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!!!

Fall Colors

What a weekend! Snow all day Saturday gave way to crystal blue skies on Sunday. The combination of dark blue sky, white mountaintops, the gold aspens and red maples made Sunday one of the prettiest days of the year. It seemed that the whole town was out hiking or biking on the trails. We have been receiving regular snowstorms this fall with more snow forecast for tonight and later this week. The high peaks are very white, and it looks like the snow is here for the year. This is creating a lot of excitement in town, and an added urgency for the ski resorts to finish up their projects. The new Lady Morgan Express Lift at Deer Valley is taking shape and looks like it will offer some excellent intermediate and advanced skiing. Everyone is talking about the new terrain and we are all eager to get up and explore it.

In real estate news, the new Empire Pass development at Deer Valley continues to be the shining star. The Grand Lodge at the base of the Northside Lift is completed and the wait was worthwhile as it is a beautiful building with the best ski access. There are a couple of resale opportunities in the Grand Lodge on the ski slope level with views up the mountain. New at the base of the Empire Lift, work is underway at a feverish pace for the new Montage Resort Spa. This is going to be a very high-end boutique hotel with over 30,000 square feet of spa area. While it is currently under construction, we do not anticipate that sales of the units to begin until the hotel is nearer to completion, in about two years.

In the Village at Empire, the Silver Strike building is nearing completion with about 12 units available. The new Flagstaff condominium building has just started construction with expected release of units in December. Construction has also begun on the new pool at the Talisker Tower Club.

Along with the spectacular colors and early season snows, there is a lot of excitement going on at the resorts and this is a wonderful time of year to come and see what’s going on!

Miner's Day in Park City

This coming weekend of September 1, 2, and 3rd, while most of the country celebrates Labor Day weekend, here in Park City, we pay tribute to our mining history with “Miner’s Day” celebrations on Monday, September 3rd. This is another example of the small-town flavor of Park City, where we have our traditional parade down Main Street, then activities at City Park. These activities are topped off by the mucking and drilling contests.

These contests involve both and current and former miners from the area, who pit their skills against each other. The drilling competition involves a large block of granite rock in which the miners hoist a heavy and unwieldy pneumatic drill and see who can drill five holes in the smallest amount of time. The mucking competition involves a small ore-cart with a pneumatic scoop shovel attached to the front. This cart and scoop are on a railroad track and are controlled by the operator who moves the scoop into a pile of waste rock and dumps it into the cart behind. This is again a time competition to see who can fill the cart in the least amount of time. The mucking and drilling contests have become the highlight of the day and always draw a large crowd.

We have all been hearing the daily news about the difficulties with the mortgage industry and its effect on the housing market. Park City’s local lenders have been making a point of letting everyone know that because they have portfolio lenders, they are able to make loans on homes, condos and land here in the area. While we have seen some slowdown in the market because of the national news, vacation property is still desirable and Park City remains one of the most desirable resorts in the U.S.

All three ski areas have new home and condominium developments being completed for this upcoming ski season. These developments all have terrific ski access and come in a variety of product from townhouses to homes to multi-level condominium buildings and a little bit of vacant land for homesites. Deer Valley resort is just completing two new condominium buildings on the mountain. Arrowleaf B and the Grand Lodge, both in Empire Pass, are in the final completion stages. At Park City, two new condominium projects: the Lowell, located in the resort center at the base of the mountain, should be completed early this winter, and Silver Star, which is a new project with its own lift, is also being completed. The Canyons resort has several new condominium projects either under construction or about to break ground. With the new lift expansions at the Canyons, these will have very convenient ski access.

Miner’s Day weekend is the traditional end to summer and in Park City, the leaves have begun to change. With the shorter days and cooler nights, the red leaves of the maples are starting to dot the hillsides. This is a terrific time to come out and visit, enjoy the beautiful fall colors and see what’s new at the resorts. For the latest information on any of the new projects or resale condos, please give me a call.