Trailside Drive in Killington has turned out to be a popular place for homebuyers, given the proximity to the ski trails and the opportunity to ski in/ski out — a type of real estate that’s rare in Killington.
Multiple homes on Trailside Drive in Killington have sold for over $2 million and one, listed and sold by real estate agent Bret Williamson, broke a record, selling for $3.75 million in October.
In fact, Trailside has been so popular thatNathan Mastroeniof Sotheby’s International Realty has nicknamed it “Millionaire’s Row.”
Mastroeni listed another house on Trailside Drive for $2.49 million on Nov. 20, and expects this home will be popular among buyers as well — most of whom pay in cash and are looking for ski-in, ski-out properties.
The Trailside Drive homes reflect the overall market in Killington. The median price of homes was $735,000 over the past six months — that’s almost double the home prices in the same period in 2018, when the median home sold for $371,000, according to Mastroeni.
Contrastingly, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has predicted that this year home sales may have their worst year since 1993. Sales dropped in October and prices continued to climb, as inventory remained low, having a major impact on potential buyers.
“Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Multiple offers, however, are still occurring, especially on starter and mid-priced homes, even as price concessions are happening in the upper end of the market.”
Nationally, of all the homes sold in October, 28% went above the listing price, suggesting there was a bidding war among potential buyers.
“There are lingering effects of multiple offers, with more people waiving home inspection and appraisal contingencies,” said Yun. “Given the lack of inventory home sellers are in the driver seat, they like the offers that waive those contingencies.”
As of Nov. 20, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.74%, while the average for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.01%. Experts are predicting mortgage rates will drop slightly, to under 7%, in the second half of 2024, which could entice some sellers — locally and nationally — who have been holding out, to put their homes on the market. It could also give Killington homebuyers more inventory to choose from.
Up and coming development in Killington, including talks of a new pedestrian-friendly village has also interested home buyers, according to local real estate agents.
In this special section of the Mountain Times, we answer questions such as: Why is inventory so low? Who are the few who are selling now? Who’s able to buy at high prices, and high interest rates? Where do they come from? What are they looking for? What’s coming next?
Check out a story about the state’s new fluorescent lightbulb restrictions, a new business mentoring program for energy professionals and what’s being done about affordable housing in this area. Rutland was selected to participate in an exciting state pilot program!
Central Vermont has always been a great place to live. We aren’t surprised others, especially those who are looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city-life, traffic, etc., agree!
The quality of life is simply better when live where you play!
