August in the Mountains

So, it's August 1. How did that happen so quickly when summer only came a month ago? Oh well, the joy of living in the mountains at 7,000 feet. This summer has been cool and rainy, much like the summers were when I first arrived in the '80's. Could it be that we have turned a corner and the drought cycle is over? Time will tell but the mountains are so green right now and the wildflowers are so vibrant that it is absolutely spectacular.

This coming weekend is the annual Park City Arts Festival, a summer highlight. It starts off Friday night with what has traditionally become Local's Night, where admission is free, most all the vendors have set up and all the PC locals come up to preview what's going on, drink wine, have dinner on main street and catch up with friends before the crowds arrive. The Art Festival traditionally brings 100,000 visitors to PC over the weekend. A great event in town, the merchants and innkeepers are happy, and once again the people-watching is amazing, and the exhibitors continue to amaze festival goers.. August is thunderstorm season in the mountains and not uncommon to have afternoon thunderstorms come during the arts festival with all the vendors scrambling to secure their wares and hold the tents down during the storm. This year, while it has been very stormy for the past few weeks the forecast for the weekend is to be dry warm and sunny. Terrific for the festival, merchants, and festival goers. Tune in next week for photos from this years' arts festival.



In real estate news, nothing really exciting has been occurring recently other than the trend this summer has continued. Numbers of transactions are up, inquiries into my listings are up significantly over last year, and inventory continues to decline. While we are still in a buyers' market, particularly for cash buyers, I am starting to see sellers not coming off their prices as much and not as willing to sell at any cost. With sellers getting more and more calls to see their properties the feeling is becoming more and more that the market may be turning slightly to the sellers' favor. I don't feel that this is occurring yet but as inventory dwindles and as we get closer to the start of the ski season, historically interest continues to increase, this may start to happen.

In the meantime, the mountains are a wonderful reprise from the stifling heat that has taken over most of the country. I have lived in PC for 27 years now, and this the first time that I have still seen snow on our local mountains in August. For the next month, Park City is abuzz with arts festivals, music festivals, and outdoor dining. I'm hopeful your summer will allow for you to come up and enjoy summer in the mountains.