Year End Park City Real Estate Market Pulse
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You are like many internet searchers out there. You do a reasonable amount of searching - you research the area, the activities available, the schools, parks, property taxes, maybe even the restaurants. You even research to find the Realtor that looks to be the best for your needs. Their website says they serve your area...but do they?
When Realtors create their websites they choose certain cities they clain to service. There are no internet police determining whether they actually know the areas , have made any sales in the areas or for that matter have ever even visited the areas they claim to service.
I've seen it time and time again. Especially here in Park City Ut with America's Largest Ski Resort, Park City Mountain Resort. Realtors all over Utah have Park City on their list of areas they service. They want to sell that expensive home here just like the local Park City agents do. There's one problem - not only do some of these agents live 30-70+ miles away, they do not know the areas nor the neighborhood nuances. Most have never sold a home in Park City or Deer Valley and many of these Realtors do not even have access to the Park City MLS.
I wish there was a little more truth and integrity in this industry. But until there is, the onus is on you, the buyer or seller to ask the right questions.
Here are a few questions you can ask to help determine whether the Realtor you see online that looks so great is for real or just hoping you won't know the difference.
https://www.visitparkcity.com/visitors/web-cameras/
See the snapshot from tonight at 8:11. A few inches of snow still on the ground.
This morning I saw a story KUTV posted about the concern of Real Estate prices rising because of "Vailienation" - meaning Vail's coming to town has caused Real Estate prices to rise and has priced out many of our locals. The story brought out quite a few negative comments about the growth.
Yes, Vail coming to our ski town has changed things. Park City Utah is different from when I moved here 9 years ago, but it was also different in 2006 than it was when I first skied here in 1978 too. Growth happens. Anytime you have a super desirable place to live, people find out about it and it changes.
Talk to your parents and grandparents about how things were at the beaches in California 20 or 30 years ago. My husband's parents tell stories of how they could have purchased land at Jamboree and Pacific Coast Highway - prime land in Newport Beach- for $49,000 in the 70's when it was an orange grove. Things change. I grew up in Las Vegas back in the day where the Mob ruled, traffic was light and the town was relatively small. Not the same place it was when I lived there either. Things change.
Has it really changed our real estate values? Sure. Areas that are close to the resort like Old Town in Park City proper or The Colony at Canyons - now known as Canyons Village at Park City, Park Meadows and a few more have really jumped in the last year or so and you will find homes in those areas valued at $100,000,000 to upwards of $500,000,000. But, did you know that homes under $500,000 are still available? Condos are available under $300,000? You may not be able to walk to the lift, your drive to the resorts may be 6-10 minutes.
Published on Jul 29, 2015
A new 8 passenger gondola connection, along with the new King Con Express six-pack and Motherlode Express Quad make up just some of the improvements totaling over $50 million for the 2015-16 season. With over 7,300 acres, 300+ trails, 38 lifts, seven terrain parks, six natural half pipes, one super pipe and one mini pipe, plus many diverse ski-in/ski-out and village adjacent lodging properties, Park City is an easily accessible, world-class mountain destination located in an authentic and historic western town.
There is only one largest resort in the United States
There is only one mountain uniting 17 peaks of unmatched possibility.
There is only one legendary ski town.
There is only one place you are meant to be.
There is only one. Park City.
I haven't written in a while but this subject has been driving me crazy for quite a while. OK - here we go!
We agents search through sometimes hundreds of listings to dial down the best choices for our client based on their desires, compile that list set up a showing schedule geographically and design it to not overwhelm the client, and try to figure out how much time the client will want to spend in each home to make sure the day flows properly.
Not so tough right? Wrong. One of the most challenging aspects of setting up our clients to see YOUR home is the fact that the agent must be present for showings. Ugh! Really?
Let's look at some of the possible reasons...
Is it because you don't think the buyer's agent knows enough about your house/neighborhood/area?
Is it because you feel that your possesions will be at risk if your agent is not there?
Is it because you want your agent to "sell" the house while the client is in your home?
Is it because your agent has convinced you it is best if they are there during showings?
1. When setting up first time showings for a client, buyer's agents show not only homes that fit the buyer's wish list, but homes that are easy to show. Don't tell me I have to totally rearrange the schedule I have spent hours creating because your agent can't be there when I am in your area. Often times your home gets...
January 23, 2015
For further information, contact Park City Board of REALTORS®
Condominium SalesThe big news of Q4 was the huge jump in number of pended sales in October creating a rush of closed sales in the last quarter of 2014, culminating in a 49% increase over 2013. The number of condominium sales for the entire market area at quarter end was 808, which is 10% higher than last year’s number. Condominium sales in Park City Proper bounded ahead of last year’s number, as well in Q2 and Q3 of this year, to end 2014 with 376 sales – up 6%. The median price of $542,450 was 5% higher than last year’s number.
