A Retrospective Of Park City

Going in to this Christmas week we were all very curious and a little nervous to see just what the real estate activity was going to be. While certainly not back to the good ‘ole’ days, everyone is reporting a dramatic increase in activity over last year. Open houses are busy with people seriously looking to buy this season. This is such a welcome change from last year and the mood in town is so much more upbeat than it has been for a long time.


A year ago the global financial crisis had begun just as we entered into the busy winter season and almost every financial decision was placed on hold as the nation watched the crisis deepen. This year is a very different story as now the U.S. is beginning a real recovery as the winter season begins. The stock market has regained much of its loss and even though unemployment remains high consumers are feeling more confident that the recovery is real. Proof of this is exemplified by the numerous closings of sales and the opening of the St. Regis Hotel and Flagstaff condominiums in Deer Valley. While most of these transactions were contracted nearly three years ago the fact that these owners are closing on the transactions is a demonstration of their confidence in the recovery and that their expectations of the product has been exceeded.

Park City is nearing its final build-out as we near 2010. With the exception of the two main parking lots and base areas of all three ski resorts, the core area of Park City is all built out. The physical constraints of our small valley make for a very limited amount of future development. Inventory’s of listings in the Park City area are diminishing again and with continued low interest rates combined with low prices I expect to continue their decline. At some point in the very near future we all anticipate that interest rates will start an upward decline as we enter a more inflationary period. This is what makes buying now such an unusual opportunity…some may say the “perfect storm” for buyers. Many of us remember the two previous recessions when interest rates were over 17% simultaneous with an economic downturn, which makes this downturn so unusual. Buyers now have the opportunity that they have always wished for, to wind back the clock on prices and low interest rates.

An important element of this point in time is that is has humbled all of us and we have to push the reset button, however it also helps up refocus on what is important and that is the lifestyle that we live here in Park City and all the good things it brings. If you have already established a beach head here in Park City I hope that you can take this winter to visit and remember just what brought you here in the first place. For those of us who live here this past year has been an opportunity to do the same thing. There may never be a better time to own a piece of what you always wanted. Whether it is for the first time or to see it with fresh eyes, I am here to show you around and help you discover what makes Park City such a special place to live.

I wish everyone a happy and safe New Years and a welcome end to the roller coaster ride of the first decade of the new millennium. Here is to a prosperous 2010-Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas Eve Day In Park City

It is a bright, sunny, beautiful and cold Christmas Eve day here in Park City. We have received about 5 inches of new snow this week, just enough to put a sugar-coating on the trees and homes. The joy of living in the mountains is that we get these crystal clear winter days with the deepest blue sky you have ever seen, unlike the Salt Lake valley where an inversion has set in and at best it is hazy and very foggy.


Visitors and skiers are in town, the shops are busy and the restaurants are full. The new snow and sunshine has everybody’s spirits up and in a Christmas mood. From my own observations and from speaking with my fellow agents, our visitors are once again looking at real estate. All reports that I have received are that open houses have been busy with people seriously looking to purchase.

The upcoming auction of 8 condos at the Silver Strike Lodge in Empire Pass at Deer Valley is creating quite a buzz around town. Silver Strike has been advertising in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal so most of our visitors have heard about it and are very curious as to what is going on. It talking with clients of mine who may potentially be bidding, we all feel that the 8 units will sell during this auction but will sell for lower prices then what the listing agent/developer/auction company are hoping for. As a result of the auction I have seen some sellers in Empire Pass dramatically reduce their prices significantly below their original purchase price. This is making for some excellent opportunities to pick up a ski-in/ski-out vacation condo at very favorable prices. I think that this next week and a half will be very telling for how real estate business is going to be this winter.

Sunny and I wish you the merriest of Christmas’s and a happy and very prosperous 2010….THINK SNOW!!

Christmas In Park City

This is the start of the Christmas Holiday and the Park City resorts are ready. After a week of bitter cold, followed by a two day blizzard, this week has been quite warm with temperatures in the upper 30’s. Fortunately it is colder up on the mountain so the resorts have been able to make snow non-stop, even this week. Park City and Deer valley have been able to open new runs and lifts daily and as of today over half of the mountain is open. I expect both resorts to open new runs throughout the next couple of weeks.

The town is festive and decorated to bring out the holiday spirit in everyone. One of the great fun things in Park City is how all the condominium projects and private homes light up the trees. A nighttime drive around town with snow still in the tree branches and Christmas lights twinkling is really quite magical. Along with skiing we have many other activities such as sleigh rides and snowmobiling in the back country of Utah. Christmas is a special time of year and to spend it with family and friends in a place like Park City is simply the best.
I wish everyone the happiest of holidays and a prosperous 2010.

Good Old Fashion Utah Snow Storm

After a week of bone chilling cold this weekend saw a good old fashion Utah snow storm. From Saturday morning to Sunday evening the Utah ski resorts received 3 to 4 ft of new snow just in time for the Christmas holidays. I skied at Deer Valley yesterday with knee deep powder and new runs were opening up as the day progressed. With continued cold weather and snow making as well as more snow forecast for later in the week, most of the mountain should be open later this week. If you have been waiting to see what the conditions would be like before booking your vacation to park city, wait no longer! The conditions are excellent and the skiing is fabulous so come on out!

Latest Happenings In Deer Valley

While there has been a lot happening in real estate here in the last week or two, let’s start by talking about just how cold it is. Yesterday morning it was -9 and warmed up to a balmy 15 degrees. This was actually quite pleasant as earlier in the week the high temperatures stayed in the single digits. This has been one of the coldest December’s that I have seen in a long time, and it feels much more like January than December. While everyone has been running around complaining about the cold and many of the people in the older historic Park City homes are dealing with frozen water pipes, the ski resort snow makers are having a field day making snow. Last weekend before it got really cold I spoke with Bob Wheaton (president of Deer Valley) who said that Deer Valley is pumping 7000 gallons of water per minute in snow making. That was before it got really really cold, so that number has increased this week. The snow making has been so good that Deer Valley is opening up new runs and lifts every day. Even without natural snow, we will have the majority of the mountain open for the Christmas Holiday. HOWEVER, the forecast is for 2 to 3 ft of snow this weekend! The skies are already starting to cloud up and the south winds are blowing strong, indicating a major change in weather. If the forecast holds true, we should have almost all of the mountain open by next weekend…just in time for Christmas!

Now back to real estate. As I mentioned last week the St. Regis hotel in the Deer Crest area of Deer Valley has opened. I took a tour of the hotel last Wednesday. Riding the funicular to the St. Regis was just the start of an incredible tour. The bar, lounges, restaurant’s and lobby’s are all spacious and beautifully decorated with spectacular views from every window. The highlights are the ski out patio, which will be the new “beach” for the Deer Valley après ski scene and the outdoor pool which even without the setting of the ski run’s and the mountain back drop is beautiful. But no visit to the St. Regis would be complete without a visit to the spa. The massage rooms invite you to relax and unwind but what will be most enjoyable is the couples massage room with private whirlpool. The waiting room for the spa has a stream flowing through it with river rocks for the bed. A must visit on any trip to Deer Valley will be the St. Regis, either for lunch or après ski, or for a romantic dinner in a beautiful setting.

