Park City was recently named as one of the top 5 Ski Resorts in the US in terms of “Awesomeness”.

Contributing author for Forbes.com Christopher Steiner notes how “ubiquitous rankings have become” and decided to rank ski resorts in his own terms as a measure of Awesomeness “do you need to know anything else?”

Park City was grouped as one resort due to the proximity of its three ski mountains (Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort)all being within ten minutes of one-another. Similarly Alta and Snowbird were grouped together as were Vail and Beaver Creek (they were ranked #2 and #4 on the Ski Resort Awesomeness rankings). Jackson Hole led the way and Telluride came in at #3.

Of interest in this Ski Resort Awesomeness ranking is the ratings of the skiing; the author rates Canyons as the best of the three resorts in Park City with Deer Valley second and Park City Mountain Resort third. Mr. Steiner definitely knows the resorts as he makes mention of the good and bad at all three. Canyons 9990 lift takes his top spot to ski while there (we’d throw in peak 5 as a great spot to make laps until 9990 opens) and he cautions against spending the day getting to something as the mountain is quite spread out. Deer Valley gets a strong recommendation not only as a fancy resort, but also for its great skiing terrain including trees and chutes. He calls Empire Lodge the greatest ski lodge in the world and calls the Deer Valley Turkey Chili the greatest single dish served mountainside anywhere. Forbes.com calls Jupiter Peak the best of the skiing at Park City Mountain Resort but laments the run-outs and the occasional crowds (for Utah). A thumbs-up was given for the ability to ski into Main St and ride the Town Lift back.

All-in-all it was a great positive article based almost solely on the ski aspects of Park City. When you throw in the other things that make the area great (restaurants, shopping, galleries, Sundance, nightlife, spas and all the non-ski-related amenities) Park City continues to shine as one of the most well-rounded destination vacations or place to call home.

For everyone east of the Rockies it was noted that no resort there made the list due to the snow and terrain not ranking in terms of Awesomeness versus the west.

For a complete version of the story see: Top 10 Ski Resorts in the United States for 2013.

For information about Park City Real Estate contact a realty professional with the YouInParkCity.com Group at (888)968-4672.

Why do people buy country club memberships and why isn’t there a ski oriented membership Park City real estate option?

People buy country club memberships for many reasons but probably the primary motivation is the quality of the golf experience and the easy access to the course. People are also drawn to the social element of a country club and the many (non-golf) functions the clubs host which allow members to interact in a relaxing setting with their family, friends and peers.

In Park City there actually are several ski oriented country club experiences which come in the form of interval or fractional real estate offerings. In my mind purchasing one these luxury ski condos offerings is very similar to buying an equity country club membership.

• You purchase your membership or condo and pay annual dues.
• When you want to do something different you sell your membership. Most golf clubs make you sell the membership through the club. They set the price and keep a portion of the proceeds. With a fractional or interval ski condo sale you generally sell it at market price and no proceeds are returned to the club.
• You pay dues to maintain the facilities, pay for staffing and market and communicate with members and the public who are the clubs future members.
• Just like country clubs there is no usually no financing available for a fractional or interval condo purchase. It is a luxury real estate purchase and an investment in lifestyle.
• Golf is included in country club dues. With the purchase of a Park City fractional or interval condo you get access to lodging. The number of weeks available and the reservation policies vary from property to property.
When buying a fractional mountain resort condo what questions should you ask?
• Is the condo ski in ski out and what are the other winter activities will be provided?
• What summer activities are organized for you?
• Is airport transportation and in town shuttle service provided. You are looking for a hassle free experience aren’t you?
• What other amenities are within walking distance to the condo, i.e. restaurants, shopping, ski and bike rentals, etc.?
• What are the other owners like?
• What level of service are you expecting? What is the staff like? Are they knowledgeable about the property and the community? Are they friendly?
• What do you own and how is ownership conveyed?
• Are property taxes paid as part of your dues?
• If you aren’t going to use one of your weeks what can you do with the condo?