By area, Old Town had the highest number of condominium sales at 166 – a 6% increase – with a median sales price reaching $390,000. Board President, Nancy Tallman shares, “There was a definite uptick of 4th quarter condominium sales near the base of PCMR. We can't be sure whether this is the so-called ‘Vail Effect’ or just the settlement of the lawsuit and the certainty that the resort would be open this season. Whatever the reason, the sales speak for themselves.” Two other areas of interest include Empire Pass with 37 condominium sales, up 68% from last year, with a median price of $2.8 million, and Park Meadows which dipped 13% in the number of sales but...
Upper Mountain Ranch with breathtaking, unobstructed views of Canyons ski resort. Beautiful architecture with a family friendly floorplan while offering rustic but luxurious finishes. Wonderful entertaining home with large great room, front deck and rear patio. Theatre room in the expansive lower level with billiard room, wine cellar and wet bar. 5 bedroom, 4.5 baths , with two office/flex spaces. Designer features include Wolf appliances, hardwood floors, massive great room stone fireplace. Granite and a generous use of stone throughout with bronze and glass tile accents. Trails right outside your door. Minutes from all 3 ski resorts. Buyer to verify all information to their satisfaction.Call me for more information
Heather Feldman
Equity Real Estate Luxury Group
435-731-0803
Heather@ParkCityHouseHunters.com
...
For many decades, Hollywood has made box office gold creating comic films about the hilarious possibilities that nightmarish house remodels present: from Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House to The Money Pit (and even Under the Tuscan Sun), audiences delight in the shifty tradesmen and rotting timbers that define the genre.
If you’re an energetic Do-it-Yourselfer without much remodeling experience, Job One is to gather professional opinions to minimize the likelihood of costly discoveries. But before you even get that far, there are some general concepts that veteran turnaround investors know. These are disqualifiers that make it much more likely that buying a home in Park City Utah will be a shrewd investment instead of dollar demolisher.
Bad house, bad neighborhood
Is it worth buying a fixer-upper in a rundown or otherwise somewhat undesirable neighborhood? It can be tempting—especially when the asking price makes buying such a home a seemingly unbelievable value. But ignoring the ‘location, location, location’ truism is risky business. In many cases, such an investment may yield a diamond in the mud—a renewed structure that will never rise in value until the whole neighborhood rises in value (which could be never). Safer choices will be found in neighborhoods that don’t need remodeling themselves.
Buying a home in Park City Ut—especially when the neighborhood is fine and the price is more than right—can give rise to overly emotional decision-making. It can be tempting, when a property is almost okay, to make an instantaneous decision…but if you find yourself making excuses for this or that drawback, or finding yourself indulging in a bit of wishful thinking here and there, take a breath! Hopeful eyes may easily transform to fixer-uppers...
Selling your home quickly and for the highest price possible demands that the Park City showings be proactively appealing: that is, more than just a passive display of the residential “merchandise.” To make the most of the advantageous situation that any showing or open house should be, both you and your Realtor® must adopt the approach of any successful salesperson—namely, being certain every potential customer is shown the best aspects of the product. When it comes to Park City Ut home showings, that means staging and making your home available to view.
Most of the advice you’ll read about staging follows the same general formula: organizing rooms; maintaining exterior landscaping; updating aged features; eliminating clutter. What’s sometimes missing from those guides is a practical problem: a prescription for showings when the home in question is currently housing a family busy with schoolwork, after-school extracurriculars and full time professional obligations—in other words, modern life!
No matter how unlikely it might seem, for families whose schedules are already overloaded (and then some), proactive showings are indeed possible! Here are some of the proven ways busy families keep their Park City Ut homes in peak shape:
Neutralize Décor: To maintain a home livable for a busy family at the same time it’s ready to display requires muting some of the practical as well as decorative elements. It’s a delicate balance that means first removing idiosyncratic design elements, then also keeping as many personal items as possible out of sight but readily accessible when needed. It’s...
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
It’s a saying that job applicants (at least the successful ones) take to heart. It’s why a lot of serious primping goes on before a blind date. It’s why movie directors spend as much time as it takes to light and prepare the first shot that will introduce their lead actress. And if you’re going to have a house for sale in Park City this summer, it’s why it’s worth it to take pains to make its first impression as strong as possible.