The St. Regis has now closed on 10 units with a low price $1,040,000 for a 991 sq foot for a 1 bed/1 bath unit to a high of $5,454,000 for a 2947 sq ft 4 bed/5 bath unit. Along with this there are 49 units under contract and getting ready to close. These range in price from a low $1,540,000 for a 1502 sq ft 2 bed/2 bath to a high of $8,916,550 for 6229 sq ft 6 bed/7bath unit.

Another new development in the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley is a condominium project called The Flagstaff. This building has just been completed, as was the St. Regis, and they have just started closing on units. Flagstaff had pre-sold 8 units prior to completion and 5 of those have closed. These range from a low of $1,902,000 for a 2140 sq ft 3 bed/4 bath condo to a high of $2,322,000 for a 2140 sq ft 3 bed/4 bath unit. There are 3 units with contracts waiting to close and range from a low of $2,710,000 for a 1749 sq ft 2 bed/3 bath to a high of $3, 020,000 for a 2324 sq ft 3 bed/4 bath condo. The Flagstaff development is at Empire Pass and is part of the Talisker Club with direct ski in/ski out access and in the common area features a children’s game room, an adult pub and a wonderful outdoor fire-pit.

Another condominium building that was completed a year ago, called Silver Strike in Empire Pass, is trying a novel approach to jumpstart the market. 15 out of 34 units have closed to date, but there has only been one sale in the last 18 months. In order to generate interest the developer of Silver Strike is going to auction 8 of the best units in January. The units will have a minimum bid which will be more than 50% off of the current list price. The developer is hoping that there will be sufficient interest so that the bidding will increase prices from the minimum. It will be very interesting to see how this transpires and at what price the condos will actually sell for. This could be an interesting venture and be aware that all condo’s will come with the full Talisker Club membership. Should you have an interest in registering for the auction, you will have to be pre-registered so contact me and I will set you up. It could possibly be a way to pick up a brand new ski-in/ski-out condo in Empire Pass at a significantly reduced price.

As you can see there is a lot going here in real estate and it is very exciting. I skied this morning and despite the lack of natural snow the skiing is quite good so come out to Park City, enjoy some terrific skiing and let’s go look at some fabulous real estate opportunities.

Big News In Park City

This past week the new St. Regis Hotel at Deer Valley opened to rave reviews. The bar, lounge and restaurant are spectacularly decorated and many people felt that it looked just like the St. Regis in Manhattan. Owners have begun closing on their units and with prices approaching $2000 per square foot; a new standard has been set in Deer Valley. What is very telling is that the first buyers wrote contracts 4 years ago and even after the economic downturn of the last 2 years, only two buyers are attempting to get out of their contracts. This is very telling about the quality and perceived value of the St. Regis. From speaking with the listing agent they expect to have closed on 20 units prior to the Christmas vacation at which time all of the available units will be rented out.

The second piece of big news this week is that Deer Valley will be opening Saturday December 5th.This fall we have only seen about half of our normal snow fall but fortunately it has been cold so Deer Valley will have a decent opening of man made snow. Even better is the forecast for snow…beginning this Saturday and continuing at least through next Wednesday. This is much needed and should get the mountain ready for the Christmas holidays. Part of the opening ski weekend tradition at Deer Valley is a two day celebrity ski race. This is always a fun event with many Hollywood celebrities running around mid-mountain Deer Valley.

In real estate news our real estate market continues to move along and is showing some signs of strengthening. While we are still definitely in a buyers market and I see many price reductions on properties every day I am beginning to see a few price increases. Is this a sign of things to come? While I do not think that we are out of the woods, the light at the end of the tunnel just might be a bit brighter.

The first couple of weeks in December and again the first couple of weeks in January are relatively quiet times here in park City and are an excellent time to visit and enjoy less crowded ski slopes and restaurants. Whether it is during these more quiet times or later in the year, make your plans to come visit Park City and experience for yourself why this has been my home for the last 25 years.

Culinary Adventures In Park City-Part Two

This is Thanksgiving weekend and the official start of the ski season. Park City Mountain resort and Snowbird opened up last Saturday. Alta and Snowbasin opened today and the Canyons will open tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day. Deer Valley Resort always opens the first Saturday in December, which this year falls on December 5th.

With the upcoming ski season it is always fun to review the new restaurants in town. As I travel around to different resorts, when I mention that I live in Park City a frequent reply is how good the restaurants are in Park City compared to other resorts. This year we have four new restaurants in town, Spruce at the Canyons Resort, High West Distillery on Park Ave, Talisker on Main Street and a restaurant in the new St. Regis Hotel at Deer Crest.

Spruce is a very high end restaurant located at Dakota Mountain Lodge just below the base area at the Canyons Resort. Dakota Mountain Lodge features a Golden Door Spa and is operated under the Waldorf Astoria brand. As one would expect from Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the décor is exquisite and quite contemporary. The bar overlooks the hotel swimming pool and is very comfortable. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the menu is delightful with a variety of fresh seafood’s along with unique presentations. I highly recommend this restaurant for a romantic experience during your stay here.

For a fun and informal dining experience, the High West Distillery on Park Ave is a must visit. The restaurant is a restored historic building on Park Ave and only seats around 40 people. Built in 1907 by E.J. Beggs, the broad wooden building started out as the Beggs & Buckley Livery. When the horseless carriage was replaced with the automobile, Beggs and Buckley began servicing cars and changed the name to National Garage. The High West Distillery menu is a more casual “mountain” cuisine and along with sampling their local whiskey’s they will also be offering a variety of wine flights. For more information on the historic building and the distillery visit highwestdistillery.com.

Talisker on Main Street is scheduled to open early January and will feature a small dining room with a maximum of 40 guests. The chef, John Murko is preparing the menu which will be excellent judging from the other Talisker restaurants. This restaurant will be open to the public however Talisker club members will have preferred reservations, for more information visit talisker.com.

The St. Regis will offer, as expected, a five star dining experience. I will have an opportunity to experience a sampling from the menu in about two weeks and will give a review at that time.

While these new restaurants are certain to be worth visiting, I cannot leave out my long time favorites. Always consistent and excellent on my list of recommended restaurants are Riverhorse on Main, Chimayo (an interesting take of southwestern cuisine), Wahso (Asian/Pacific Rim), The Seafood Buffett @ Deer Valley (a must for families and groups) and the Fireside Dining in Empire Lodge at Deer Valley. For an intimate and romantic dining experience, the Mariposa at Deer Valley is not to be missed. For more casual or family style dinners, Windy Ridge and the Wasatch Brew Pub located on Main Street are my favorites.

While these are a good sample of restaurants to visit, Park City offers many more restaurants and when you are in town give me a call and I will be happy to recommend other restaurants that I really like.

With the ski season upon us start planning your trip to Park City now. You can always call me for the current ski conditions or restaurant/ lodging recommendations. I hope to see you this winter!

Is This the Right Time to Buy?

If you have been following this blog for the past few months you have most likely noticed a reoccurring theme that I feel that this is the time to buy resort real estate. As I have been showing buyers property over the last few weeks and talking to other buyers on the phone, they are asking me why I feel this is the time to buy. Another great question that somebody asked is, what do I tell people who purchased at the height of the market two or three years ago? These are both excellent questions and I would like to address them in this blog.