What interval or fractional condos offerings are there in Park City?
In Deer Valley:
• Deer Valley Club, a Private Residence Club.
• Red Stag Lodge
• Residences at the Chateaux
In Old Town
• Sky Lodge
At Canyons Resort
• Grand Summit Hotel

For expert information on these fractional or interval ownership condominiums or any Park City Real Estate information contact the realty professionals with the YouInParkCity.com Group at (888)968-4672.

Annual Ski Resort area rankings put all three Park City Resorts in the Top Ten.

SKI Magazine is due on the newsstands or in your mailbox the 16th of October. The upcoming issue features the results of the annual readers’ poll. In the magazine they will rank the top 50 Resorts in North America.

Park City, Utah is home to three resorts that cover nearly 10,000 skiable acres located just a few miles apart. This year for the first time Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort are all ranked in the readers’ poll top 10.

Deer Valley Resort takes the 2nd place ranking; dropping from its unprecedented reign in the number one spot for five years in a row. Deer Valley still saw a number one rating in many individual categories and was likely impacted by the lack of natural snowfall last season.

Park City Mountain Resort moves up a notch this year to number four in the SKI Magazine Readers’ Poll top 50 Resorts. This is the best ranking that the resort has ever earned.

The tens of millions of dollars that have been spent at Canyons Resort in the past few years are paying dividends in the minds of SKI Magazine readers as Canyons receives the number ten spot in this year’s poll. This is an impressive move from rankings in the low 20’s just a few years ago. The number ten ranking for Canyons Resort is also the best that the resort has ever earned.

Park City, Utah is unique in that there are not many cities that are home to multiple ski and snowboard resorts. Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Canyons Resorts all share in some high ratings related to Park City’s snow, weather, accessibility to an International Airport as well as local restaurants and non-ski related activity options.

The YouInParkCity.com Group congratulates all three of Park City’s World Class Resorts on their rankings in SKI Magazine’s annual reader poll for the 2012/2013 season.

For information about how the resort rankings may affect real estate prices in Park City, Utah contact a Park City Real Estate Professional with YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

Preseason Season Pass Sales at Park City Ski and Snowboard Resorts

Season passes can now be purchased at Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, and Deer Valley. Daily ticket prices have not been released at all of the resorts, but if you are going to ski ten days or more it makes good sense to look into making an early purchase of your season pass.

Park City Mountain Resort Season passes offer the broadest range of options as their passes can be customized for the resort’s various offerings. Adult Season passes start at $750 and top out at $1425. The add-ons include underground parking, night skiing/riding, and Fast Tracks express lanes. Youth Passes (7-12 years old) range from $145-$445; Teen Passes (13-17 years old) range from $195-$495; Young Adult/College Passes range from $475-$1050; Senior Passes (65-69 years) are offered from $475 to $1050, and Super Seniors (age 70 and above) start at $270 and max out at $845 with all the options. Pass purchases include summer lift access for the current season. The age of the passholder is determined as their age on opening day November 17, 2012. Daily rates have not been published yet, but were $96 per day for adults last season, so anything more than 8 days for the year could prove to be a worthy investment. Pass prices go up on September 15.

Canyons Resort made a change this year and got rid of the mid-week pass option, but they have also reduced the rate on their full season pass so that it is less than the price of last years’ mid-week pass. If you buy an adult full season pass before Sept 15, 2012, the price is $849 (after Sept 15 the price jumps to $1149, and $1449 after Oct 15). Canyons offers a “platinum upgrade” which includes valet parking and a ski/boot locker with boot dryer. Youth (7-12 years old) Season Passes at Canyons Resort are $409 for non-residents and $249 for Utah students. Young adults (ages 13-17) from out of state can purchase a full season pass for $749 while Utah students pay $279-$319 depending on their school grades. Utah college students can buy a season pass for $599. Canyons Resort also offers pass deals for Teachers, Firefighters, and Police as well as Military personnel. As with Park City, Canyons season passes can become a better value with as little as 8 days of skiing/riding for the season.

