End of June in the Mountains

How can this be the end of June/first of July when summer just started a week ago? Well I suppose that's life at 7,000 feet. But right now it is so spectacular. There are still patches of snow on local mountains, aspens are bright, bright green, and the sky is the deepest blue that you can imagine. With all of this, a friend of mine skied Snowbird last Sunday and said it was absolutely fabulous. 100"+ base at mid-mountain and he could ski to the plaza at the base of the mountain; unheard of for this time of year. With the arrival of warm weather, all the creeks and rivers are raging with runoff. Everyone is being warned to stay away from the creeks and rivers as they are running high, fast, and cold. So far this spring four children have drowned in Northern Utah's streams and rivers.


As I mentioned in last week's blog, this past Saturday was the Savor the Summit on Main Street. Park City and the restaurants outdid themselves. Savor the Summit has been going on now for five years and the local restaurants now see who can out-do with decorations, menu and food. This year's festival was the largest I've ever seen and the restaurants certainly outdid themselves with their decorations. I was at the Talisker on Main table where they had made a canopy out of aspen trees. It was really quite impressive and seemed to be a focal part for everyone's pictures. Talisker served a 7-course dinner, complete with wine pairings that lasted well into the evening. (Of course, just to be sure, we bought plenty of wine ourselves.) This year, for the first time, when dinner concluded most of the restaurants provided live entertainment inside. This was a terrific addition to an already fabulous festival and kept everyone on Main Street until the wee hours of the morning. The only downside is that I was playing in a weekend golf tournament and had to be up at 6:30 Sunday morning, ready to play. While I was up at 6:30, I can't say that I was necessarily ready to play.

Summer Solstice

Tuesday is the summer solstice and the official start of summertime. Which here in the mountains means any snow that fell before the solstice belongs to last winter and any snow that falls after the solstice belongs to next winter. It hasn't snowed since Sunday the 19th, but the national weather service promises that this was the last storm for several months and I'm holding them to this promise. Next week Saturday, the 25th, Park city kicks off its start of summer with the "Savor the Summit" dinner. This is where the various restaurants in Park City line up tables down the middle of Main Street and serve dinner. The evening is filled with music, entertainment, and of course much socializing. This is the start to summer and the event has been sold out now for several weeks.

With all the rain and cool weather of this spring the golf courses are in fabulous shape but the mountain bike trails are still a little iffy. For hiking and biking you need to stay on either the lower elevations or South or West-facing trails as the North and East-facing trails still have a fair amount of snow on them. But with temperatures approaching 80-degrees this week, things will dry out quickly and we'll be in full swing.

The Montage Hotel and Spa in Empire Pass, Deer Valley, today announced their second release. If you've been following my blog you know that the Montage sold out its first release of 15 units last winter and is now on its second release of 15 units. This time, Montage is offering a buyer incentive of a 16% discount from list price. In addition, the Montage will be waiving HOA fees from the time of purchase to January 1, 2012. This is a terrific incentive for buyers wanting to get in on the low prices this summer but not intending to use until wintertime. The 15 sales that occurred during the winter were quite exceptional given the price range (over $2,000,000) and the economy. I think this demonstrates the quality of the construction at the Montage and the power of the Montage brand. If you're not familiar with Montage, they have two other hotels in Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills, California. The Montage is a very small boutique hotel offering very high-end finishes and service. For more information on the Montage, please contact me and I'll be happy to send you pricing and unit spec sheets.

It's greening up very fast in Park City now, and with the oppressive heat around the country this is the perfect time to come experience beautiful summer days in the mountains. Summertime temperatures in Park City are typically in the mid-70s to 80s, but the best part is our lack of humidity, frequently below 20%. As always, when you come out feel free to call me or stop in my office to find out about the latest happenings, restaurants that are a must-visit, and of course the best real estate buys in town.

June 14 In Park City

Before we get started with today's news in Park City, let's get to the really important thing: today is my birthday! I'd like to say sweet 16 but I couldn't even reverse the numbers and be accurate. Today is supposed to be a beautiful day, so I'm going to relax and enjoy the town. What I'm very tempted to do today is drive up to Empire Pass and ski Deer Valley. Having never done this on my birthday I think it would be very fun. And yes, there is still plenty of snow. If I do this look for a picture!

