Today starts the July 4th holiday week as well as the official start to summer in Park City. Finally! The holiday is a very festive time in Park City with free concerts both Wednesday and Thursday evenings at Deer Valley and The Canyons resorts and then on Friday the Utah Symphony comes to Deer Valley. July 4th is a special time in Park City with the parade down Main Street in the morning, activities in the City Park all afternoon and then fireworks that evening. There is nothing quite as much fun as a small town July 4th parade. Kids on bicycles, skate boards and in-line skates, families that are gathered for the holiday and various service groups combine to bring much revelry to the day.
This past weekend we had national off-road biking championships at Deer Valley. This is an annual 3 day event and always attracts the top riders throughout the country. We’re also gearing up for the annual girl’s fast pitch softball tournament, which runs for about three weeks. This tournament continues to draw more and more entries every year, has expanded from its original two weeks to three and we have built several new softball fields to accommodate the girls.
It is a spectacular time of year to hike and bike the numerous trails around town. The wild flowers are in full bloom and the mountains are as green as I have ever seen them at this time of year. The mid-mountain trail is the most popular trail and runs from Deer Valley to The Canyons Resort. This trail follows a contour at about 8,000 feet and traverses the Wasatch Range across many ridges, gullies and streams. With many entry and exit points to this trail it is very easy to get on it and hike or ride whatever distance is comfortable.
July is great time to be in the mountains. The days are warm, the evenings are cool and the weather is as good as it gets!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Summertime in Park City
This past Friday Park City celebrated the summer solstice with a party on Main Street featuring live music and great food. We revisited an old Park City tradition by putting a long table down the center of Main Street with restaurants serving dinner to guests. This was accompanied by live jazz music of which the highlight was the Park City High School Jazz Band. The Park City High School Jazz Band has won numerous awards throughout the country and was definitely the hit of the evening. Music and revelry lasted well into the night.
This week we are enjoying the calm before all of the 4th of July festivities start. This Wednesday really kicks off the summer season with the first of the free Deer Valley Wednesday Night Concerts. These free concerts feature local musicians and are the highlight of each week. Residents and visitors turn out in great numbers to sit on the lawn at Deer Valley with dinner and wine, re-acquaint themselves with friends they haven’t seen over the winter, and enjoy a beautiful summer evening.
All of the golf courses are open and going strong. The course maintenance people have done a spectacular job of bringing the courses back from a very long winter and while there is still snow in the mountains, it’s wonderful to see the lush, green fairways of our local golf courses. The new Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Promontory is now in its first full summer of play and the word is that it is perhaps the best course in Utah. I hope to be able to make this determination personally in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile I have played the Mark O'Meara course at Tuhaye several times over the past month and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The views and terrain changes at Tuhaye are spectacular and make for a very interesting round of golf.
In real estate news, we are definitely seeing an increase in business. Summer visitors are here and are now looking to purchase properties that they saw last winter, and in anticipation of the upcoming ski season. As I have mentioned several times, the summer months are the perfect time to pick up a vacation property. It is easy to get into all of the properties and sellers tend to be more willing to negotiate now than during the busy winter season. So plan a vacation, come to Park City in the summer, and experience the warm days and cool nights of summer in the mountains.
This week we are enjoying the calm before all of the 4th of July festivities start. This Wednesday really kicks off the summer season with the first of the free Deer Valley Wednesday Night Concerts. These free concerts feature local musicians and are the highlight of each week. Residents and visitors turn out in great numbers to sit on the lawn at Deer Valley with dinner and wine, re-acquaint themselves with friends they haven’t seen over the winter, and enjoy a beautiful summer evening.
All of the golf courses are open and going strong. The course maintenance people have done a spectacular job of bringing the courses back from a very long winter and while there is still snow in the mountains, it’s wonderful to see the lush, green fairways of our local golf courses. The new Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Promontory is now in its first full summer of play and the word is that it is perhaps the best course in Utah. I hope to be able to make this determination personally in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile I have played the Mark O'Meara course at Tuhaye several times over the past month and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The views and terrain changes at Tuhaye are spectacular and make for a very interesting round of golf.
In real estate news, we are definitely seeing an increase in business. Summer visitors are here and are now looking to purchase properties that they saw last winter, and in anticipation of the upcoming ski season. As I have mentioned several times, the summer months are the perfect time to pick up a vacation property. It is easy to get into all of the properties and sellers tend to be more willing to negotiate now than during the busy winter season. So plan a vacation, come to Park City in the summer, and experience the warm days and cool nights of summer in the mountains.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Summer Arrives
Finally the winter that would not go away has ended and summer arrived this past weekend. Temperatures are in the high 70s to low 80s and everyone is finally out enjoying Park City. While the mountains still have snow and many of the mountain bike trails still have patches of snow on them, enough is open that hiking and biking are in full swing and the aspens are greening up nicely. This is a very interesting time of year watching the aspen trees leaf out in stages starting at the lowest elevations and working to the mountain peaks. The top of the mountains still have not leafed out yet, which will make for a very short growing season.