First, what do I say to people that purchased during the height of the market and have seen their property values decline over the past 2 years? As would be expected, I have several clients in this situation and I have talked with them at length about this. The first response is that while yes the property value has declined, they have had a wonderful vacation home to enjoy with their family and friends. It is impossible to put a value on the quality time that a family is able to spend together. Time spent reconnecting with children and a grandchildren who may have scattered around the country is priceless. Second, I frequently hear my clients say that had they not purchased their vacation home and instead invested that money in the stock market they would have lost more money than the value of their real estate has declined. While not overly pleased that the values have declined, everyone understands that it is a function of the global economy and are comfortable with their decision to have purchased. As long as the intent of the purchase was to actually use the property and not just flip it for a quick profit, my buyers are generally pleased with their decision.

So, why do I think now is the time to buy? After watching real estate values decline over the last 18 months I am beginning to see some sign of stabilization. However to best answer this question I need to ask two questions, first, “do you think real estate prices in a resort such as park city will increase in the next 3 to 5 years?” Second, “do you believe that interest rates, which are at historic lows, are going to go up in the near future?” If you answered yes to both of these questions, as I did, then combined with low real estate prices, strong inventory, and sellers willing to negotiate you can see why I feel that this is the right time to purchase.

It fascinates me to observe that in a “buyers market” as we are currently experiencing, buyers are reluctant to buy. However when the market is hot, as we saw in 2006, everyone wants to jump in and purchase property, even though the sellers have the advantage.

Are we at the bottom of the real estate market? Maybe… maybe not, I don’t know of anyone who can predict the bottom; however we are most likely close enough to the bottom that it makes sense to act on the desire to own a ski vacation home. This is exactly what I have been seeing for the past few months. The savvy investors who are looking for bargains have moved from the “wait and watch” to “buy”. This is now drawing the buyers who have wanted a ski home in to the market. With the stock market having regained most of its value, from the low point last March, and now seeming to fluctuate around the 10,000 mark there is widespread feeling that we may be coming out of this recession. The segment that still needs to come around is the employment market. With unemployment running around 10% it is hard for the American consumer to fully regain their confidence and to feel comfortable making a large purchase such as a vacation home. Not “if” but “when” lenders open up their credit and start lending on new construction we should see a decrease in unemployment and renewed confidence by the consumer. Whether this begins to turn around this year or next year, we will most likely see more buyers returning to our market which usually causes sellers to become less negotiable. So for these reasons I feel that there is an opportunity to purchase resort real estate at prices that we may not see again for some time, yes I feel prices will be going up in the next few years, yes I feel that interest rates will be going up and yes I feel that institutional lenders will start freeing up money.

However if you have been looking for a vacation home lets go back to the first point that I brought up and that is having a gathering spot for your family and friends to spend quality time together and to reconnect is the biggest benefit that you will receive.

NAR Real Estate Convention In San Diego

This week the National Association of Realtor's (NAR) is holding their annual convention in San Diego, which I am attending. This annual event is attended by over 20,000 realtors from all over the world. The convention is a source of education featuring top real estate speakers from around the country and is a terrific opportunity to meet and network with agent's who deal in a wide variety of markets, not just resorts, which I typically work with. I feel that this is an opportunity to get a better feel for shat is happening nationally in the real estate market. Of course, I still spend quite a bit of time talking to my fellow realtors from the western resorts.

This morning we had our Fall meeting for the Western Mountain Resort Alliance, of which I am the founder and president where we discussed along with business issues what was happening in our respective resorts. The consensus was that while this past year has been the worst that anyone has seen there is some optimism that the markets are turning, or beginning to turn, and that this ski season may see buyers re-entering the market. To give you an idea of what happened to our market last year, see the graph attached. As you can see from this graph, most of 2006 was the high point of the market, with a slight decline in 2007 and 2008. This year we saw a drastic drop in number of sales as well as dollar volume. This has been reflected in home prices in our resort as well as the length of time properties are listed before selling.

As a result of lower home prices which are being perceived as, “bargains”, everyone is seeing buyers getting back into the game. One of things that we have seen over the last year and a half with the slow down of the market was that buyers were still out there and still wanted that vacation ski home but were reluctant to act on their wishes as the U.S economy was spiraling downward. Now that the economy appears to be stabilizing, or hopefully recovering, there is a pent up demand of buyers once again looking for resort real estate.

The Good News Is That It Is Snowing Here In Park City! It started snowing last night, turned very cold and more snow is expected tonight and tomorrow. The resorts have all resumed their snowmaking operations and with a forecast of rainy and snowy cold weather for next week, it is looking very positive for thanksgiving skiing!

Come back next week! I will have further updates on what I have learned here in San Diego and further updates on the resort openings. Also upcoming will be my annual restaurant review of what’s new in Park City.

Snowmaking and Real Estate

This week winter arrived in earnest with snow and very cold temperatures. With the arrival of the cold weather all of the Utah resorts have begun making snow in preparation for the upcoming ski season. Snow making puts down a very dense layer of snow which is perfect for building a base and virtually guarantees that the resorts will be open on their individual scheduled dates.

Surprisingly, the concept of making snow was first discovered in Florida of all places. A method that the citrus growers in Florida used to protect their crops during cold snaps was to spray a fine mist of water over their citrus trees. This would create a layer of ice over the fruit, thereby insulating the fruit from cold temperatures. As the story goes, on one particularly cold snap as the farmers were spraying this mist over their fields it was cold enough that the mist froze coming out of the nozzle and fell in the form of snow. While not particularly useful for citrus growers, the ski resorts in the northeast immediately saw the potential that this had and thus snowmaking was born. Snowmaking systems are very sophisticated and resorts use a combination of two different methods for making snow. One is using compressed air and water and the other is known as “airless” system.

The compressed air/water system was the first system developed and is still used extensively at most resorts. The air/water system is composed of two pipes buried deep in the ground with a “hydrant” spaced at intervals up the mountain to which hoses are connected to along with a snowmaking “gun” on the other end. With the two pipes under ground one contains water and the other pipe has highly compressed air. One hose is hooked to the water outlet and the other to the compressed air. The pipes feed the water and air to a mixing chamber in the snowmaking gun and force it out at a very high speed through a narrow nozzle. This breaks the water into a fine mist or small droplets. When this hits cold air it freezes into snow crystals and consequently falls as a very dense piece of snow. A big advantage that this air/water system has is that as the air/water mixture is forced out of the nozzle and the air expands rapidly. As a result of this expansion the air also cools. The air temperature in the vicinity of the gun is significantly reduced making for more efficient snow making and allowing for snow to be made at temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s.

The “airless” system, which is shown in the photos taken today at Deer Valley Resort, consists of a large tube with a fan at one end and a ring of water nozzles at the other end. The fan blows a large column of air through the tube to which water is injected with the same result; the water droplets freeze and falls snow. This kind of system is capable of making large quantities of snow over a very short period but also requires lower temperatures below freezing, as there is little cooling effect from air expansion. With both systems the density of the snow is controlled by the amount of water that is mixed with the air. In early season snowmaking the desire is for the largest quantity with the most density possible, so the snowmakers inject as much water as they can. The amount of water that can be injected is determined by the air temperature and humidity. The lower the temperature and the dryer the air, the more water that can be injected and still fall of snow. If the snowmakers inject too much water or if temperatures start rising the water droplets are too large to freeze and instead come out as a liquid drop and freeze on the ground, which creates ice instead of snow. So the snowmaking crews are constantly monitoring the air temperatures and adjusting the water/air ratio’s to make the largest quantity of snow possible.

