Days on market for real estate in the Park City adn Deer Valey, Utah area

Days on Market is a piece of information that can give us some information about home sales in an area, but it is not the end-all statistic. In Park City, Utah the current average days on market for real estate is about 150 days from initial list to sale. This statistic counts only those properties that have sold (not inventory or expired/removed properties).

In general a lower number of days on market relates to a “hotter” market and less of a “buyer’s market” but there are other factors that also have to be considered. Note that the 2007 timeframe has a relatively higher days on market; yet things were selling within days at this time. New construction is the reason in this case. Projects were selling out quickly, but the days on market statistic counts from the time the property goes under contract until the sale closes which in this case does not happen until the home or condominium is complete. Similarly, current days on market may be averaging a little longer due to the loan process taking longer now than it did a few years ago.

Buyers often ask how long something has been on the market and try and use that information in determining an initial offer. Unfortunately the correlation between days on market and accepted sales price does not always have a straight forward correlation. No two properties are exactly the same, so the sales price of two similar homes need not be the same. Similarly, the financial situation and reasons for selling are never the same for two individual sellers.

This is not to say that days on market does not have any value in determining a fair price. It is interesting to note that of the over 500 sales in the past 6 months, over 20% sold in less than 21 days (sales this quick are cash purchases). The average sales price of these quick sales was over 95% of the list price. Conversely, Park City properties that took longer than 180 days to sell had a sales price of about 90% of the list price.

The 2011-2012 ski season is half over; hard to believe, but it is true. It is a great time to check on real estate sales in Park City as well as a time to remind yourself to get out and ski before you start thinking about summer related activities.

So far this season the lack of snowfall hasn’t impacted Park City real estate sales. The December through mid-February period equating to half of the winter season shows sale numbers about on par with the same period in 2010-2011 even though the snow depth has been less than half of last season. Current trends still show pricing down (about 4% on single family homes and 10% on condominiums). Unit sales of homes and condominiums are nearly identical for the periods while building lots are off nearly 40% for the period. The drop in vacant lot sales appears to have been impacted by the drop in bank REO offerings which represented 25% of the sales last year and only 5% of the vacant lot sales this season so far.

Other interesting trends for the current ski season real estate sales include:

Fewer sales of condominiums over $1M and half as many sales of Park City area condominiums in the luxury category (over $2M) compared to the previous season.

Park City Single family home sales remain steady across all market levels including the luxury segment over $2M.

Bank REO sales were down dramatically for the compared seasons, but look for that to change as the MERS issues are cleared nationally.

Canyons Resort real estate is showing stronger condominium sales, but weaker single family home sales.

Data herein is derived from the Park City MLS system for sales in the greater Park City areas (areas 1-23). Data is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. For specifics about any Park City real estate neighborhood contact a realty professional with the YouInParkCity.com group at (888)968-4672.

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