Amidst all of the recent horrible national housing and economy news Park City, UT has received some great accolades. In addition to the release of The SKI Magazine readers' poll recognizing Deer Valley as the top ski resort in North America (see our www.YouInParkCity.com blog post from September 24), Park City has been mentioned by Forbes Traveler and featured in a USA Today article this past week.

In the ForbesTraveler.com article which falls under their "Inspirations" section, travel writer Sarah Tuff Dunn in naming Park City, Utah as one of the 20 prettiest towns in America says:

"I was struck by just how blue the sky was, and how dry the air, during a ski trip one March. I was used to soggy or icy conditions back East. After I skied seemingly bottomless powder at nearby Deer Valley, the whole town of Park City (which looked like a candy village, thanks to all the different colors of the Victorian buildings) seemed like it was on some crazy high from the sun, the snow and the altitude."

Photographer Krist (who also contributed to the list) sums up the intangible quality shared by the pretty towns on his list: "They haven't been homogenized, they still have their local character-and the charm is real."

See http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/americas-prettiest-towns-story.html for the rest of the list.

While Forbes was recognizing the beauty of Park City, UT, the USA Today was touting how easy it is to get here. Beauty can be very subjective, but location isn't. Larry Olmstead, travel writer for the USA Today, notes in the Friday Oct 10, 2008 article titled: Second homes: Park City is just a hop, skip and a ski slope away:

With ski towns, getting there is rarely half the fun. Many, like Aspen and Telluride, are hours from a major airport. Moreover, small mountain-town airports operate at the whims of nature.

But the ski resorts surrounding Salt Lake City are the most accessible in North America, a city-bus ride away from a major hub airport that rarely closes. Three of the biggest Utah resorts can be found in one place: historic Park City.

The article goes on to describe real estate opportunities in and around Park City's three resorts - The Canyons, Deer Valley, and Park City Mountain Resort -

see (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/secondhomes/2008-10-09-park-city-utah_N.htm?csp=34 ).

 What stands out most is the age old real estate mantra: location, location, location. While Park City is experiencing the same economic and finance pressures as the rest of the Nation, the town has something that won't change. Park City is a very desirable place to be. For those of us lucky enough to live here, we are in a place that many people come to vacation. For those who own a second home here, you have a beautiful place to go and recharge your batteries that is easy to get to from most places in the USA. Our location and the scarcity of beautiful and easily accessible towns will keep home values in Park City stronger in times of economic uncertainty.

For information on the average costs of housing in the Park City area see the neighborhood sections of www.YouInParkCity.com or call us at 888-968-4672.

Posted by Todd Anderson

Todd@YouInParkCity.com

Saturday Morning TV seems to be filled with shows on HGTV and the DIY network among others that show people upgrading their homes followed by a Realtor telling them how much more it is worth.

The country's present real estate market shows us that those upgrades may not all be good and definitely don't necessarily make you money in the end. This is not to say that something can't be bought at a great price have a few cosmetic upgrades done and be sold for a profit, but the days of the easy fix and flip may be gone.

The Park City area, having a resort originally built in the 60's and 70's (not to mention miners shacks from the early 1900's), has some properties that are in need of a remodel. The majority of the guests coming here expect a world class resort and accommodations to match.  Real estate buyers in Park City have come to expect granite countertops surrounding professional grade appliances, jetted tubs and travertine tile in bathrooms, LCD or Plasma screen TV's, hot tubs plus plenty of snow in the winter and sun in the summer.

Maybe your Park City home or condominium doesn't currently have all this. Do you have to upgrade? If so, what should you do and how much should you spend? To answer these questions you really need to consider what end result you are trying to accomplish. Are you looking to sell soon? Are you looking for better rental revenue? Are you looking to just please yourself or spouse by making your place more comfortable? Do you just want to smile when you turn the corner and see your home come into view? Each of theses answers may lead to a different upgrade and investment in your property.

If your intention is to fix up the property and sell it, consult your local Realtor about which project to tackle first and the resulting revenue difference it may make in the sales price of your home. Remember that the most important part will be to get people to come into your Park City house or condominium, so work on the outside "curb appeal" first (this is the first and last thing people see when they come to look at your property).