A few years ago Sun Valley Resort installed a state of the art computer driven snowmaking system. This is an air/water system which is operated by a computer that monitors the air temperatures and humidity’s as well as constantly adjusting the air/water ratios. This is very efficient and Sun Valley is known for having a layer of “fresh snow” most mornings for their skiers and boarders to enjoy.

Moving on to real estate news, here are some of the latest statistics pulled from the Park City Board of Realtors:

• Starting from January 2009 the average list price for all property types has dropped 14%.
• The number of contracts written and accepted has increased each month beginning in March.
• The average sales price for a single family home is nearly $1,000,000.
• Total dollar sales volume from January-September is $576,401,594.
• We will end up the year just shy of $1 billion dollars in total sales volume. The highest sales volume was in 2006 totaling just over $2 billion.

Bargain hunters are taking full advantage of the decrease in sales price and the decrease in sales activity. All of the real estate agents in Park City are saying the same thing, sales are increasing, but only for properties that are well priced or for properties that sellers are willing to sell at a perceived bargain price. If you have been at all considering purchasing a mountain property, I can not stress enough that now is the time to buy.

Western Mountain Resorts Real Estate

This week I traveled to Whistler B.C. and participated in a conference put on by the Western Mountain Resort Alliance, known as WMRA. The panel was composed of a representative from Vail, CO, Jackson Hole, WY, Whistler B.C., and of course me from Park City, UT. The purpose of the panel was to discuss the current market and what has transpired during the past 12 months. Our secondary purpose was to look around Whistler and see how the preparation for the upcoming winter Olympics is going.

The markets in Vail, Jackson Hole and Park City were remarkably similar this past year. We all saw a dramatic downturn beginning last October 2008 which lasted until sometime between March-May depending on the resort. Park City seems to have been the first resort to emerge from the recession with our market turning around in March 2009. Vail and Jackson Hole did not really experience a turnaround until May 2009. All three resorts did not experience a booming summer in real estate but certainly saw sales increasing. All three resorts reported that while there have been some sales at the high end, the majority of buyers are looking at lower end properties and by lower end we generally mean under $2,000,000.

Whistler, B.C. has seen a slightly different market as a result of the upcoming Olympics winter games this coming February, 2010. Like all of the other resorts, their fourth quarter of 2008 and their first quarter of 2009 were depressing for real estate sales. But the second quarter of 2009 in Whistler, while still slow, was significantly better and their third quarter of 2009 was back to normal. They are expecting this fourth quarter to be equally as strong, but then as a result of the Olympic games the Whistler realtors expect that the 1st quarter of 2010 will again be very slow. Having experienced the Salt Lake Olympics and the affect that it had on Park City’s real estate, I explained to the Whistler realtors that while they really should not expect any real estate activity through the games March will pick up and most importantly real estate business in the subsequent years should be stronger.

When driving around Whistler evidence of the upcoming Olympics is everywhere. Streets are being widened, the finishing touches are going in on all the venues, and the town is alive with excitement. Interestingly, security appears to be even tighter than it was for the Salt Lake games. Last night we could only get within a half a mile of any of the venues. We attempted to go to the sliding track where the bobsled, luge, and skeleton events will be held but were turned away by security. The same was true for the cross country venue. As we saw in Park City in October 2001, the village center has an Olympic store and posters/ banners are everywhere welcoming guests to the 2010 Olympics. I learned recently that when the resort of Whistler was first proposed in the early 1970’s it was conceived with the intent of hosting the winter Olympics during the 1980’s. This did not occur, however the village was designed and built with idea of hosting an Olympics so it is very pedestrian friendly and beautifully laid out.

If you have ever thought of going to a winter Olympics the Vancouver/Whistler B.C. Olympics this upcoming February would be a great one to attend. Canada is very easy and friendly to U.S. visitors and the drive from Vancouver to Whistler is one of the most beautiful drives anywhere in the world.

Interesting Times in Real Estate

Most real estate markets throughout the U.S. are struggling to reach some stability and the rocky mountain resorts including Park City are no exception. While the general trend in number of sales has been on an upward trend since March, getting in to specific sales I find the numbers are all over the place. If we compare September 2009 to September 2008 the number of accepted contracts written were up 21% from 105 in 2008 to 127 in 2009. However, the number of units that actually closed was down 7% from 121 units in 2008 to 112 in 2009. I suspect that there are several reasons for this, the first is that in August 2009 only 85 accepted contracts were written and the second is a reflection on the difficulty buyers are having obtaining financing. In the past, from time of acceptance to closing for a property subject financing 30 days was common. With the current lending climate the days needed to close a contract has increased to at least 45 days and can often take longer than that.

Another interesting part of the Park City Real Estate market is the “seller’s mentality.” While we have been in a declining market for at least the past 18 months, this past year has been more like a free fall. Depending on when a property was purchased, sellers are now finding themselves selling their properties for the amount they purchased it for or in some cases less than the original purchase price. After many years of a steady increase in selling price this has been a very bitter pill to swallow particularly knowing that Park City is a highly sought after resort. For the past year Park City real estate agents have been working very hard to educate their sellers on where the market is and to price their properties to sell rather than be in a “chasing a declining market” game. Then the issue becomes that even though we have convinced the seller to price their property correctly, buyers are still coming in and expecting the seller to come even further off of the price. So the education now switches towards the buyer to explain where the market is and the true value of their vacation home. As consumer confidence increases I expect that we will see the number of sales continuing to increase and will be significantly higher than last winter. This could increase the differences in the mind set between buyers and sellers. With all of this said… this winter should prove to be very interesting.

Next week I will be in Whistler B.C. participating in a panel discussion with agents from Vail, CO, Jackson Hole, WY, and Whistler, B.C. Check back next week for what should be a very informative report.

Peak Fall Colors & Snow

After a warm and glorious September winter arrived yesterday with snow. It is very rare to see both the peak fall colors and snow at the same time. Enjoy these photos taken this morning October 1, 2009.

Click here to view the photos, or copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33891876@N04/sets/72157622495363498/show/

Snow, Snow, Snow

This September was the most beautiful that I have seen here in Park City. Every day was bright blue skies and warm balmy days. With some early cold weather that we had in August and all of the rain in June, the trees turned a little earlier than normal, but were particularly vibrant this year. Then today arrived, September 30, 2009 and we were reminded that we do live in the mountains. A very strong cold front arrived during the night with thunder, lightening and howling winds. We woke up this morning to rain which quickly changed to snow. It has been snowing all day here in Park City and while it is not sticking to the ground here in town the mountains are certainly white. The extended forecast is for more snow off and on for the next week. A certain reminder that winter is on its way and ski season is not far. While the resorts generally open in mid November, I have seen excellent skiing on Halloween…perhaps this will be one of those years.

In real estate news the real estate recovery seems to be continuing here in Park City. After a dismal start to the year the summer months were stronger than last year and the trend is continuing. For example, the number of properties under contract but not yet closed is down this year from last. There have been 750 homes pended this year and 912 in 2008. The number of pending sales increased for the month of August, 116 this year compared to 110 in 2008. Year to date, condos and land pending sales were down 16% and 42%. However during the month of August, condo sales were up 79% and while land sales were still down compared to last year they were down less than 30%. In numbers of actual closed listings year to date, we are off about 34%, 635 closed this year compared to 969 in 2008. The number of single family homes sold in the month of August was even last year and condo sales were off about 15%. The big drop in sales so far this year compared to last year is in vacant land, only 9 parcels closed this year compared to 22 in 2008. This reflects the caution of spec builders right now. With the lack of new home starts here in Park City and the likelihood that there will not be many for the next year to year and a half, newly completed homes are a rarity and are sought after if they are within the city limits. In the Deer Valley area there are less than a handful of newly completed homes for buyers to choose from. Everything else is either an existing older home or at best an older home that has been remodeled or updated. I expect that as a result of this new homes may be in demand this ski season. Scarcity has always been a significant driving factor in real estate.
With the new snow in the mountains as a backdrop for the bright gold’s and red’s, if there is any way to come out to the mountains this is the time to do it.

