Jazz Festival Weekend

This weekend, Deer Valley is the host for the annual Park City International Jazz Festival. This is the tenth year for the Jazz Festival, which has grown to host both the stars and up and coming stars of the jazz world. The festival this year will be Friday night, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon.

Summer is beginning to wind down, but our activities are still going strong. Recent rains have kept the mountains exceptionally green for this time of the year, and the hiking/biking trails are less dusty than July. The hot summer days are over, evenings are cooler, and late August/September are terrific times to visit.

With all the recent news about lenders going out of business and difficulties in obtaining financing for properties, many buyers and sellers are concerned about the effect on our market. While we believe that this will certainly have some effect on our market, we also feel that our buyers tend to be strong enough that financing is not as much of an issue here as in some other markets. Because of the type of properties and the price point, we do not deal in the sub-prime market and for the majority of our second-home owners, qualifying for the purchase of a vacation home is rarely an issue. Our sellers also tend to be strong enough that they do not have to sell and therefore, do not feel pressured to drastically lower prices in order to get a property sold. The majority of our owners feel that the market for vacation properties is still strong, and that at worst case, they have a terrific home to visit and in many cases, are receiving excellent rental income.

The winter ski season is quickly approaching, and this is an excellent time to be looking for ski property. The town is a little bit slower, so it is easier to get into properties and sellers tend to be more negotiable now than during the ski season.