Sun Valley Resort property prices fall

HAILEY, Idaho – Some of the priciest real estate in central Idaho just got cheaper.

Sun Valley Resort’s assessed value on Monday was lowered from $222 million to $139 million by Blaine County commissioners following an appeal by resort officials, who had suggested a value of $96 million.

County Assessor Valdi Pace said the revised assessment is fair. “I believe it is,” she told the Associated Press on Thursday. “Based on its actual and functional use, as opposed to its highest and best use.”

As an example, she noted that a large horse pasture that Sun Valley Resort owns between it and Ketchum was initially assessed for its “highest and best use” value as a site for condominiums. The lowered assessment based the value of the land as a horse pasture.

She also said part of the reason for the initial assessment of $222 million was that Sun Valley Resort had not turned over any income information. The resort supplied the information for the appeal.

At the hearing, Terry Whipple, chief tax officer for the resort, compared Sun Valley Resort’s value to the recent sale of Mammoth Mountain Resort in California for $365 million. He said that Mammoth Mountain had about four times the number of skier visits as Sun Valley, and suggested a valuation of $96 million.