What I really enjoy this time of year is watching the aspens leafing out and the green line creeping up the mountain. Currently the aspens have leaved out to about 8,000 feet. The town of Park City is 7,000 feet and the tops of the peaks are 10,000 feet. Each day creeps up higher and higher, but high-elevation trees will probably not leaf out for another week or two. This year the highest trees will probably not leaf out until almost July and will start to lose their leaves late September, a very short growing season. You have to really want to be a tree to live at 10,000 feet.

In real estate news, our market continues to improve with strong sales through all aspects of the market. The numbers of sales for the first four months of 2011 in the greater Park City area are up 20% over 2010 with average sales price being for the most part flat. Like most real estate markets there are many subset markets, with each one being very unique and different. For example, the average sales price for single-family homes in Park Meadows is up slightly over 2010, condos in upper Deer Valley are pretty flat while condos at the Canyons Resort do not appear to have hit bottom yet. This year, 51% of all transactions in the greater Park City area were cash; not surprisingly, 88% of land sales were cash transactions. I say not surprisingly because of the difficulty and expense of financing land. 29% of the sales this year have been distressed sales with the golf course community of Promontory accounting for 25% of all of the distressed sales. Notices of default have been steadily decreasing since the first of the year and the number of listings across the board are down 14% for the same period last year. I see this as all pretty positive news for the resort real estate market as we are once again bucking the national trends.

Comparing what's going on in Park City to the national trends nationwide, numbers of sales are down about 30% nationwide from last year. Resort markets seem to be hit quickly when the economy takes a downturn but historically have recovered much faster than residential markets. Even during a downturn in the economy we hear from our visitors that they want to own their vacation properties but are nervous about the timing and perhaps their financial situation. As consumer confidence rebounds buyers tend to look at a vacation home purchase as a good financial investment rather than just pure enjoyment. Right now vacation home buyers appear to be feeling much more confident that the resort real estate market is near the bottom and that with low prices and dwindling inventory, now is the time to act. As I mentioned in last week's article the importance of having a local, knowledgeable and experienced agent working for you can not be overstressed. While prices in Park City are down to about where they were in 2006, offering some excellent investment opportunities, there are certainly specific areas where the savvy investor can find extremely attractive purchases.

Summer will eventually arrive, I promise. So come out and enjoy spectacular summer weather in the high country and of course when you do, be sure to stop in my office or give me a call to find out what's happening around town, the best restaurants, what events are a "don't miss," and where the best real estate buys are.

Early June in the Mountains

Summer arrived this weekend! With temperatures approaching 80 degrees the golf courses were busy and all the local pools were full of residents enjoying the beautiful warm weather. Driving around town the nursery was doing booming business with people planting spring and summer flowers. Everyone was in their yards, weeding, cleaning up, sprucing up in anticipation that summer will be here to stay. However let's not get too excited as the forecast is for rain and snow most of the rest of this week. After all, it is only the second week of June.

Still pretty early in the year for any big events in town although most of the restaurants have reopened. Last summer Park City allowed the Main Street restaurants to build temporary outdoor patios on the street to allow outdoor dining and take advantage of the nice days. While only two restaurants took advantage of this last year, this past weekend driving on Main Street i saw many more restaurants building outdoor dining decks which adds a nice little flair to Main Street and is a very enjoyable way to spend lunchtime.

This past Sunday one of our newer restaurants, Talisker on Main, started serving Sunday brunch, so I felt obligated to try it out. Typical of Talisker, there was nothing simple, common, or ordinary on the menu but all was fabulous. I felt obligated to try the Eggs Benedict which was very interesting. They served three Eggs Benedict, all differently. The first was the traditional, poached egg on ham on a muffin however it came with shaved asparagus as well. The second one was a fried quail egg on pulled pork on a muffin, and the third was a breaded and deep fried egg over country fried chicken on a muffin. All served with a cayenne hollandaise sauce. Quite interesting and quite delicious.

Real estate continues to be quite active with sales spanning the entire range of homes and condos. As would be expected a lot of sales in the lower end (under $300K) for condos and lots, but we also saw a ski-in/ski-out home in The Colony with an asking price of $7.5 million sell last week. Condos around the ski resorts continue to be some of the best buys. At the Canyons resort we have a new Hyatt hotel and the Waldorf-Astoria. These two very well-known name brands are attracting a lot of visitors to the Canyons and with the money and improvements Talisker has made to the base area, (and perhaps a golf course this summer) we may finally see the Canyons Resort becoming our third world class resort. At Deer Valley the Montage Hotel in Empire Pass sold out its first offering of 15 units. The Montage had offered some terrific incentives as far as pricing and buyer incentives to jump start their sales program. While I expect the second release to come out shortly with additional buyer incentives, I do not anticipate that they will be quite as attractive as the first one was. It will be interesting to see how this plays for future sales.