The Mountains are on Fire

The mountains are on fire with color right now. The oaks and maples are brilliant red and the aspens are just starting to turn gold. Contrasted against the deep blue sky when driving or walking around town everyone’s gaze is captivated by the scenery. This weekend looks to be the last warm weekend until next summer so we will all be outside enjoying a variety of activities.

In real estate news two new projects in Deer Valley are just about completed. The St. Regis in the Deer Crest area is scheduled to start closing on units later in October. The St. Regis is the first true five star hotel to be built in the area and we are all eagerly awaiting its opening. Another project in the Empire pass area of Deer Valley called Flagstaff will also be completed for the ski season. Now that it is nearing completion sales have picked up with three new transactions in the last two weeks. These were 3 bedroom units selling the $3 million range.

With the ski season rapidly approaching I am getting more calls for buyers looking to pick up a ski home for this year while prices are still low. We have an excellent selection of homes and condos both on and off the mountain and most sellers are still willing to negotiate on their prices. This is the perfect combination for buyers and the savvy ones are taking advantage.

Still #1

While it has not hit the newsstands yet we have heard that the next issue of Ski Magazine will show Deer Valley Resort as the #1 rated ski resort in North America for the 3rd year in a row. The rankings are the result of a survey that Ski Magazine sends to its readers each year. Readers are asked to rate the resorts that they have visited on the quality of their experience in a number of key areas. The survey asks readers to rank their experience in areas such as; customer service, snow quality, variety of terrain, run’s, on mountain food service, and proximity to night life and other amenities as well as their overall experience. For the 3rd year in a row the readers of Ski Magazine have rated Deer Valley as their #1 favorite resort in North America. Given the number and quality of western ski resorts, this is quite an accomplishment and Deer Valley is justifiably proud that its commitment to their guests is acknowledged and appreciated. While I have not seen the rest of the survey, Park City and The Canyons Resorts are usually ranked in or near the top 10.

In looking at real estate pended sales for each month the trend that I noted that began in March continued through August and has strengthened. Each month since March the number of pended sales has increased from the previous month and is now similar to where we were in September 2007.

There is still much debate as to whether the economic recovery that we are seeing is real and sustainable. On one side, the feeling is that the continued high unemployment rate remains to be a detriment to the recovery and that as a result the economy is destined to grow weakly. The feeling is that until more Americans are employed consumer spending will continue to be slow. While there will certainly be spikes in spending brought on by stimulus programs such as “Cash for Clunkers”, these are temporary spikes and not sustainable.

On the other hand, optimists say that the rebound will help kick start a self- sustaining recovery where improved confidence leads to consumers and business’s starting to spending more. Time will tell which of these scenarios will come true, or will it be somewhere in between?
What I have seen in Park City is that in many areas the number of sales from January 1st through August 31st comparing 2008 to 2009 there were more sales in this time frame in 2009. However, the average sold price was generally down in 2009 compared to the same time frame in 2008. This reinforces my statements several weeks ago that the bargain hunter buyers have moved from a “wait and see” to a “buy” position. It is certainly true that if a property is not perceived as a bargain, buyers are rarely interested in it right now.

I do believe that as the bargain properties are removed from the market we will see a slow and gradual return of prices. I am already seeing some signs of this as sellers are beginning to not give away quite as much as they were a month ago. Fall is typically a transition month for sales where we start to see more investors and 2nd home buyers looking to pick up a ski property for the upcoming ski season. I think that the next two months are going to be very telling whether the recovery of the market in Park City is real or is just a temporary correction.
September has been particularly spectacular with warm days, cool nights, and right now the mountains are full of red oak and maple trees. Most everyone feels that this is the best month of the year so come out and visit us and experience fall in the Rocky Mountains.

Fall In the Mountains

Last week I spoke about the Miner’s Day celebrations here in Park City, the parade, festivities in the park and the mucking and drilling contest.

September is a magical time of transition between summer and fall. The days are still quite warm and the nights are noticeably cooler. Because of the cold weather that we had in August, the oak and maple trees have turned and are dotting the hillside with reds and oranges. Hiking and mountain biking are the best right now, the trails are un-crowded and the contrast between the bright blue sky and colorful trees is something to behold.

The three Park City ski resorts are feverishly working to complete summer projects before the first snow of winter arrives. While the economic recession of the past year prevented any of the resorts from significant expansions, there is still much to do over the summer months. The resorts spend the off season doing maintenance on all the chair lifts, clearing aspen growth from ski runs, and general maintenance around the resort to ensure the best quality of experience for our guests. Starting around October we will see the influx of seasonal workers arriving in town. This is a fun time because there is a lot of energy in anticipation of the upcoming ski season.

The real estate market here in Park City continues to improve on a monthly basis. This past week there were two very strong condominium sales in the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley in the high 2-3 million dollar range. In addition, the Dakota Mountain Lodge at the Canyons has just been completed and buyers that have purchased there in the last two years are now closing in their units. This is particularly interesting, as one might expect buyers to be very nervous to be closing on a property that they wrote a contract on two years ago. Fortunately we are seeing the values hold and the buyers are realizing that their investment is still financially sound.

This past week I was asked to help a client find a ski-in/ski-out rental condo for the Christmas-New Years holiday week. I was very surprised at what few choices were still available. There were only about 6 condos still available with ski-in/ski-out access. This is great news, as it looks like visitors will be coming out again and are making plans well in advance.
Next week I will have the most recent statistics from August to share with-you so look for this information in next week’s blog.!

Miners Day Weekend

This coming weekend most everyone is the U.S. will be celebrating Labor Day with parades, festivities and BBQ’s over the 3 day weekend. Here in Park City we celebrate our mining history and consequently re-named the holiday Miner’s Day.

Like everywhere else, we celebrate this with a parade, BBQ, music and festivities at the City Park. We add in the mining twist by bringing out old pneumatic mining drills and have mucking and drilling contests throughout the day. The drilling part of the contest involves taking the extremely heavy and awkward drills and drilling a series of holes in a slab of granite. This is a timed event with the person completing the drilling the in shortest amount of time the victor. The mucking involves an ore cart on a set of tracks and a pneumatic powered shovel in front. The miner lowers the shovel and powers the cart in to a pile of waste rock from the mine, hoists it up and dumps it into the cart. He then backs the cart up and moves in forward into the pile, repeating the process until the cart is full. Again this is a timed event. The contestants are past and current miners from Park City and the surrounding area. One of our other long standing traditions has unfortunately fallen by the wayside. This was the traditional wake up call on Miners day. Until recently at 6am on Miners day the town would light dynamite and explode for about 20 minutes to wake the town up. There was never any chance of sleeping through this as windows and walls shook from the concussion causing family pets to dive for cover and new residents to wonder what was going on.

