Music in the Mountains

Summertime, mountain resorts and music just seem to fit together, and Park City is no exception. During the summer evenings one can find a free music venue just about anywhere in town featuring an assortment of local musicians. New this year is the Sky Lodge at the bottom of Main Street. When the Sky Lodge opened last December and re-opened its restaurant Easy Street they had the foresight to include a wonderful outdoor seating area with a stage perfect for summer evenings. This has been a favorite place to relax on a weekend, have a nice glass of wine and listen to some wonderful local music. Mountain Town Stages is a local organization with the charter to put on free music events around town and the local areas. Mountain Town Stages is the driving force behind the Wednesday free concerts. These concerts first started in the early 90s in City Park. By 2004 they had become so popular that they outgrew the park and moved to Deer Valley Resort. These Wednesday concerts are the highlight of the week and a place for everyone to get together, listen to some fun music and catch up with friends that we may not see for the rest of the week. If you are here during the summer months, this is a must attend event.

In real estate news, I was looking at the latest statistics provided by the Park City Board of Realtors comparing 2007 and 2008. Through June 30th in 2007 the Park City Board of Realtors has recorded 1,235 closed transactions. For the same time frame in 2008 the number dropped to 711 closed transactions. Interestingly enough, the average sold price for these sales went from $815,085 in 2007 to $869,919 in 2008. This would seem to indicate that the average value of a property increased about 5% last year. As with all stats, these numbers can be misleading and this is one of them. While it is true that the average sold price has increased, it is due to a significant number of sales being new construction at or near the ski resorts. Because of land cost and construction costs, newly built homes and condos are more expensive than existing homes and condos. The reality is that existing homes and condo prices are at best, flat from last year and, in more cases than not, down slightly. Since we know that all trends, whether up or down, do change over time this is an excellent time to purchase. Yesterday I was with a past client who had purchased a vacation home this past December. He could have lamented the fact that had he waited, he might have gotten a better deal. But instead was thrilled that he purchased when he did. His feeling was that not only did he get his home at a good price, but he had the advantage of being able to use it this last ski season. He mentioned that he had many friends come out this past winter and stay with him and commented on how lucky he was to have a place here.

All of the factors that have contributed to our growing Real Estate Market are still in place in spite of the weakening economy. We are an easy to reach and very desirable 2nd home community with a wide variety of real estate opportunities. This has not changed, and the desire to own real estate here is as strong as ever. Don’t let the scare headlines from the media prevent you from pursuing your dream of a 2nd or vacation home in whatever area you are interested in.