Profit from the slopes: Investors follow skiers

As skiers hit the slopes, investors are hitting the real estate market in these ski resorts, hoping to cash in.

Some investors are finding they don’t have to be into skiing or snowboarding to enjoy the benefits of a home in a ski town.

The properties can be rented out weekly, monthly, or as seasonal vacation rentals that can sometimes generate the cash flow to cover the costs of ownership, according to Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president.

RealtyTrac analyzed housing and economic data from resort towns with some of the nation’s top ski resorts to come up with a list of some of the top ski resort towns for real estate investing. The company considered factors such as the town’s unemployment rate, distance from the nearest airport, foreclosure inventory for finding bargains, rental vacancy rate, gross rent yield, and median list price.

The six ski resort towns that emerged on top for real estate investors from RealtyTrac’s list are:

1. Whitefish, Mont.
Median list price: $249,736
Gross rental yield: 5.21 percent

2. Vail, Colo.
Median list price: $626,142
Gross rental yield: 2.96 percent

3. Truckee, Calif.
Median list price: $379,492
Gross rental yield: 4.88 percent

4. Avon, Colo.
Median list price: $459,658
Gross rental yield: 4.03 percent

5. Jackson, Wyo.
Median list price: $647,042
Gross rental yield: 2.71 percent