Talisker Purchases the Canyons

The big news in Park City this week is that it appears that Talisker is set to purchase the Canyons Resort from American Ski Corp. This past year has seen a hotly-contested fight between Talisker Corp, a Toronto-based real estate developer, and Vail Resorts, for the rights to purchase the Canyons Resort. With recent court rulings and the dropping of objections from other land owners, Talisker is now in line to close on the purchase. While the sale of the Canyons to either Vail or Talisker was good news for the struggling resort, Talisker brings to the table the financial backing to finally bring the resort up to its potential. The first thing that we should see is increased snowmaking, better foodservice in the restaurants and more attention to customer service.

As the ski season enters its final month of operation, we are seeing several developments on the mountain offering terrific incentives to buyers to purchase this year rather than waiting. These incentives are often a combination of discounted price and attractive financing opportunities. At the same time, owners of resale properties are often more motivated on their price and willing to look at and negotiate offers. All of this adds up to spring being a terrific time to look at and purchase a ski property.

This winter continues to be terrific in terms of snowfall and visitors to town. Even though it is March, we continue to receive a fresh coating of snow every few days. The surface conditions on the resorts are much more like winter conditions than the wet spring snow that often occurs in March. With the longer days and warmer weather and excellent skiing conditions, this is a great time to come visit and see what Utah skiing is all about.

March 2008

What a terrific season this has been! From looking at the snowbanks around town it seems like it snowed every day in December, January, and February. The companies that shovel roofs have been extremely busy keeping up with the daily snowfall. This is the first year that I have ever had to have my roof shoveled, as the snow was over five feet deep on the rooftop. All around town it is a winter wonderland with many streets reduced to one lane. At the ski resorts we’re able to ski tree shots in places we have not been able to ski in years, as even on the south-facing slopes the snow is deeper than it has been for many years. Deer Valley reached a base of over 100 inches by mid-February, which is very rare. While the snow is terrific for the water table and the reservoirs, we’re not sure when we’ll see the golf courses. Last year on closing day, I skied in the morning and played golf on the Park City course in the afternoon. This year, if the course is open in mid-May we’ll be lucky.

In real estate news, the dour news from the stock market, economy, and housing market from around the country has definitely had an effect on us. While we are not seeing prices dropping below last year’s prices, we are seeing an increase in inventory and buyers being more cautious and slower to act than they have in the past. This translates to an excellent time to buy, as we know that all cycles run their course. Because development in the mountain towns is constrained by the topography our available building space is limited. This is particularly true at the resorts, where buildable land is scarce. Buyers looking for bargains should be looking now when they have choices and are in a much stronger position than they will most likely be in a few years when the market has turned around again. Too often buyers make the mistake of feeling that the market will continue to go down and miss opportunities.