This weekend we are reviving an old tradition in Park City with a dinner and party on Main Street. This used to be called “Taste of Park City” where there would be one long table down the middle of Main Street where everyone would dine at their favorite restaurants, enjoying music and conversation. This has been revived as a benefit for the Park City Jazz Festival and will be a two day event with dinner on Main Street Friday night and a picnic in the park on Saturday. All of this will be accompanied by various Jazz groups as a prelude to the Park City Jazz Festival in August.
In Real Estate news, there seems to be an increased interest in Deer Valley condos in the last couple of weeks. Just recently three condos, all over a million dollars, have sold. With a four bedroom in Deer Lake Village setting a new price for that area. Whether this is an indication that we have bottomed out or not remains to be seen.
Finally the winter that would not go away has ended and summer arrived this past weekend. Temperatures are in the high 70s to low 80s and everyone is finally out enjoying Park City. While the mountains still have snow and many of the mountain bike trails still have patches of snow on them, enough is open that hiking and biking are in full swing and the aspens are greening up nicely. This is a very interesting time of year watching the aspen trees leaf out in stages starting at the lowest elevations and working to the mountain peaks. The top of the mountains still have not leafed out yet, which will make for a very short growing season.
This weekend we are reviving an old tradition in Park City with a dinner and party on Main Street. This used to be called “Taste of Park City” where there would be one long table down the middle of Main Street where everyone would dine at their favorite restaurants, enjoying music and conversation. This has been revived as a benefit for the Park City Jazz Festival and will be a two day event with dinner on Main Street Friday night and a picnic in the park on Saturday. All of this will be accompanied by various Jazz groups as a prelude to the Park City Jazz Festival in August.
In Real Estate news, there seems to be an increased interest in Deer Valley condos in the last couple of weeks. Just recently three condos, all over a million dollars, have sold. With a four bedroom in Deer Lake Village setting a new price for that area. Whether this is an indication that we have bottomed out or not remains to be seen.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Snow on June 11
Have I mentioned that spring in the Rocky Mountains is never predictable? Neither is summer. These photos were taken this morning.
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The historic and oft-photographed Miner's Hospital.
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A few inches up here at Silver Lake, Deer Valley.
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The Sterling lift at Silver Lake, Deer Valley.
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And the Silver Lake Express in Deer Valley.
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The historic and oft-photographed Miner's Hospital..JPG)
A few inches up here at Silver Lake, Deer Valley..JPG)
The Sterling lift at Silver Lake, Deer Valley..JPG)
And the Silver Lake Express in Deer Valley.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Local Press of the RMRA Event
We had an excellent turnout for the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance meetings this last weekend, particularly to the event where the NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, spoke about the current market and housing trends. In addition to realtors, the local news media were present.
Utah housing market faring well; tax credit may help even more – KSL TV
Expert: Housing market will rally – Salt Lake Tribune
Hope for housing in Utah – Deseret News
Utah housing market faring well; tax credit may help even more – KSL TV
Expert: Housing market will rally – Salt Lake Tribune
Hope for housing in Utah – Deseret News
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance
This past weekend representatives of the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance were in Park City for our spring meeting and education seminars. We had representatives from Sun Valley, ID, Jackson Hole, WY, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Vail, and Telluride from Colorado, and Park City, UT. The purpose of the meetings was twofold: to share statistical and market information from the various resorts, as well as to participate in some presentations from national speakers. We were fortunate to have Doctor Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, speak to us. We had around 200 realtors in the audience, and Dr. Yun gave a very interesting presentation on the real estate economy with an emphasis on the western resorts.
Merging together Dr. Yun’s presentation and what we have heard from the media over the past year, brought some interesting clarifications. The media has pointed out on numerous occasions that the national foreclosure rate this year is double what it has been over the past years. This is an alarming statistic, that while true, we need to understand that the foreclosure rate has gone from 1% of mortgage holders to 2% of mortgage holders. So once again we see that the media in its effort to sell more papers and newscasts has sensationalized a truth that would otherwise be meaningless. Another point that Dr. Yun brought out is that the majority of this 2% of foreclosures is in the subprime market and many of those were investors who purchased with little or no money down, and just wanted to flip the property for a quick profit. If your goal is to flip a property for a profit, and you have little or no money invested in the property, it is pretty easy to just walk away if it doesn’t turn out the way you want. So in this light, the current economic condition that is discouraging the quick flipper is not bad news. Dr. Yun was very clear feeling that anyone who purchases investment property in any of the western resorts will likely see a 30% appreciation in the next 5 years. As I have been saying for quite some time now, this is an excellent time to purchase as prices are low, inventory is strong, and sellers are negotiating.
