Winter wonderland: alpine sales surge amid a freeze on travel

From Falls Creek to Mt Buller, ­celebrity Melbourne agent John Castran says alpine sales continue unabated across the Victorian Alps.

The four-bedroom and four-bathroom 12 Skyline Tce at Mt Hotham, an architecturally designed, bold metal and stone-clad house with internal car spaces. The asking price is $2.75m.

From Falls Creek to Mt Buller, ­celebrity Melbourne agent John Castran says alpine sales continue unabated across the Victorian Alps, fuelled by strong seasons and state border closures.

“In my 40 years of working I have never seen such a velocity of sales,” says Castran, who has several apartments, chalets and land release sites at Mt Buller on his books.

“In the last month or so, we’ve never sold so much alpine real ­estate ever.”

Castran reckons the pandemic-induced freeze on international travel and lingering uncertainty about state border closures is the major driver of the uptick in ski field chalet and apartment sales.

“People are saying they can’t go anywhere else,” Castran says, adding that Mt Buller, which has been developed by the Grollo family, is a highly accessible getaway option, given that it is only a three-hour drive from Melbourne.

“Recent bumper snow seasons certainly haven’t hurt, but Victoria’s alpine off-season has also grown in popularity as cycling tourism has pumped $16m into the regional economy each year,” he says.

“Available housing stock is for now extremely limited, and market conditions seem set to continue the boom and, with the Grollos’ recent investments in substantial infrastructure, such as a new dam, $20m in snow-making equipment and an $8m lift, the ­future for Melbourne’s Mountain looks particularly bright.”

The Snowflake unit in Mt Buller, has an all-important car space

The founder and director of Melbourne’s Madam Wheels, Jacquie Hayes, has decided to sell her luxury ski apartment in the prestigious Snowflake development at 22 Stirling Rd, Mt Buller through Castran of Castran Alpine.

Hayes used interior designer Kate Walker from KWD to decorate the one-bedroom and one-bathroom apartment, which has an all-important car space.

“You can drive right to you front door,” Castran says.

The apartment can accommodate six guests in the main bedroom, plus a further two guests in the living room.

The decorator bathroom has been fitted out with handmade Spanish tiles, and there is a heated floor.

A keen skier, Hayes says she had intended to keep the apartment for her two teenagers, but for them, hanging out with friends is preferable to skiing.

Hayes reckons she may have overcapitalised on the quality of the fittings and finishes, as she thought the apartment would be passed on to her kids one day.

Given the quality of its fit-out, Castran has put a price of $500,000-$550,000 on the apartment, which features a built-in work station, hydronic heating, feature timber-lined ceilings, as well as wide board oak flooring.

He is also selling the brand new four-bedroom and four-bathroom 12 Skyline Tce at Mt Hotham, an architecturally designed, bold metal and stone-clad house with internal car spaces. The asking price is $2.75m.

“This is positioned on the highest freehold land in Australia,” says Castran, who adds that the ski chalet was finished just three weeks ago in time for this winter season.