Filed under: Design, News, Buying, Lifestyle
In real estate's Old World Order -- back when homes appreciated in value hourly -- it used to be that the best time to pick up a bargain in a ski vacation home was when all the skiers had gone home: To wit, springtime -- now.
Mammoth Lakes, near Yosemite, has long been Southern California's go-to ski resort, in part because you can fly there in an hour from the Los Angeles basin or, do as most people do, enjoy the scenery along Highway 395 for five or six hours.
Checking in on the market up there now shows bargains to be had, as many condo prices are about 50 percent to 60 percent off their 2007 peak. And there is this not-so-little gem: A long-admired lodge-style house with 8,000-square-feet now listed at $7.5 million. It had been listed at $9.5 million.
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While Mammoth Lakes has worked hard to cultivate its image as skiing's "anti-Aspen" -- the high-end amenities have crept both into the town and certainly into the larger luxury homes like this one.
The house, a log cabin lodge built in 2003, makes good use of its mountainous setting and just oozes character and elegance. The ability to watch the snow fall from your glassed-in eating area is pretty magical. And Mammoth is a four seasons' resort area with real fall foliage for all those ex-New Yorkers living in Los Angeles and then outstanding hiking and fishing in the summer.
The home sits on a .75 acre wooded lot, fully landscaped and with spectacular views of Mammoth Mountain, the Sherwins and Mammoth Rock. There are five bedrooms, six bathrooms and an enormous family/entertainment room where all the house action takes place around the Rumford fireplace. Absolutely glorious wood floors here of white and red oak that were originally Pennsylvania barn wood. There is indoor-outdoor sitting and cooking areas and since the lot fronts U.S. Forest Service land, no one will be building near you.
Larry McKee, Century 21 Mammoth Realty, has the listing.
Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email ann.brenoff@huffingtonpost.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos.
For more on vacation homes and other topics, see these AOL Real Estate guides:
- Vacation Homes: Is Now the Time to Buy?
- How to Shop for Your First Home
- Neighborhood Hunting Made Easy
- How to Buy Foreclosures
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