End of Season Wrap-Up

This is a recent press release from the Park City Board of Realtors:

Real Estate Market &  Economic News
Buyers No Longer Waiting . . . Home Sales Continue at Increased Rates

2010 Q1 Statistical Report
Monday, April 26, 2010 5:00 am

Springtime in the Mountains

It is the middle of March and the days are getting longer, the sun is shining and spring skiing is on. Spring skiing means not having to bundle up like you are in the arctic, sitting outside on the deck for lunch and après ski outside looking at the mountains.

Olympics in Park City

Early Season Real Estate Activity

The first 7 weeks of this year have been quite active for real estate sales. Particularly in Empire Pass at Deer Valley. This is largely due to developer's slashing their prices and offering incentives to encourage buyers to buy now. In the development called Silver Strike, there were 19 units available January 1st. At the end of January the developer auctioned off 8 units with prices averaging around $760 per square foot down from $1200 per square foot at the original listing price. The auction was extremely successful with all 8 units selling in about a half hour and as a result the developer lowered the price on the remaining 11 units to slightly above the auction pricing. Since that time 6 more units have sold leaving only 5 units out of the original 19 left unsold.

Auction Season in Park City

Following the very successful auction of 8 high end condos in Empire Pass it seems auction fever has struck in Park City. Two new projects have just announced their intent to auction their remaining units.

Montage at Deer Valley

The big news this week is the first release of condominium units at the new Montage Resort Spa and Hotel in Deer Valley.

Park City Real Estate Year In Review

While today I want to talk about the 2009 real estate year lets first talk about what is really important, IT’S SNOWING! This season has been one of the driest on record but we received about 18 inches in the last couple days, it is currently snowing, and the forecast is for snow for the remainder of the week.


This week also begins the annual Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Film Festival is the largest festival for independent film producers and always draws a huge crowd. The opening weekend is always the busiest with Main Street in Park City turned into a snowy version of Hollywood complete with star sightings. The Sundance Film Festival parties are the hottest ticket in town with locals using every connection they have to gain entry. Other than the traffic and that the restaurants are full, this is a great time to ski as the slopes are quiet and this year the snow is great.

I think that everyone here in Park City, real estate agents, merchants and lodging companies are thrilled that 2009 is over and that they survived. While 2009 was a very poor year for real estate sales the final numbers are not as bad as it felt. For instance, if we look at single family homes in all areas of our MLS the # of sales were up 2.2% and the average sales price was only down 3.7%. However, home sales in town and near the resorts are a different story. Old Town homes and in the vicinity of the Park City Resort showed a 30% increase in the # of homes sold in 2009 from 30 compared to 23 in 2008. But, the average sold price for a home in old town was down 12.8% for the year. Homes in lower Deer Valley saw a 57% decrease in the # of sales, 6 homes sold in 2009 compared to 14 in 2008, but a 29% increase in the average sold price. Deer Crest, a high end ski-in/ski-out community attached to Deer Valley saw 4 homes sold in 2009 compared to 1 in 2008 or a 300% increase but also saw the average sales price drop 43% to just under $3,500,000. Deer Crest is a newer community with spec homes still being built and it appears that several spec home builders just wanted out and lowered their prices to a point where the deal was just too good to pass up. In upper Deer Valley 9 homes sold in 2009 compared to 4 in 2008 for an increase of 125% and once again we saw a decrease in the average sold price of 28.7%. Other area’s around town were similarly mixed for example, Park Meadows, a mostly residential community saw prices drop 12.8% and the # of sales drop 21.7% but near the Canyons Resort, again a mostly ski-in/ski-out community of 2nd home owners, saw sales increase 25% and the average sold price increase to 45%.