If your intention is to remodel the inside of your home, take a look at the cost of remodels and the average return on that investment in the Sellers section of our website. Remember why you are making an upgrade, if it brings you happiness while you are living in the home; consider that value in your return on investment calculation.

Also, for those of you that plan to "do-it-yourself" note that it is never as easy as the ½ hour TV show would lead you to believe. Think about what type of person you are (are you a perfectionist or do you settle for adequate?), make sure that you finish the project to the end and not just do "good enough" especially if your end wish is for better resale value.

          A recent video on the web shows an interview by Hilarie Barsky of Good Morning America Now speaking with Donald Trump about the real estate market. Mr. Trump is quoted as saying that the time to buy is now through next year and that those who don't may be wishing they had in the future. Trump feels that we are currently at "about the bottom of the market".

          We see and hear reports pointing in all directions about which way the market is going. Mr. Trump may have some good insights, but can he call the bottom of the market? Only time will tell. He also states in the interview that "the country is obviously in big trouble" and that the banks have failed the people. Buying while home prices are down is good if you can find a way to finance it, and time will probably show that Trump seeing buying signals now was a good call.

            How does all of this relate to the Park City market? The President of the Park City Board of Realtors recently said that prices in the Park City area are holding steady while inventories are on the rise. Economics 101 tells us that this can't last and the likely solution to drive up demand is to lower prices. Recent sales in the Park City, UT area indicate that prices are falling. The YouInParkCity.com group feels that most of the homes that have sold recently represent aggressively priced houses and condominiums that were a true value. We have recently added a Park City Best Buys page to our website. In its first week, 2 of the 12 properties we identified were put under contract. We will continue to update the site with Park City homes we think are a strong value and monitor the results. The Park City market may not have reached its true bottom, but we are seeing some great values.

          A couple of other things from the Donald Trump interview do ring true in the Park City market. Mr. Trump states that real estate is a local business and that you need to know what you are doing. This idea has been a common theme in the www.YouInParkCity.com/blog. We know what we are doing and we are here to help you with your Park City real estate needs.

            To see the Donald Trump interview go to: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5576708 or search ABC News Donald Trump 8/13/2008.

Posted by Todd Anderson :: YouInParkCity.com Blog 8/26/2008

The second quarter of 2008 has come to an end and the statistics are out for the Park City, Utah real estate market. It is always interesting to see how the numbers stack up to what your gut feeling about how the market is doing. 

A quick look at the numbers can show that my gut feeling is both right and wrong, as usual, the numbers can be spun to show whichever story you want to tell. Well, almost...

There is almost no classification in which it can be shown that sales volumes are up. Single Family home sales for the first 2 quarters of the year were off by 45%.  Pricing though was effectively flat (up 1% in town, down 6% in the Snyderville Basin, up 1% in the Heber Valley). Bright spots can be found in single family home sales if you look at Woodland and Francis, sales prices were up 80% from the same period last year. 

Over-all condominium sales showed a drop of 24% in sales volume, but prices were up by 18%. There were a few newly completed projects that skewed the numbers (please note that it can be argued that this is almost always true in the Park City real estate market). Sales at the Newpark Hotel in Kimball Junction totaled over $24 million and gave the Kimball Junction area a 95% boost in sales volume and a 131% boost is dollar volume of sales. Similarly, the Old Town area shows remarkable numbers unless you remove the sales of Silver Star (new ski-in / ski-out property at the Park City Mountain Resort) which showed over $54 million in sales. 

Vacant land showed a 60% decrease in unit volume sold while overall pricing was up 14%. The telling number here might be that there are over 1300 active listings for vacant land on the Park City MLS and 109 sold in the first 2 quarters of 2008 leading to a 6 year supply of inventory at the current sales pace.

There are bright spots and dim spots throughout the sales report for the first 2 quarters of 2008.  All real estate is local down to the block, side of the street, which ski run you're on, or on which hole of the golf course your home sits. For a more complete analysis of the Park City real estate area that you are most interested in, give the YouInParkCity.com Group a call at 888-968-4672 or email us at info@YouInParkCity.com.

