While many folks throughout Central Virginia are enjoying this mild winter, Wintergreen Resort seems to be cursing it. After a 2009 winter that brought record snowfall to the entire state of Virginia, 2011 marks the second straight winter of warm temperatures and basically no snowfall. Combine the weather with an economy that is only now starting to chug a little…and that’s a recipe for disaster for Wintergreen.
The Daily Progress and multiple other sources have reported that Wintergreen has seen a $2.5 million operating profit shortfall this season…and it could only get worse if our February heat wave continues. In other bad news, it has also been reported that Bank of America has terminated Wintergreen’s line of credit.
Sales in Wintergreen and Nelson County have struggled for the past few years. However, there have been some positive trends in Nelson. Here are a few from our 4th Quarter 2011 Nest Report:
– Median prices were down only 4.3% from Q4 2010. Some other areas were much worse.
– Days on Market for sold properties were down about 5% (from 118 days to 112)
– Total sales jumped in Q4: up 15.8% from 2010
– Months of inventory continued to creep down year-over year…decreasing about 4% to 23.1 months.
23.1 Months of inventory is still an extremely high number. However contracts written in Q4 2011 were also up (almost 20%), so the inventory levels looked like they may continue to decline.
All in all, Nelson County and Wintergreen are beautiful places. We’re lucky to have them so close. So, if you are looking for something to do this weekend or searching for a new place to eat, we’re sure that our friends at Wintergreen would love your support. Here’s a few ideas of things to do there:
And of course, there is plenty of skiing and ski lessons.