Alpine businesses pin their hopes on gold medal season

With the 2022 Winter Olympics now underway, savvy investors could look to commercial alpine properties to bring home gold this winter.

Alphine agents say that while the last few years have been tough and there’s no guarantee borders will remain open this winter, they are getting plenty of calls from city slickers looking to make a tree change.

Metropolitan movers may save the mountains

Scenic Bright, along with nearby Falls Creek, enjoys both a summer and winter trade. Picture: Charlotte Durut

Zirky Real Estate director Christa Smit is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming snow season.

The Falls Creek sales agent believes alpine visitor demand and recent increasing interest in regional properties could be the snowfields’ saving grace after a financially frostbitten few years.

“If there are no lockdowns this winter, it will be grand but the borders need to remain open so that people can travel,” she said.

Ms Smit is currently marketing the Milch Cafe and Bar as well as management rights including an apartment and office at Cedarwood Apartments in Falls Creek.

A colleague is also marketing Lumineux Chalets, a boutique accommodation opportunity, in nearby Bright.

All three properties have attracted interest from Melbourne and Sydney buyers of all ages and backgrounds. Yet each buyer has one thing in common: the desire for a lifestyle change.

“People are looking for lifestyle changes including where they’re working from and what they’re doing,” Ms Smit said.

“Also, with people not able to go overseas and travelling within Australia, there has been increased interest in tourism businesses.”

Ms Smit explained current summer operations in Bright and Falls Creek had surprised even local businesses with their high trade.

“Some booking agents already have no winter availability and we’re still only in February,” she said.

“And even the bookings over this summer have been crazy in Falls Creek and Bright.”

Tourism businesses bide their time

Michelle Edwards admits she is simply crossing her fingers and hoping for the best this winter.

Alpine regions offer abundant scenic vistas such as the Snowy River flowing below the Main Range. Picture: Charlotte Durut

The owner and manager of Snow Holidays, a ski accommodation company in Jindabyne, said her biggest wish for this winter is that borders will stay open.

“If the borders don’t stay open and guests are unable to travel to the area, property and business owners will need to make some tough decisions this winter and there will be some mental struggles,” she said.

Ms Edwards said Sydney’s lockdown in particular “killed it for everyone” last winter with most travellers to the NSW alpine regions coming from Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong.

“But bookings for this winter are strong and many weeks are already booked out after two years of skiers and snowboarders having to cancel,” she said.

“So everyone is hoping for the best this year and saying: Third time lucky!”

Rush to the hills

The city stampede to regional and rural areas is already resulting in increased property prices in the alpine regions.

Jindabyne’s median house price jumped 70.1% in the past year to $1.293 million with median unit prices soaring by 52.4% to $608,750, according to PropTrack data.

Jindabyne Real Estate director Patrick Killin said the town had experienced 10 to 15 years’ property value growth in the space of just two years, thanks to the “mass exodus” from capital cities, as well as the new freedom to work remotely.

Khancoban Alpine Inn once welcomed migrant employees from the original Snowy Hydro Scheme for after-work drinks. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Ms Smit agreed that the areas’ ski resorts, in particular, were already short of stock and experiencing high prices.

“These resorts are a limited size and so have a limited offering and a lot of people that own properties in these places want to keep them, even with the gains in property prices,” Ms Smit said.

The Snowy Mountains and Tumut-Tumbarumba regions are also among several NSW rural areas in which it’s now cheaper to buy a home rather than rent, according to November’s ANZ-CoreLogic Housing Affordability report.

For now, snowfield businesses can only hold onto their hopes that borders will remain open and welcome in a blizzard of badly needed winter visitors.

Six pack of alpine commercial properties

Snowfield commercial businesses offer buyers the chance to live in the heart of some of Australia’s more scenic areas.

Many of these businesses operate year-round, catering to hikers and walkers in the warmer months while enjoying the best snow on offer in winter.

Here are six of the best alpine commercial properties currently on the market.

1. Kooloora Ski Lodge, Perisher

Kooloora Ski Lodge in Perisher is a two-storey lodge that is licensed for 40 beds and comprises 14 renovated rooms plus a commercial kitchen and managers’ quarters.

Kooloora Ski Lodge boasts a prime position in Perisher, the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Kooloora Ski Lodge is for sale via expressions of interest with a price guide in excess of $3 million.

2. Khancoban Alpine Inn, Khancoban

Situated on the edge of Kosciuszko National Park, Khancoban Alpine Inn is a  a 200-seat bistro spread across 1.64ha of business zoned land.

It also features a commercial kitchen, sports bars, fireplaces and kids’ play areas. The motel has 36 rooms, a pool, spa and barbecues with management enjoying a five-bedroom house.

Khancoban Alpine Inn is for sale via expressions of interest as a freehold going concern with a price guide of $5 million.

3. Milch Cafe and Bar, Falls Creek

Operating almost all year round, Falls Creek’s popular Milch Cafe and Bar is an ideal operation for those seeking a hospitality business.

Milch Cafe and Bar is set within Falls Creek’s luxury accommodation complex, Frueauf Village. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

The property is located within the town’s luxury accommodation complex, Frueauf Village.

Now licensed for 100 people, Milch Cafe comes with a fireplace and a balcony.

It is for sale as a freehold going concern for $790,000, which includes all furniture, equipment and the leasehold title.

4. Harrietville Snowline Hotel

Harrietville Snowline Hotel is set on 3,315sqm in the centre of town. The property features 16 motel rooms, a dining area and bar, sizable decks and a beer garden.

There’s potential to develop further commercial opportunities such as a brewery, cafe or an on-site ski hire or retail business.

Harrietville Snowline Hotel is for sale via expressions of interest.

5. Chalets Lumineux, Bright

Chalets Lumineux is a well-established accommodation business that features five one-bedroom chalets and a two-bedroom house, while the owners are comfortably accommodated in a two-storey, three-bedroom home.

Chalets Lumineux in Bright features five one-bedroom chalets and a two-bedroom house for guests along with a three-bedroom home for owners. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

There’s also a rotunda with a barbecue.

Chalets Lumineux is for sale as a fully furnished accommodation property (aside from the owner’s residence) and going concern with a price guide of $2.35 million.

6. Cedarwood Apartments, Falls Creek

This commercial opportunity comprises management rights to Cedarwood Apartments, a complex of 24 self-contained apartments open to guests all year round.

A commercial opportunity at Cedarwood Apartments in Falls Creek includes management rights and an on-site apartment with an office. Picture:

As well, the sale includes a two-bedroom apartment and office for the buyer within the complex.
This possibility is for sale for an asking price of $795,000.