In Real Estate news the real estate market continues to improve with each week seeming to be stronger than the last in the number of contracts written. This past Monday several Prudential agents were discussing the possibility that we may have passed the bottom of the market. Interestingly in talking with a good friend of mine who is an investment advisor with Smith Barney about downturns in the market, I made the comment that by the time the buying public realizes that we have reached the bottom of the stock market, it is already too late and the bottom has already passed. His reply surprised me when he said that studies have shown that investors who purchased 6 months after the bottom historically have made the largest profit. Can we apply the same analogy to real estate? Most probably so and if both are true that we are past the bottom of the market and are on the upswing and that investors purchasing in the next 6 months are most likely to realize the largest gains, this should be an interesting fall and winter season.

I recently found an article online about pending home sales rising for six months in a row. Click here to read this very interesting article or copy and paste this link into your browser: http://rismedia.com/2009-09-01/pending-home-sales-on-a-roll-up-for-sixth-straight-month/

Fall?

In an earlier blog I mentioned that August in the western mountains tends to start cooling off unlike much of the U.S. which is still sweltering underneath the summer sun. This August in particular has been quite cool with an early snow already and several early mornings of frost. This past weekend the mountain oak tree’s started turning and we are just beginning to see hints of red leaves spotting the mountain sides, a sure sign that Fall is near.

This past weekend Deer Valley Resort was the host to the annual Park City Jazz Festival. This was three days of great music, food and too much wine. Deer Valley is a terrific host in that they allow patrons to bring in picnic baskets and their favorite beverage. The headline act this year was Al Jarreau. While he is certainly getting up there in years, he can still perform with the best.
Now on to Real Estate news. Fall through early winter is quite active here, unlike Spring when the town is quiet and interest in real estate drops off dramatically. Buyers are looking to purchase their ski condo early enough to start booking rental reservations for the upcoming ski season. Sellers understand this so they are now putting units on the market so there is an excellent selection of properties to choose from. While we are certainly still in a buyers market I am beginning to see the first hints of a change. Several sellers recently have felt that the market, if not having already turned, is about to and are prepared to stay closer to the original asking price. I think that this fall and winter season may be quite interesting as buyers will still have the mindset of a bottoming real estate market and sellers may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Click here to read an article about the real estate "turnaround" or copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/27/could-the-end-be-near-housing-guru-shiller-senses-home-price-re/

First Snow

For the first time in my 25 years here in Park City it snowed in August. Last Saturday August 15th an unusually strong cold front brought the snow level down to mid mountain or about 8000 feet. While here in town at 7000 feet it was just a cold rain up at 10,000 feet an inch of snow accumulated. THIS IS WAY TO EARLY, particularly after a cold and rainy June. Six weeks of summer just is not enough. This was the second strong cold front to come through northern Utah in August with another forecast of cold weather to arrive this weekend. Hopefully this is a sign of a cold and snowy winter.

Ski resort towns are a different animal in that we actually look forward to snow storms during the winter months and the larger the storm the better. As Park City receives over 300 inches of snow per year we are very equip to handle snow and it generally takes a storm of upwards of 2 feet overnight to close schools or snarl traffic. It is not uncommon for storms to last a week or more.

But on to cheerier subjects….Real Estate. Comparing July 2009 vs. July 2008, this year 53 homes sold compared to 50 homes in 2008. Condominium sales saw an even larger change with 43 sales in 2009 compared to 33 in 2008. In addition, the average sales price rose from $645,000 in 2008 to nearly $738,000 in 2009. Interestingly, vacant land sales which have been on a decline for the last several years saw an increase from 18 sales in 2008 to 19 sales in 2009. See the graph posted above for sales trends for the last 14 months courtesy of the Park City Board of Realtors.

As fall approaches and buyers start looking for their ski property for this winter the upward trend that we have seen since late winter is very encouraging. I am hearing from many buyers that they feel now is the opportunity to pick up ski property while there are still bargains to be had. While the U.S. economy is certainly not out of the woods yet, it does appear that we are on a road to recovery. If the upward trend that we are seeing continues through the fall we may, by mid winter, be looking back to this time as the end of the bargains.

While it is certainly too early for autumn colors already, with the unusually cold weather I am expecting an early fall. September is one of the most beautiful months in Park City and if the leafs do start to change next month it will be a time not to miss.

New Developments

In spite of the struggling but improving economy new developments at the ski resorts here in Park City continue to move forward. This past week Dakota Mountain Lodge at The Canyons opened for business. Dakota Mountain Lodge features a Golden Door Spa and is operated under the Waldorf Astoria flag. As one would expect with these marquis names, the rooms are spectacular. The spa is both beautiful and comfortable and the dining rooms/lounges boast beautiful views of The Canyons Resort. During the construction period of this property almost all of the units sold and are now closing. Since the grand opening last week the occupancy rate has been extremely high.

At Deer Valley Resort the St Regis hotel is nearing completion and is about 2/3 sold out. St Regis is built directly on a ski run in the Deer Crest area of Deer Valley and boasts stunning views of the Jordanelle Reservoir, Deer Valley Resort, and downtown Main Street in Park City. The St Regis is expected to open for business this December and early walk-through’s indicate that this hotel will easily live up to the St Regis standard. St Regis has raised the bar for prices with units selling for around $2000 per square foot.

In the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley there are two new projects under construction. Right in the heart of the village at Empire Pass is a project known as Flagstaff located directly on a ski run and across from the members Tower Club Lounge. The Flagstaff building should be completed and ready for occupancy sometime this ski season. Flagstaff is part of the Talisker Club offering both golf course amenities at Tuhaye and private restaurants on Deer Valley for the owner/members. Flagstaff had the unfortunate timing of coming on the market right as the resort market started slowing down followed by the economic meltdown last September. In spite of this, 7 out of the 24 units have sold and I expect that with the building completion scheduled this winter we will see more activity.

Also under construction and scheduled for completion for the 2010/11 ski season is the Montage condo hotel located at the base of the empire lift in Deer Valley. Montage is a boutique hotel/spa and is only the 3rd hotel built in this new emerging chain. Montage will feature about 30,000 square feet of spa and restaurant area with magnificent views of the empire pass ski runs. The condominium units at Montage have yet to be offered for sale and we eagerly await details on pricing, floor plans and finishes. Montage should easily rival the St Regis for quality and will have a superior location. Stay tuned for further updates on Montage.

It seems that this may be an early fall or a very short summer. This past weekend an unseasonably strong cold front came through Utah dropping daytime high temperatures into the mid 50’s. While it has warmed up very nicely this week, another cold front is expected to arrive tonight once again dropping temperatures into the 50’s or low 60’s tomorrow. After having lost summer weather in June which was the rainiest June on record, to now start loosing summer weather in August just does not seem right. Summers in the mountains are short enough to begin with! While summer may be quickly coming to an end we still have a couple of large events remaining. Next Thursday is the start of the Park City Jazz Festival under the stars at Deer Valley, and then we close out summer with Park City’s Miners Day celebrations (Labor Day for the rest of the country) in early September. The cooler but still warm days of September are a magical time of the year and would be a terrific time to visit us.

Art Fest & More

This past weekend was the 40th annual Art Festival in Park City which draws artists from every corner of the country. Main Street is closed to traffic as artists set up their tents and display their wares up and down the street. This event typically draws around 100,000 people over the weekend and with the hot weather in Salt Lake we probably had more this year. The best time for the fair is Friday evening which is referred to as “local’s night” where entry is free and most of the merchants have already set up shop.