Deer Valley which was ranked the #1 Resort in North America for the 5th year in a row last season is the only one of Park City’s three resorts to have posted their daily ticket rate for the 2012-2013 season and for the first time, it has topped $100 with a daily rate of $102 ($106 Holidays). Adult full season ski passes at Deer Valley are $1810 ($1470 for the 2nd when purchasing 2). Youth passes (4-12) are $450. Teen passes are $750 and Young Adult passes (18-23) are $1100 for the season. Seniors in the 65-71 year old bracket can purchase a season pass for $925 while Super Seniors (72 and up) can get a pass for $850. Midweek passes are available at Deer Valley; adult passes are $925 while Senior rates are $850; note that midweek passes are not valid Dec 26-Jan 1. Prices go up on November 1, 2012.

If you think you’ll be in a position to ski more than a week this upcoming season take a hard look at a season pass at your favorite Park City area resort. I guarantee that if you have a pass you will ski/ride more than if you are buying individual tickets. You will be willing to go up for just a couple of hours because you’ve already paid for it. Take full advantage of why you own real estate in Park City and get out on the snow this year.

For more lift ticket specifics visit: www.CanyonsResort.com, www.ParkCityMountain.com , and www.DeerValley.com.

Real Estate sales in Deer Valley, Utah for the current year.

We here at the YouInParkCity.com group keep a constant eye on what is going on in Park City real estate through a consistent watch of the Park City MLS, regular open house attendance, talking with other agents and monitoring what our clients and local visitors tell us among other things. A recent post indicating that Deer Valley sales were on an uptick caught our eye. Here is a summary of what we found to be true:

Current Park City MLS data shows that there have been 40 sales of homes condominiums and vacant land in Deer Valley since the first of the year. This number is almost identical to the real estate sales for the same period for last year. The average sales price is down a bit at just under $2 million, but the median sales price (half above and half below) is off by nearly $1M. So, thus far in 2012, half of the real estate sales in Deer Valley have been for less than $1M. While we are still seeing movement in the luxury market with sales at the Montage and St Regis Deer Crest hotel residences, real estate sales of above $2M in Deer Valley are currently off by 25% from this time last year. The 16 current pending sales represent a possible upward movement if they make it through to closed sales.

Overall the Deer Valley real estate market is a somewhat mixed bag with pockets of strengths and weaknesses but overall fairly stable in relation to last year. For an in-depth analysis of the portion of the Deer Valley or Park City real estate market that interests you contact a realty professional with YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

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.

Park City Mountain Resort to Improve Base Area

Resort Officials of Park City Mountain Resort announced to the Park City Council and Planning Committee that they are beginning to explore new development around the resort base area.

In recent years the resort has positioned itself as a ski resort operator and not a developer. They now point to new base area development as a way to ensure that they are adequately taking care of their customers as well as increasing capacity for new resort guests.

There have been many rumors in the past about possible resort hotels going in at the base of the resort where the parking lots are currently located. The recent additions of the Hyatt Escala and Waldorf Astoria at Canyons Resort as well as the St Regis and Montage Hotels at Deer Valley leave Park City Mountain Resort without a luxury offering to compete with Deer Valley and Canyons. The lower lots near the base of the First Time Lift and Super-pipe would appear to be the most logical place for a new resort hotel and base area expansion. A Four Seasons Resort Hotel was once rumored for this location; maybe it is a step closer to reality (?).

The plans are still conceptual at this point, but as the supply of new luxury condominiums in Park City dwindles another resort property will make sense. The addition would be great for the Town of Park City as well as the Park City Mountain Resort.

We are close to having one year of sales data for the Montage at Deer Valley and the sales data shows surprising strength given the overall market and world economy. Thirteen sales have been completed for Montage Deer Valley Residences. The sales represent just over 15% of the available units but were nearly 50% of all sales in Park City’s luxury real estate enclave of Empire Pass. Sales prices have ranged from $1.6M to $8M.

