Western Mass City Makes Top Ten Most Affordable Ski Towns in the United States

As winter sets in, some New Englanders prepare themselves for their least favorite time of the year, but if you're one of the residents who loves to ski, you know the best is yet to come.

While the Northeast doesn't boast the elevation or fresh powder popular ski destinations in Colorado, Utah, or other hot spots out west do, New England can certainly hang. From Okemo, to Stratton, Stow or Jay Peak, and even Jiminy Peak right here in Berkshire County, we've got east coast skiers covered.

In fact, Realtor.com just compiled a list of the Top Ten Most Affordable Ski in the United States and Berkshire County's own Pittsfield, Massachusetts rounded out the list at number ten.

According to real estate consulting firm Knight Frank, Sales of vacation and second homes have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as travel restrictions and social distancing mandates made buying a home in the middle of nowhere even more appealing, which primed homes in Pittsfield and the rest of Berkshire County to become a hot commodity.

Covid-19 really shown a spotlight on mountain living, the firm said. In a recent survey of homebuyers, previous to the pandemic just 11% of buyers were interested in a mountain/ski home, the number has climbed to 18% since Covid-19.

To come up with our list, we started with a list of more than 300 towns with ski resorts from the website On the Snow, a tool tracking snow and ski conditions in the U.S. Then we looked at Realtor.com listing data in these places and calculated the average median price of homes in the first 10 months of this year. Ski towns had to have an average of at least 15 home listings a month to make the cut.

To come up with the list, the team at realtor.com started with a list of more than 300 towns with ski resorts via On the Snow, a website that tracks snow and ski conditions in the U.S. Those towns were cross checked against realtor.com listing data in these places and calculated the average median price of homes in the first ten months of this year.

Here's what they had to say about our little corner of the world:

While Pittsfield is no Breckenridge, ski aficionados can experience a vertical drop of 750 feet at Bousquet Mountain, which was recently purchased by a local investment firm and is undergoing a major renovation. The resort was one of the first in the country to offer night skiing and the Kennedys even skied here, according to the resort’s website.

Pittsfield is conveniently located between two big ski areas. In less than an hour, snow bunnies can drive to South County, home to Ski Butternut and Catamount, while North County has Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort.

Prices here have spiked in recent months, as people looking to escape urban centers like New York and Boston fled here during the pandemic