How Many Condos Are In Mammoth Lakes?

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People who travel to various ski resorts/mountain towns in North America often make this observation. It's unique. My latest estimate is that Mammoth Lakes has about 9,000 condos and about 2,400 single family homes. It's an imbalance. And interestingly, over the past few decades, it's been normal for the total inventory of condos and homes for sale to be proportional to these numbers. But over the past six months, there have been periods when there have been fewer condos than single-family homes on the market. They are currently closer to being tied.

Many ski resorts in North America, and especially in the Rockies, are older communities with strong mining roots. There are historic main streets and surrounding blocks (mostly on a grid) of small houses that made up the original community. Some are over 100 years old. It explains much of the charm and character of these communities. This is something Mammoth clearly lacks. Planners have struggled with this for decades. But even for visitors who struggle to part with their vehicles, this historic facility doesn't work as well.

Mammut also has mining roots, but the boom and sustainability were short-lived. In reality, this was not enough for a similar construction of an official main street and a neighborhood of single-family houses. The present-day neighborhood of Old Mammoth south of town bears the subdivision name "Mammoth Camp Tract" dating back to the 1920s. It was primarily where miners camped during the mining era. There are a variety of historic sites and markers in the area commemorating this mining era.And there are actual log cabins from the 1920s to 1930s. Mammoth become more desirable, they disappear.

Mammoth's real estate development is younger than many classic North American ski resorts. If you came to Mammoth in the 1940s and didn't camp, chances are you stayed in the motel district off Old Mammoth Road. Some of these structures still exist near the Snowcreek Athletic Club and to the south. Most are now apartments.

The Sierra Valley Sites subdivision (also known as the Ghetto) developed during this 1940s era. Many historic shacks and buildings still exist in the four-street neighborhood (Manzanita, Mono, Lupin, and Joaquin). Due to the original (and current) zoning of the neighborhood, today there is a mix of historic buildings from the 1940s and 1950s, residential buildings built primarily in the late 1980s and early 1990s, housing in the Mammoth Mountain staff built in the 2000s became an era, worker housing in the town of Mammoth Lakes built in the 2000s, etc. Even new modern houses and apartments have been built in the recent past.

 

Mammoth's first real development spurt did not come until the 1960s and 1970s: there were new developments in the area now known as "behind the post office", and the lots were small and designed for weekend, weekday, and summer homes in the area between the village and what is now Canyon Lodge (then known as "7 and 8"), the proliferation of single-family homes in the west rose. These plots are bigger because there was a demand for bigger houses. It was basically the mid to late 1960s.

But the 1960s and 1970s also ushered in an important era of condominium development. There were early mega projects like Mammoth Estates and Sierra Manors. These were very "weekend" sessions as Mammoth Mountain was becoming a popular ski resort for Southern Californians. The general demand for these properties during this period is simply illustrated by the volume built. Local entrepreneur and developer Tom Dempsey (ultimately Snowcreek Resort) has built many projects that are still "plain" condos in Mammoth. Today, these approximately 50-year-old condominiums welcome thousands of guests each year and generate a valuable tourist tax (TOT). The classics are the projects of the "Four" series, including Seasons Four, Horizons Four, Discovery Four, Sunshine Village, Viewpoint, etc.

What makes these projects (and others) so exciting today is that they were perfectly designed for overnight rental (long before we called it STR). These projects have entry offices similar to hotel receptions, lounges, swimming pools and spas, directors quarters, etc. For decades they were owned and operated by "mom and pop companies" (some still are today). FannieMae's new "condo-hotel" policies in 2011 changed the way many of these projects have been operated over the past decade, but the vibe and facilities are still there.

I remember as a young Realtor® in the late 1980s, I had to be extremely polite and courteous to these property managers/booking company owners. Or they could be uncooperative. They ruled over the neighborhoods and protected their commercial interests in their respective projects. Some are notorious figures from Mammoth's real estate past. It had to be another time. But their positions gave them valuable lodging, stable management control, and the ability to earn a percentage of the STRs they managed. Was it a good gig? It was decades before Airbnb.

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