The latest release of residence models at Montage Deer Valley will feature a showcase residence that is a collaboration between interior designer Philip Gorrivan and One Kings Lane (a leading online site for designer décor, furnishings and accessories). The 3471 square foot home is a two story three bedroom, three bath model featuring a large great room, dining room, gourmet kitchen, and den. Three private balconies offer incomparable ski resort and valley views. The designer elements in the home have created a mountain modern feel in which each room has its own unique sense and appeal to the luxury Park City lifestyle. Our recent tour through this home was impressive.

The home will enjoy access to all of the Montage Deer Valley spa and resort services and amenities; not the least of which is its slope-side Deer Valley location.

For more information about this special Montage Deer Valley home or a private tour focused on luxury Park City and Deer Valley real estate contact YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

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With 45 days left before the end of the year, we probably won’t see significant changes in Park City real estate sales totals.

Current for sale inventory in Park City’s Lower Deer Valley area includes 28 single family homes and 54 condominiums. This number will likely rise slightly as we move closer to the ski season.

To date there have been 7 single family home sales this year and 2 other homes have accepted sales contracts. So the inventory levels indicate a 3-4 year supply of single family homes in the Lower Deer Valley area. The inventory varies greatly with offerings ranging from $775k to just over $3M. Lower Deer Valley has some homes that are beginning to show their age; this fact can be seen in the variations of asking price with the least expensive homes in the low $200’s/square foot and the highest end well into the mid $500’s/sq.ft. Single Family homes sales for Lower Deer Valley are likely to lag 2010 numbers by nearly 30%.

Condominium sales in the Lower Deer Valley area of Park City show a strong increase versus 2010, but there are factors that have skewed this number dramatically. To date 49 condominiums have sold in Lower Deer Valley and another 6 have pending sales contracts. With 53 active for sale condominium listings, the current inventory represents just over a one-year supply. Lower Deer Valley condominium sales totaled 32 for 2010, so this year’s numbers at first blush are very strong. The twist is that 22 of the sales were bank (or corporate) REO properties. The sales of the bank owned condominiums had an average sales price in the low $300’s per square foot. By contrast, the average sales price for non-bank owned properties was over $375 per square foot.

Many of the homes and condominiums in the Lower Deer Valley area were built from the early 1980’s through the mid 1990’s and many of the properties are “showing their age”. The new construction in the past few years in the Empire Canyon area of Deer Valley has impacted sales greatly as buyers tend toward more “turnkey” products. The Lower Deer Valley area offers great access to all Park City has to offer and there are definitely gems to be found in the for sale listings. For information regarding specific realty listings in Lower Deer Valley, contact YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

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Here is a new program designed to insure the value of the home you are buying. Equity Lock Solutions is offering a product called Home Price Protection.

Generally the plan works like this: The buyer or seller of a home or condominium in Park City can purchase a plan of up to $2 million for a one time fee of 1.8-3.0% of the plan amount (costs vary slightly but Keller Williams agents have access to the lowest rates). The plan is tied to a local House Price Index published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The index for the Park City area is tied to the Salt Lake City metropolitan statistical area. If the index drops from the time of purchase to the time of sale, the plan pays the percentage difference in the fall to the owner at the time of the sale.

If you as a buyer purchased this price protection and bought a $1 million Park City home and five years from now when you go to sell the home the House Price Index has gone down 10%, the Home Price Protection Plan will pay you $100,000 when you sell the house. The plan is a hedge against the housing market going down, not the individual home, so choosing the correct home is still important.

For more in-depth information about this program as well as the current HPI for your area, go to: http://equityocksolutions.com/faq/ .

The NAR (National Association of Realtors) has picked Home Price Protection as their product of the year.

This may give a buyer the peace of mind they are searching for as they wonder if they are truly buying at the bottom of the market.

For more information about Home Price Protection or any Park City or Deer Valley, UT real estate questions contact a realty professional with the YouInParkCity.com Group of Keller Williams Park City Real Estate at (888)968-4672 or email us at info@YouInParkCity.com.