A very interesting opportunity is in lower Deer Valley in a project called Silver Baron. About three weeks ago there were twelve units that had been owned by the developer and taken back by the bank and were offered for sale either individually or as a lump group. A savvy investor came in and purchased all 12 of them at a phenomenally aggressive price and is turning around and offering a select number for resale.The attractive part is that the price that he purchased them for is allowing him to put them back on the market at a price that is far below what comparable sales were this last winter for Silver Baron. He is offering these with the stipulation of a quick close but to make that attractive he is offering to carry financing until the buyer is able to secure conventional financing. This is an opportunity to acquire a relatively new condo at the base of Deer Valley at a price we won't see again.

Now, this demonstrates the importance of working with a long-time experienced agent who is tuned into the local market and where the deals are to be found. Resort markets are fast moving and when opportunities pop up, they rarely last long.

I hope that your weekend was enjoyable and if you get out to visit Park City this summer, you'll either stop by my office or call to say Hello. Remember I am always available to talk about what events are coming up, new and old standby restaurants, as well as where to go for activities.

Annual Restaurant Review

May is the in-between season and I thought that this would be a perfect time to review Park City's award-winning restaurants in anticipation of a busy summer. But first, let's talk about what's really important. The sun is shining! After weeks of cold, dreary, snowy weather we woke up yesterday to brilliant sunshine with temperatures forecasted to be in the mid 60s by the end of the week. Could this really be spring? We received about a foot of snow this past weekend and looking up at Deer Valley it doesn't look that different from a typical powder day.There are tracks all over from skiers hiking up. Looking at a pathway going from the Silver Lake Lodge to Stein Eriksen Lodge, the snowbank is still over six feet high. This may be the year that I'm able to ski on my birthday, June 14.

I'm Back!

After some time off from my regular blog I am back and will be blogging on Park City, what's happening in Park City and real estate on a weekly basis again.

First, let's talk about what's been happening in Park City this winter. It's been a very busy winter, first with very early snow beginning in November, and heavy and regular snowstorms right through Christmas. This gave ski resorts one of the best openings that we've seen in many years and great skiing for the Christmas holiday.

January was unusually dry but no one seemed to mind skiing with sunny, bright blue sky conditions. The Sundance Film Festival came at the end of January and from all accounts Sundance visitors were once again spending. Restaurants and Main Street shops all reported that their business was up significantly over 2010's Sundance Film Festival.

Earlier this month, Deer Valley and Park City hosted the Freestyle World Championships. A fabulous weekend starting with the Parade of Athletes down Main Street and three days of competition ending with the dual mogul event under the lights of Deer Valley. As is typical for Park City (which is ready to party at the drop of a hat) the whole town turned out for the events, particularly the mogul event Saturday night. One of the great things about living in a world-class resort town like Park City is the opportunity to see the best athletes in the world competing in international events. Throughout the remainder of
the winter there will be many more competitions here in town: skiing, snowboarding, bobsled, luge and jumping events taking place now through spring.

Onto the world of real estate. 2010 saw a return to better times. While prices are still low and have not yet begun to rise, the number of sales in 2010 was up about 30% over the number of sales in 2009. This increase occurred mostly in the second half of the year and particularly from early fall through Christmas. What we observed was a change in buyers' thinking. In 2009, the prevailing thought was "if I see something I like, it will still be here when I come back (and probably at a better price)." In the last half of 2010 the thought process changed to "if I see something I like and it's priced correctly, I need to put in an offer now because it will not be here when I come back." Buyers seem to be saying that they feel we are either at the bottom of the market or so close to it that they do not want to miss out on this opportunity.

From my observations and in talking with other agents in Park City, this same sentiment is holding true for the first 5 weeks of the new year. Another interesting aspect we're seeing is the number of active listings available to purchase has decreased significantly from 2009. Conventional thinking would tell us that when demand increases and product availability is decreasing, prices are soon to rise. However, I think we still have enough downward pressure on prices from distressed sales that this may not happen for a while yet. On the other hand, we are beginning to see multiple offers on some select properties. It will be very interesting to see just where this ski season ends up with sales numbers and prices. Check back frequently for more updates on this.

But for now, come out and ski! The skiing is terrific and we are entering the warmer months.

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!