Condominium sales for 2009 were generally hit harder than single family homes. For all condominium sales across all areas of the Park City board the # of sales dropped just over 18% and the average sales price dropped 6.6%. However, as we saw with single family homes, to get a true picture we have to look at specific areas and in some cases the reasons for the change. Old Town and the Park City Resort saw the # of sales for condominiums drop 55% last year and the average sales price drop over 33%. I think that this shows that our buyer is now looking for a newer, more modern and updated condo and is willing to buy further from the center of town to get more square footage for their buying dollar. I suspect that we will see this trend continuing for some time. If we look at condominium sales in Deer Crest we see that the average sold price increased over 64%. At first glance this seems very strange as condo sales prices throughout the rest of Deer Valley was significantly down but we have to remember that the St. Regis Hotel started closing it’s condo’s in November so this number reflects the beginning of very high end sales of condominiums in Deer Crest and is not a true reflection of the market. In upper Deer Valley while the # of sales was down 10.5% of 17 sales in 2009 compared to 19 in 2008 the average sold price dropped 28.1% in upper Deer Valley. In the newest area of Deer Valley, Empire Canyon, the number of sales dropped 38.5% which is easy to understand as in 2008 a large condo project was completed and closing. Where in 2009 the condo projects that were completed did not have the advantage of the pre-sales that occurred in the earlier strong part of the market. Also in Empire Canyon, the average sold price dropped 28.8% as investors who purchased earlier with idea of flipping their property and never occupying it were forced to lower their prices in many cases to below where they purchased it in order to get property sold.

Last Sunday was the much anticipated auction of the 8 Silver Strike condominiums in Empire Pass. I attended the auction and was pleased to see that all 8 units offered sold in about 30 minutes of bidding. The 8 units generally sold for 15 to 20% above the minimum bid and averaged $760 per square foot. In addition to the 8 units that sold during the auction a 9th unit was sold just after the auction was concluded. The developer has another 10 units in the project to sell and I am hearing that he is going to price these remaining units in the neighborhood of $760 per square foot. This will make Silver Strike the least expensive condo project in Empire Pass with direct ski-in/ski-out access and full Talisker club membership.

As with all real estate markets the numbers alone do not tell the entire story and the importance of a long time knowledgeable agent is dramatically illustrated.

This weekend I am traveling to Crested Butte, CO to meet with other resort real estate agents from the western ski resorts. Come back next week for a recap of resort real estate from resorts in California, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and British Columbia Canada. I expect that our discussions will be lively, interesting and very revealing.

This Week In Park City

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a new restaurant in Park City, Talisker on Main. This restaurant is operated by the Talisker Club which has the club facilities at Deer Valley Resort and the golf club facilities just outside of town. The restaurant is very small and offers an intimate dining experience for Talisker members and the general public. The restaurant is designed to showcase Talisker’s award winning chef, John Murcko, and the amenities that Talisker offers. The menu offers a pleasant variety and the meal was absolutely delicious. I was there with several clients and everyone agreed that it was one of the finest meals we have had in Park City. This should be must visit restaurant on your next trip here.


Last weekend was the Visa Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley. This event featured the best men and women freestyle skiers in the world in aerials and mogul competitions. This was a great preview for the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver BC next month. Thursday, the weekend kicked off with a band and street dance on lower Main Street. Friday, under the lights was the men’s/women’s aerial finals. This is truly amazing to watch as these young kids soar 60 to 70 feet straight up in the air while performing numerous back-flips combined with twisting rotations. And then trying to land on a steep snow covered slope. Saturday night featured the men and women duel mogul contests. This event is skier vs. skier in a head to head single elimination run down a steep mogul field with two jumps interspersed on the hill. The skiers are judged on speed, form, and their turning technique on the bumps. As speed is one of the major criteria in selection the winner of each run, by the time of the quarter finals, the skiers are almost straight running the bumps. This is quite a spectacle and the crowd really get’s into it! The events both Friday & Saturday nights drew large crowds from visitors and locals and has become one of the “must attend” parties of the winter season.