During the weekend, representatives from the various resorts gave a short presentation on their particular market and issues facing their resorts. We also had several social networking opportunities which allowed me to speak informally with each of the various resort representatives. The overwhelming conclusion was that while all of our markets had slowed, they were not dead. People continue to want their vacation property, but are tending to negotiate harder, and be more particular when they purchase. This is certainly true here in Park City.
Other than this, it is still snowing here in Park City and is supposed to snow again this week. We are eagerly awaiting summer.
Merging together Dr. Yun’s presentation and what we have heard from the media over the past year, brought some interesting clarifications. The media has pointed out on numerous occasions that the national foreclosure rate this year is double what it has been over the past years. This is an alarming statistic, that while true, we need to understand that the foreclosure rate has gone from 1% of mortgage holders to 2% of mortgage holders. So once again we see that the media in its effort to sell more papers and newscasts has sensationalized a truth that would otherwise be meaningless. Another point that Dr. Yun brought out is that the majority of this 2% of foreclosures is in the subprime market and many of those were investors who purchased with little or no money down, and just wanted to flip the property for a quick profit. If your goal is to flip a property for a profit, and you have little or no money invested in the property, it is pretty easy to just walk away if it doesn’t turn out the way you want. So in this light, the current economic condition that is discouraging the quick flipper is not bad news. Dr. Yun was very clear feeling that anyone who purchases investment property in any of the western resorts will likely see a 30% appreciation in the next 5 years. As I have been saying for quite some time now, this is an excellent time to purchase as prices are low, inventory is strong, and sellers are negotiating.
During the weekend, representatives from the various resorts gave a short presentation on their particular market and issues facing their resorts. We also had several social networking opportunities which allowed me to speak informally with each of the various resort representatives. The overwhelming conclusion was that while all of our markets had slowed, they were not dead. People continue to want their vacation property, but are tending to negotiate harder, and be more particular when they purchase. This is certainly true here in Park City.
Other than this, it is still snowing here in Park City and is supposed to snow again this week. We are eagerly awaiting summer.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Busy Week in Park City
Busy week in Park City About 12 years ago I created an alliance of boards of Realtors at destination ski resorts throughout the Rocky Mountain states. With the purpose of sharing market and resort information. The Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance has 12 member boards in four states plus British Columbia, Canada. Our members are in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming. This coming weekend we are holding our spring meeting here in Park City. There are about 20 Realtors from the non-Utah resorts coming here to share information on their markets and issues that are facing the resorts. Over the years this has proved to be one of the most informative and beneficial meetings that I attend. Even though I always hear news from the other resorts, it is best when I am able to speak with my compatriots one on one and be able to get an in depth picture of their market. Watch for a report on the meetings next week.
In local real estate news, business is definitely picking up. Late last week I received an offer on a townhouse in the neighboring community of Heber and yesterday I received a second and backup offer. We have not seen multiple offers in quite some time and hopefully this is an indication that for good properties properly priced, buyers are out there. Also late last week I received an offer on a Deer Valley condo that I have listed and while the negotiations are ongoing, buyer and seller are very close and I am confident that ultimately we’ll see a sale. For the end of May, early June when the town is still quiet, as it is still snowing every week, this activity is very promising for the summer. In speaking with a potential buyer this morning, I again reiterated (and he agreed) that whether it be two or three years from now we are going to look back at this year very wistfully. I suspect that many buyers are beginning to realize this and understand that while sellers are negotiating this may not be the case for much longer. Real estate markets and particularly resort real estate markets can flip from a Buyer’s Market to a Seller’s Market or visa versa very quickly and with little advance notice. The savvy investors understand that the time to purchase is not at the bottom of the market but as the market is approaching the bottom. All too often everyone waits for the market to hit bottom to purchase. If a significant number of buyers all come into the market at close to the same time the market quickly changes to favor sellers and buyers may have lost whatever gains they thought they had realized by waiting.
In local real estate news, business is definitely picking up. Late last week I received an offer on a townhouse in the neighboring community of Heber and yesterday I received a second and backup offer. We have not seen multiple offers in quite some time and hopefully this is an indication that for good properties properly priced, buyers are out there. Also late last week I received an offer on a Deer Valley condo that I have listed and while the negotiations are ongoing, buyer and seller are very close and I am confident that ultimately we’ll see a sale. For the end of May, early June when the town is still quiet, as it is still snowing every week, this activity is very promising for the summer. In speaking with a potential buyer this morning, I again reiterated (and he agreed) that whether it be two or three years from now we are going to look back at this year very wistfully. I suspect that many buyers are beginning to realize this and understand that while sellers are negotiating this may not be the case for much longer. Real estate markets and particularly resort real estate markets can flip from a Buyer’s Market to a Seller’s Market or visa versa very quickly and with little advance notice. The savvy investors understand that the time to purchase is not at the bottom of the market but as the market is approaching the bottom. All too often everyone waits for the market to hit bottom to purchase. If a significant number of buyers all come into the market at close to the same time the market quickly changes to favor sellers and buyers may have lost whatever gains they thought they had realized by waiting.
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