bargains, rental vacancy rate, gross rent yield, and median list price.

The six ski resort towns that emerged on top for real estate investors from RealtyTrac’s list are:

1. Whitefish, Mont.
Median list price: $249,736
Gross rental yield: 5.21%

2. Vail, Colo.
Median list price: $626,142
Gross rental yield: 2.96%

3. Truckee, Calif.
Median list price: $379,492
Gross rental yield: 4.88%

4. Avon, Colo.
Median list price: $459,658
Gross rental yield: 4.03%

5. Jackson, Wyo.
Median list price: $647,042
Gross rental yield: 2.71%

6. Bozeman, Mont.
Median list price: $406,704
Gross rental yield: 3.25%

Source: “Best Ski Resort Towns for Real Estate Investors,” RealtyTrac (Jan. 10, 2014)