Making any Park City house for sale’s debut a success doesn’t have to break your back or your bank account. Here are some simple, affordable projects that can be done in a single weekend:
Update Exterior Lighting
For prospective buyers whose first look at your house for sale comes in an evening drive-by, exterior lighting plays a leading role. If your lighting setup is more than ten years old, you may be able to do a quick transformation by replacing outdated fixtures with stylish new ones. If twilight showings are likely, consider adding a lighted path from driveway to door.
Warm Up the Front Porch
There’s an emotional component that goes into making a house for sale—one that’s truly “inviting.” Often, the key factor is whether prospective buyers can easily picture themselves and their family enjoying an afternoon or evening in the place. Think about whether investing in a few pieces of attractive, comfortable-looking outdoor furniture you could place on the front porch (or other outdoor space) could help buyers picture themselves enjoying a leisurely after-dinner conversation…and...
Many people assume that when the kids leave home, their newly empty nest automatically signals that downsizing into a smaller house or condo is the next step. In truth, for such families living in Park City Utah, downsizing is a common option—one that could very well be the best choice.
But, as the old Gershwin tune says, “it ain’t necessarily so...”
For many of us, once we establish a firm direction in life, a lot of decisions are more or less made without much hesitation. Career, family, and even community needs head us in certain directions, so a lot of choices are obvious. But every once in a while the paths open up, and it’s time to take a breath, clear the head, and realize that there may be a lot more freedom to change course than we are used to. When the downsizing idea bobs to the surface, it’s likely to signal such a turning point. That’s when it’s your true interests and passions should govern your next step—especially with respect to your residential options, which will shape much of what happens next. If this summer you find yourself musing about downsizing, it might be fun to also consider-
Upsize: It sounds backwards: moving into a larger home with your smaller family. Yet if you have special interests or hobbies that have always called for a lot of elbow room, this could be the chance to add a workshop, rehearsal space, or studio that you’ve never quite been able to wangle. A larger home can also provide extra space you may need to accommodate the rest of the family when they come for a visit (especially if that family is going to be growing!).
Follow your heart: Have you...
For the past two years national home prices have risen sharply, which might lead to the conclusion that they are overpriced. In fact, if we’re to believe the most recent report by real estate website Trulia, they are still 5% undervalued when measured against long-term fundamentals. So will this summer’s home prices in Park City be broaching unsustainable levels—or will they be reasonable?
The Problem of Measuring Only Home Price Increases
Real estate price increases by themselves are poor indicators of over- or undervalued real estate. Because of the headlong drop in real estate prices in 2007, throughout most of the country, prices have increased significantly without approaching the previous highs. A well-publicized example is in Las Vegas, where prices have increased by almost 60% over the last couple of years, yet by many yardsticks remain affordable. Park City neighborhoods are hovering in the pre-bubble prices with a few exceptions.
How Home Affordability Is Measured
There are a number of different ways of measuring whether home prices in Park City Ut could be considered to be over- or undervalued. They include looking at how current prices compare with long-term trends; how prices measure up against average incomes; the comparable cost of renting, etc. The Trulia report used a wide range of these indicators to emerge with a complete picture of the affordability of real estate across the country. Not all research confirms Trulia’s assertion. According to the Fitch Sustainable Home Price Model, national prices are overvalued by something like 15%. Critics note, however, that the Fitch model is distorted by prices in some of the markets selected – particularly California....
Suppose that in the course of buying a home in Park City, your eye is drawn to a bank-owned home,a home held in a trust, or a second home. There are many reasons why you could find yourself buying a Park City or Deer Valley home that’s currently vacant—which can also mean that the usual owner disclosures are not to be had. There are perfectly innocent reasons why this situation develops. Suppose the sellers of the property have just inherited it. How would they know that water tends to pool under the house during a strong rainstorm? Or that unpermitted repairs were made to the electric wiring in the kitchen?
If thoughts like these cause beads of sweat to pop out all over your forehead, don’t fret. This summer we can find you plenty of alternatives in Park City’s traditional housing market. But before you automatically pass on a vacant home because of unknowns in its history, you should know that, with due diligence, you can still end up with a home that is worth your money and a safe place to live!
The inspector’s report will let you learn what you’re getting into before you buy—and whether it’s in safe and livable condition. Most homes that fall vacant due to circumstances like divorce or a move are well cared-for and in decent shape; others, long abandoned, are more likely to have fallen into disrepair. Without any owner disclosures, you’ll be on your own to discover potentially major issues like leaking pool equipment or pest problems.
Even after you’ve had a thorough inspection, there is still a good chance you will encounter at least some surprises. There are some elements of a home that can’t really be properly inspected—like...
When any investor first begins to mull over the idea of acquiring a rental property in Park City Utah it’s usually in competition with an array of other investment types—each with its inherent plusses and minuses. Some of them are new ideas (new technology company stocks; new forms of commercial exchange)—but real estate is definitely not one of those. It may not be innovative, but being a landlord has always been one of the leading sources of passive income.