This is a great time to visit the merchants in an un-crowded and much more relaxed atmosphere as well as to visit with friends that you might not have seen for a while. It seemed that the entire town turned out this year for the Friday night local’s party. In conjunction with this several of the nicer restaurants in town were offering dinner specials. A group of us visited Whaso where they were offering $5 appetizers and $10 entrée’s. Somehow we still managed to spend $70 per person, perhaps cocktails and wine had something to do with it? All in all a great event and the quality of the fair continues to increase each year. When speaking with the artists late Saturday night they were quite pleased with the sales they were making, particularly in light of the economy.

The Park City Arts Festival is one of the more desirable art festivals during the summer months for the artists with many more applications submitted than can be accommodated. This allows the festival organizers the luxury of being able to choose the best in each category and to not have too many duplicates.

In real estate news the “Golf Course Wars” are on. Two of our newer courses, Tuhaye and Red Ledges, are offering amazing incentives to attract buyers. Tuhaye is offering golf course frontage lots for sale starting at $350,000, they will carry the financing for 3-5 years at an extremely favorable interest rate, will make the first years interest payments on the loan, and will pay two years of club dues. Also included in the purchase price is the club membership currently valued at $100,000.

Red Ledges, the newest of the golf course communities, is including the club membership of approximately $100,000 in the purchase of a lot are also including a $95,000 Mercedes.

These incentives are being offered right up front by the developer, before we start negotiating and asking for other concessions.

As the U.S. and World stock markets continue to perform well we have to ask, “How long will this last?” With consumer confidence increasing and a large supply of properties to choose from, this summer is the time to be a buyer. Prices here in Park City have dropped back to about 2005 price levels so there appears to be a strong probability of an upside for real estate purchase this year. While I have said this many times before in these blogs, I cannot emphasize enough that we are approaching the time when many buyers will kick themselves and say “Why didn’t I buy in 2009?”

In the Western Mountain Resorts unlike most of the country August is a time when the weather starts cooling. Our hottest month of July is behind us and both daytime and nighttime temperatures become noticeably cooler. If where you are is still smoldering in the summer heat plan a vacation to the Rocky Mountains and experience warm days and cool nights with Park City only a 30 minute drive from Salt Lake international airport we are the easiest resort to reach.

The Future of Real Estate

During these uncertain times everyone wants to know what is going to happen with the real estate market and their investments in particular. My crystal ball has been very cloudy lately but I can confidently say that the resort real estate market will rebound and it will most likely be before the metropolitan markets. Now just what is it that I see that causes me to make such a statement? I am seeing several very positive signs that indicate a recovery in the real estate market, if not already occurring, it is not far off.

First is the stock market. The stock market tends to be an indicator of what will be expected six months from now rather than a single snapshot of the economy at the moment, so while the unemployment numbers are very high the market feels like the turnaround may be near.

Second, the number of new real estate contracts written in Park City has steadily increased each month beginning last March. It is true that the majority of these buyers are bargain hunters but the fact that they feel that we are close enough to the bottom or to get off the fence, is very encouraging. What is interesting to me is that the increase in activity covers all ranges of the market. Again, an indicator that confidence in our market has returned.

Third, for the past year I have shown property to many buyers who stated that “We are in no hurry and want to wait for the bottom of the market”. This waiting creates a lot of pent up demand. It is often said in a market that is moving downward that no one wants to be first but no one wants to be third either. So when the real estate market does start to rebound, as we are seeing, the pent up demand often causes a flurry of activity. Barring any new economic or political disasters, this initial flurry of activity can be the catalyst to a sustained increase in market activity.

While we are still in the middle of summer, oddly enough, buyers are thinking of the upcoming ski season and are thinking that now is the time to start looking for ski investments. As we get closer to the ski season there are more buyers looking and as a result of this sellers are feeling less pressure to accept drastic price cuts. Savvy buyers understand that the best deals are to be found from mid spring through mid summer.

Resort real estate is always speculative and subject to the whim of the economy but Park City is in a unique situation with its proximity to Salt Lake City. No other major ski resort destination in the west has the convenience of an international airport that is an easy 30 minute drive away. Another unique aspect of Park City is that unlike any other western resort Park City is not surrounded by national forest but rather land that was prospected for silver and privately owned. While other resorts have a scarcity of developable land witch puts upward pressure on prices we seem to have an over abundance of land, which helps suppress prices. The ski resorts certainly have their share of expensive properties but we are blessed with an inordinate amount of very affordable homes and condos (for ski resorts). This allows me to help buyers find a property that fits just about any budget and need.

So what does all of this mean? While nothing can ever be said for certain, my confidence is very high that Park City will come out of this downturn sooner than most and today’s buyers will be very pleased with their purchases.

Summer in the Mountains

After the wettest June on record the month of July arrived and with it came summer. Since the 1st of July the weather has been hot and sunny with just the occasional afternoon thunderstorm. As a result of the early rain and warm sunny days the mountains are a symphony of color. When out hiking, mountain biking, or even driving over some of the mountain passes, one can not help but be amazed by the array of flowers and all of the various colors. Both visitors and locals can’t stop talking about how beautiful the mountains are right now. Another welcomed benefit to the rain is that the hiking/biking trails are well packed down and not thick and dusty like in many years past. This is certainly a year to come out and see for your self how spectacular summertime in the mountains can be.

Last weekend Park City hosted its annual Food and Wine Classic. Friday was the Main Street Wine Stroll where vintners from around the world displayed for participants to sample. The event started on the plaza of the Town Lift right on lower Main Street and then continued to the top of Main Street where various restaurants and galleries hosted a stop. At each stop a group of vintners poured samples of their wine while the restaurant or gallery provided a delicious array of food. The event, always popular, was a huge success and my group finished off the evening with an outdoor dinner at a local restaurant (owned by Robert Redford) where Rich Wyman performed. Rich Wyman is a local recording star who frequently travels to Ireland and northern Europe for concerts. His music is both entertaining and exciting and at the end of his show we all toasted each other to a delightful evening in Park City. Visit www.richwyman.com for more info on this wonderful artist.

In Real Estate news the market turnaround that we first saw starting in March has continued through the month of June. We saw the number of real estate contracts written and accepted begin to increase in the month of March and each following month has been stronger than the previous month. While we are certainly still in a “buyers market”, I am beginning to detect a bit of urgency on the buyer’s side as the exceptional deals are being snatched up. Even though the news that we hear every day indicates that the nationwide real estate market has yet to bottom out, the western resorts are a different animal. For the past 18 months we have seen numerous buyers wanting to purchase a vacation home here in Park City but felt that they were better off waiting for the real estate market to correct itself. Now that the market correction seems to have occurred, this pent up demand is the driving force behind our market turnaround. The word about the continued monthly increase in sales has filtered down to our buyers who are seeing the writing on the wall. During this recent real estate downturn it is often said that no buyer wants to be the first to leap into the market but they but they certainly don’t to be last either.

While I would still say that the majority of transactions are in the $1 million and under price range we continue to see a number of purchases above $3 million also. An interesting home that has just come on the market is a 20,000 square foot home situated on 60 + acres near mid mountain Deer Valley and is listed for $55,000,000. While the home is spectacular the setting on over 60 wooded acres makes this a one of a kind property. For more information on this property type this link into your internet browser : http://pcmls.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1298536824&s=PKC&t=PKC.
While this number appears astronomical, and it certainly is, an estate home in Aspen just sold for $40,000,000. As always, there are buyers willing to pay for the unique property that cannot be duplicated.

