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Strategically located nearly equidistant from the major population centers to the south, Los Angeles and San Diego; to the north, Reno; and to the west, San Francisco, this stunning resort town is a natural nucleus for four-season outdoor activities. And it has now become a very hot real estate market. What started the frenzy was when 90-year-old Dave McCoy, founder of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, sold a controlling interest to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group LLC for $365 million in 2005. The buyout group is led by Barry S. Sternlicht, founder of the company that owns the Sheraton and Westin hotel chains. Sternlicht plans to bring in hotels and restaurants. That, in combination with the fact that the town’s airport will soon be open again to commercial flights, which were stopped a decade ago, and that will allow visitors to avoid the dreary four to six-hour drive from Southern California, is resulting in a rush to buy condos, homes, and land before Sternlicht turns the town into another Aspen or Vail. In fact, one local Realtor reports that “We’re lining up purchases sight-unseen.” Mammoth real estate is such a hot topic that when the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the mountain’s sale, the paper experienced the single-highest Internet click-through activity in the history of the paper. |
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Indeed, Mammoth Lakes is already one of the most-visited ski resorts in the U.S., attracting 1.53 million visitors per year, second only to Vail’s 1.57 million. Mammoth is famous and unique for its lengthy skiing season, being the resort that usually opens earliest in the year and remaining open until the Fourth of July. |
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The median price for a single-family home was $818,750 in 2005. The median for a luxury home is now $1,395,000. The price range for single-family homes is $490,000 to $5,750,000. |
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Story by Jacqueline Shannon
Photography by Jacqueline Shannon, Reggie Calvin, and Latara Dragoo
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