What is exciting about rental property is why it has always been recognized as a sound investment. When the income from a Park City rental property is able to pay for its own underlying mortgage, it self-propels its growing equity. The rental property’s investment value grows as the loan is paid down month by month, year after year. Added to that is any appreciation in its market value.
Needless to say, choosing the right rental property in Park City is worth the effort! Much of that effort involves making a serious effort to map out and project values, income and expense:
FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014
7:00 am • Pancake Breakfast in City Park
$7 adults, $5 kids 12 and under.
8:00 am • Cole Sport 5k Mountain Fun Run
Pre-registration until 5 p.m. on July 3
MORE INFO & REGISTRATION
11:00 am • 4th of July Parade • Main Street, Park City
Famous 4th of July Parade with over 70 floats celebrating Park City's Historiy
10:00 am - 9:00 pm • Celebration in City Park
Rugby games, live music, Rotary BBQ, beer garden, and children's activities at the north end of City Park. ...
The truth is, if a home hasn’t sold in today’s market, there is usually an identifiable reason. Here are some tips that can reverse what happened when listing your house the first time failed to strike pay dirt:
“U.S. Backs Off Tight Mortgage Rules” screamed the top headline on the front page of The Wall Street Journal last week. For Park City Utah mortgage shoppers, it could scarcely have been better news. Probably.
‘Probably’ because any change is not yet a done deal, but it’s hard to see what will derail the likely full reverse of the federal establishment’s years-long tight home loan policy. Why is this suddenly in the cards? The full answer is complicated, but here is a quick (admittedly over-simplified) summary of what’s been happening to Park City Utah mortgage applicants—and what probably lies ahead.
The ongoing real estate recovery has been less of a boon to banks (including Park City's` mortgage originators) than to other participants because of tightened lending guidelines. Since the economic meltdown had been triggered by the crash of too many ‘easy money’ mortgages that had been repackaged and sold to Wall Street investors, regulators created mortgage guidelines that were much stricter.
Although borrowers found it harder to qualify for mortgages, at the same time, the Federal Reserve held interest rates at such bargain-basement levels real estate sales hummed. But first-time borrowers found it hard to qualify.
But lately, observers of the national scene have been worrying. Over the past months, the gradual cooling of real estate activity may have been welcome in the sense that the torrid rate of activity had slowed from an unsustainable pace—but some economists began to fret. Even though there was still some growth, now there wasn’t enough—and that could stall the recovery for the whole economy.
Washington has decided to listen to the worrywarts: hence last week’s WSJ headline story. It reported on the first speech...
As the days grow longer and the thermometer rises, everyone wants to start spending more time outdoors—to make full use of our yards and patios. But what if your Park City home is going to be on the market this summer? Does it mean you have to stop enjoying yourself, stop entertaining guests, just because you want to keep the place in showable condition?
The answer is, of course, of course not. Using the outdoor spaces of your home means striking a balance between living your life and ensuring everything is in top condition when buyers come calling. It’s actually a staging opportunity, because most of your prospective buyers will be favorably impressed if your outdoor staging areas make it easy to picture themselves enjoying our beautiful Park City summer weather. You know the old but very true saying..." We came for the Winter but stayed for the Summer".
Staging your home’s landscaping thus takes added importance during summertime, beginning with overall curb appeal. Any time of year, potential buyers are often swayed by that first impression: as they approach the house, the impact will be one they’d like their own future visitors to have. Staging an inviting front yard appearance does wonders for your selling prospects.
Make sure your lawn is trimmed and the yard edged. During springtime and fall, a 2”-3” grass length is recommended, but as the hotter summer months approach, longer grass will help shade the soil and keep roots comfy. Minimize brown spots and thin patches by giving the blades an extra half inch.
Staging walkways and driveways means keeping cemented areas free of volunteer growing things. Having weeds, clover, or anything sprouting between stones or pavement is not only unsightly,...
Vail stated their intent would be to keep most of PCMR's employees and still allow Camp Woodward to be built and operated. Tension has been high in our little ski town since this lawsuit has been initiated. We as a community are torn between keeping the quaintness and history of Park City Mountain and creating a destination resort like Whistler/Blackcomb or Vail/Beaver Creek.
What is best for Park City? What is best for tourism ( pretty much everyone's livelihood)?
View the Park Record article below. Feel free to comment.
http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_25419000/vail-resorts-makes-buyout-offer-pcmr
For all of your Park City Ut Real Estate needs please contact me at 435-731-0803 or heather@parkcityhousehunters.com
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