One of the unique attributes of Park City/Deer Valley is the amount of developable land not only directly on but high up on the mountain. Because most western ski resorts are on national forest land, we are unique in our ability to build ski homes directly on the upper elevations of the resorts.

This is the summer to visit us and when you do, take some time and let me show you what is so unique about Park City and Deer Valley.

4th of July and Golf

This past weekend was the 4th of July here in Park City (and everywhere else). Park City has the quintessential small town 4th of July parade. Entries this year included the Park City junior kid’s hockey team, who periodically broke into fights on main street. The People’s Health Clinic with people walking down main street on crutches and hospital gown’s open in the back. The junior luge team with kids coming down main street on luges. Several local breweries with beer taps on the back of the float. And the girls gymnastic team performing handsprings down the road. The parade was followed by a town party in the City Park with music, children’s games and the annual rugby tournament. As expected, this was capped off with a fireworks display at 10pm (sundown in this part of the world). Parade’s in small town America are a must see and Park City’s is one of the most enjoyable I have seen.

The rains of June have ended and summer has definitely arrived. The sunshine and heat have brought the wildflowers out in such a dazzling display of colors that it is breathtaking just driving around town. The mountains the greenest I have ever seen and the golf courses are plush and in superb condition. This past weekend a new golf course just outside of Park City, called Red ledges opened for play. This is a Jack Nicklaus “signature” course and is one of the prettiest courses I have seen. It is set amongst the red rocks, just southeast of park city in the town of Heber. Typical of a Jack Nicklaus course, it also very difficult with narrow fairways and long 2nd shots to small greens. However the setting and the scenery keep the experience extremely enjoyable.

Several other private golf courses in town are Tuhaye, Promontory, Glenwild, Jeremy Ranch and Park Meadows. Both Jeremy Ranch and Park Meadows are older courses that have been around since the early 80’s. While these are private courses, membership is open to anyone, not just homeowners in the neighborhood. Of the two, I find Jeremy Ranch more scenic and interesting. Winding through a broad valley the course has a lot of elevation changes and beautiful views of the Wasatch Mountains.

Glenwild, which was the first true golf course community in Park City and designed by Tom Fazio, is the course for serious golfers. While the clubhouse is beautiful, and the fitness and spa rooms are excellent, Glenwild is really all about the golf. This is where Michael Jordan has a home and plays golf.

Promontory, the second golf course community in Park City, has two 18 hole golf courses. The first course which has been open for several years was designed by Pete Dye. Their second course, which is going into its second season, is a Jack Nicklaus designed course. While Promontory certainly has a strong golf presence, I consider it more of a family oriented community. Promontory features the best children’s center in the area, a beautiful pool and spa, small lakes where children can fish and sail, and an outfitters cabin for hiking and biking in the summer, snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. Promontory also has an excellent tennis facility with a beautiful stadium center court. For someone looking for golf, and activities for the entire family, Promontory is the best in the area.

Tuhaye, one of the newer golf communities around Park City, is best suited for golf enthusiasts who are also avid skiers. Tuhaye features a Mark O’Meara designed course and in the works is a Fazio course as well. While Tuhaye has an excellent spa and arguably the best pool in the area, the member’s clubhouse has yet to be built. What is unique about Tuhaye is that club members enjoy the golf facilities and a member’s clubhouse called The Tower Club, located on the mountain at Deer Valley Ski Resort. The Tower Club, which has ski-in/ski-out access, features a lounge where members can get lunch during their ski day avoiding the crowded Deer Valley restaurants or stop in après ski for a snack and favorite beverage. While Promontory has a member’s lounge located in the village at Silver Lake at Deer Valley and Red Ledges plans to build a clubhouse at the bottom of the gondola in Deer Crest, Tuhaye is the only club that offers a true ski in facility, on the mountain, where members can dine.

Victory Ranch is a golf and fishing community with the golf course scheduled to open later this summer. This is a spectacular course set high on a bluff overlooking the Jordanelle reservoir and the Wasatch range. I have driven this course and from the looks of it the views are going to be stunning and the course extremely enjoyable. What victory ranch offers that is unique is the Provo river running through it with world class trout fishing. No other course or community in the area can offer this amenity.

For the golf enthusiast Park City offers a total of 14 public and private courses each with their own unique characteristic. Whether you are a serious golfer, a golf/skier, golfer/fly fisher, or golfer/spa person, there is something for every taste. Come enjoy Park City in the summer, see how much father your ball flies in our thin mountain air and take advantage of the activities we have to offer.

Western Mountain Resorts

This past week I hosted a conference for real estate agents of the western ski resort communities in Jackson Hole Wyoming. We had representatives from Sun Valley, Idaho, McCall, Idaho, Park City, Utah, Vail, Colorado, Breckenridge, Colorado, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Winter Park, Colorado, Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Lake Tahoe, California. As president of the Western Mountain Resort Alliance my job among others was to moderate a panel discussion of all the resorts. Questions were asked of each representative about their current real estate markets, sales activity, prices, activity on new developments, and sales activity in their golf course communities.

While there were some striking differences between the resorts, the overall market activity was very similar. All of the resorts reported that sales numbers and dollar volume was down around 45-50% comparing this past ski season to the previous ski season. The big differences were apparent in average price and price per square foot in homes and condos sold. Vail grabbed everyone’s attention with new slope side condominium development’s selling for up to $2900 per square foot while Winter Park, CO said their new slope side development’s are selling for around $500 per square foot. Park City falls somewhere in the middle with new slope side development’s selling around a $1000 per square foot. However, Park City does show a penthouse condo in the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley under contract/pending at $1900 per square foot.

McCall, ID, home of Tamarack ski resort, reported that their prices have dropped low enough that nearly every property sold is receiving multiple offers. Several of the other resorts, particularly Breckenridge, are also experiencing a return of multiple offers being written for exceptional properties. Pretty much every resort is experiencing signs that the real estate market is turning for the better.

Near unanimous were the resorts reporting that home sales under $1.5 million and condo sales under $700,000 were the strongest parts of their market. Also unanimous was that vacant land sales were the weakest. The lack of land sales can be attributed to a lack of vacant land near the resorts and the unwillingness of lenders to make loans for undeveloped land.

We discussed at length how golf course communities were doing at each resort. Nearly unanimous was that vacant land and home sales in private golf course communities was extremely slow. Everyone felt that in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s too many golf course communities were developed and that there was just not enough demand for all the supply that came on the market. It appears to us that the resorts, in an effort to become a Four Seasons resort rather than just a winter resort, developed too many golf course communities. For instance, in the Vail area which encompasses an area from the Vail valley and continues west along I70 for about 70 miles there are now 13 golf courses and many of those are real estate communities also. That number got everyone’s attention until Park City announced that we now have 14 golf course communities in and around the immediate area. Jackson Hole only has 5 golf course communities. North Lake Tahoe has 4 golf course communities, all put in many years ago and now North Lake Tahoe is enforcing a moratorium on any new golf course communities. As a result the North Lake Tahoe communities have sold out of all developer product and re-sales are fairly strong. Perhaps the rest of the Western Resorts should pay attention to this lesson.

In final comments almost all of the representatives were optimistic that the increased activity we have seen in the last couple months will continue through the summer months and in to next year.