"It was like flipping a switch," Lynn said. "Immediately after 9/11, our sales started to go up into the stratosphere. And it's continued unabated since then." Officials from Wintergreen Resort say the buying spree accelerated 18 months ago.
Prices at the resort have shot up as the demand has mushroomed.
Hans Wachtmeister takes to the slopes near condominiums at Wintergreen Resort, less than a three-hour drive from the Capital Beltway.
(Photos Stephanie Gross For The Washington Post)
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A two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,150-square foot slopeside condominium with a wood fireplace and a balcony was on the market last week for $349,000. The unit had direct views of skiers whooshing past the wrap-around picture window in the living room. Mountain and valley views carry a big premium at Wintergreen because few of the properties there have them. Lynn predicted the unit would sell quickly.
In the 1990s, that same condominium would have sold for about $160,000, the long-time Wintergreen broker said. And it might have stayed on the market a year.
A four-bedroom, three-bath cedar house with no mountain view was also on the market last week for $399,000. A half-acre lot, with central sewer, cable, paved road and a view of the slopes, was for sale for $300,000.
Prices range from $125,000 for a studio condominium with a kitchenette to $2.5 million for a new cedar house with striking views of the slopes, the Rockfish Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Wintergreen Resort, at an elevation of about 3,800 feet in Nelson County, Virginia, consists of 11,000 acres on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The resort is bordered by national forest and has 23 ski slopes and trails, two golf courses, 25 tennis courts and several swimming pools.
Besides the amenities, one of the main reasons Wintergreen attracts so many Washington buyers is because it is nearby. At three hours, it is one of the closest ski resorts to the capital, although it may not be the best skiing near Washington.
"For a vacation home, you want to be in easy driving distance, however you define that," author Tuccillo said. "You're not going to use a place that's difficult to get to."
For Curt Winsor, who recently bought a two-bedroom, two-bath slopeside condo at Wintergreen for $270,000, being relatively close to his house in Georgetown was a big consideration.
"With kids, you just don't want to drive huge distances," said Winsor, who has children ages 2 and 10. "I'm just not going to drive five hours to get to my condo. Okay, the skiing isn't Vermont or Colorado. Nowhere close. But vertical is not as important as proximity to home."
Winsor also likes the fact that Wintergreen is less than an hour's drive from Charlottesville. "Charlottesville has a really nice airport now," he said. "I was in New York recently on business. I flew straight there on the weekend to meet the family." Winsor and his family are waiting for a larger three or four-bedroom property to become available.
"We want a bigger place," he said. "But there just aren't any at the moment."
There are about 4,500 single-family houses, condos and townhouses at the Wintergreen Resort, both on the mountain and in the valley below.