In Real Estate News this Sunday is the much anticipated and talked about auction of 8 Silver Strike condominiums in the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley. For the last few weeks the upcoming auction has been the talk of the town and almost everyone I meet on the ski-lift has heard about it. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens. I expect that all 8 of the auction units will be sold, but at what price remains to be seen? Come back next week for an update on the Silver Strike auction!

In other Real Estate News the St. Regis Hotel in Deer Valley continues to close on its units. Prior to opening the doors in early December there were 59 units sold which represent about 2/3rds of the entire development. So far 23 of the units have actually sold with a remaining 36 anticipated to close within the next 4 to 6 weeks. The St. Regis at Deer Valley has been the most successful condo/hotel project in the US for 2009. The fact that the buyers, many who have had their unit under contract for 5 years, are closing at record high prices approaching $2000 per square foot is a testimonial to the quality of the St. Regis and a renewed confidence by the consumer in the Park City real estate market.

Next week I will have the final numbers for real estate sales in 2009 and will provide a re-cap of the year. I expect that this will be very interesting and probably a little bit of a surprise to see what our final numbers are.

The 2009-2010 ski seasons have been the driest season since 1976. The fact that the skiing at Deer Valley is actually quite good is a tribute to the snowmakers and grooming crew. Without their efforts and expertise we would not be skiing yet this year. My hat is off in congratulations on a job well done to the Deer Valley snowmaking crew! The one benefit to a low snow year like this is lots of sunshine so if you are in the frigid east come west and replenish your spirits in the beautiful rocky mountain sunshine.

Early January In Park City

While the eastern half of the U.S. is locked in a deep freeze, we in the Rockies are basking in warm sunshine. Even at 8000 feet today’s temperature is approaching 30 degrees. While the warmth certainly feels good, and it’s nice not having to clear the driveway every day, we would all be much happier with more snow. I would call the skiing “adequate”, but then I am a fanatic skier also. While for us we would refer to the current ski conditions as marginal, most resorts would be thrilled with our current conditions. All of the resorts have around 95%, or more, of the mountain open. And anywhere that the resorts make snow has very good coverage. So while we certainly are not showing off our Sunday best dress, the skiing is quite good and the weather is spectacular. The great thing about January is with a low sun angle, even on warm days such as today, the snow stays cold and crisp. Plus, the slopes are nearly empty. The first two weeks of January are traditionally the slowest time of the season, following Christmas break, and then here in Park City, the Sundance film festival is the last 10 days of the month. During Sundance the traffic is bad, restaurants are full, and the ski slopes are empty. If you are willing put up with a busy town it is a great time to ski.


In real estate news the two weeks of the Christmas holidays were pleasantly busy. People were stopping in at open houses and the questions they asked were indicative of serious buyers. It was enjoyable to have my phone ringing with agents wanting to show my listings. We are certainly still in a buyers market but I see signs of a change. As the great deals get picked up and inventory dwindles, we will start to see sellers holding much more firm to their prices than they have in the past. Right now the hot commodity is as expected, properties on or very near the slopes. Almost everyone who has an interest in Park City real estate has heard about the upcoming auction of the Silver Strike condo’s in Empire Pass. This auction is the talk of the town and around 200 people have already registered. Interestingly enough, we are now starting to see serious buyers who realize that the odds of getting one of these auction properties is slim, so they are taking advantage of some terrific opportunities in other ski developments. For example, a new condo project called Flagstaff, also in Empire Pass, is discounting their list price 30% for the next 3 to 4 buyers. The Grand Lodge located at the base of the Northside lift at Deer Valley Resort has only one developer unit left, a beautiful 5 bed penthouse unit looking straight up the mountain. This unit is listed for $3,800,000 and I suspect that the developer is willing to make a great deal on this to get the last condo off his books. While there are great deals like this all over town and in every price range, you have to know where they are and which ones truly are good deals. This is where working with a local and experienced real estate agent is so important.

Come out, take advantage of empty ski slopes and great weather. If you are in the market for a ski home be sure to call me….and send the eastern snow to the west!!!