Submitted by Todd Anderson -

REALTOR® YouInParkCity.com Keller Williams Park City Real Estate

Statistics herein were derived from the Park City MLS. Numbers are deemed accurate and reliable, but not guaranteed.  

This was originally posted at http://youinparkcity.com/blog/ see the originating website for more Park City real estate news, information and listings www.YouInParkCity.com 

          One of the most commonly asked question a Park City REALTOR® gets asked is "how is the market?"  We've written about this before in the YouInParkCity.com blog, but we think it deserves to be said again.  "It really depends on where you are and what you are trying to accomplish in terms of buying, selling or investing, but most important is the idea that all real estate is local.

          We've noticed some recent Park City numbers that reinforce this point on a local neighborhood level.  The Silver Springs real estate area in Park City, Utah currently has 19 active single family home listings.  During the month of May, 7 single family homes were put under contract and 1 sale closed (given the average under contract / pended times, the others should close in June).  This represents quite a lot of activity in this neighborhood.  So the answer to the "how's the market?" question could be "great" or "hot".

          To the contrary, we can look at the available homes, new pending sales and closed transactions for the Promontory neighborhood in Park City:  There are currently 63 active single family home listings in this real estate area, zero went pending in the month of May and only 3 have gone pending this year.  So, the answer to the "how's the market?" question might be "tough", "slow", or "a Buyer's market". 

          These two real estate markets are both part of Park City real estate and tell very different stories.  The idea that all real estate is local can be narrowed even further than this may suggest.  It may be the perfect view of the ski run, access to a great running trail, or proximity to a local school that makes a home "perfect".  These limiting factors bring about scarcity and drive demand.

           The "perfect home" that you want may be represented by only a few possibilities in a given neighborhood, and the fact that one is currently available may make it the right time to buy. 

"How is the market?" is really determined by what is available in a given local area.  Think of this in terms not only of a state, county, or city, but down to specific neighborhoods and even streets and which side of a particular street.

           For information regarding your present or future home in the Park City area; contact www.YouInParkCity.com .

 Data mentioned herein was taken from the Park City MLS on May, 30, 2008 deemed accurate and reliable, but not guaranteed.    

           Short sale and foreclosure property always seem to catch people's attention.  The idea of really getting a "steal" on property peaks investor and home-buyer interest.  While a short sale can be a great deal, there are a few things to consider before you go searching for that "steal". 

            First we should define a short sale.  A short sale is a sale of property in which the sale price is less than the value of the loans against the property.  Short sales can be initiated by the seller (property owner), but must be approved by the parties with loans which are using the property as collateral.   The purpose of the short sale is to try and sell the home before it is foreclosed upon (lenders tend to lose more money in a foreclosure sale than a short sale).

             The parties on the selling side are losing money in the deal.  The seller is losing whatever equity they had in the property (unless they got in with some type of "exotic" loan with no money down or cash out at the original loan origination (in this event the seller may not be losing real money, but is still damaging their credit)).  The lien-holders are losing whatever money that was their original loan less the sale price.  Secondary lien-holders stand to lose nearly all of their loan amounts.   All of these parties have to agree to take their losses.  None of them wants the loss and few of them want to admit they made a bad loan.   The loss that a 1^st mortgage holder is willing to accept is generally about 20%-40% (they usually stand to lose as much as 60% in a foreclosure).   Second or junior lien-holders also have to approve the sale.  If in anyone's judgment the sale price is too low, they can refuse or send a counter-offer back to the Buyer.

             Timing may be the most confusing and frustrating issues that short sales present.  Unlike a normal offer and acceptance type of negotiation, once the offer has been accepted by the seller, the contract must be approved by all parties holding liens on the property.  These parties do not respond in a timely manner.  There is often quite a bit of bureaucratic "red tape" to get through in approving a short sale and just finding the correct representatives that can approve the sale can be very frustrating.   And while this process may take months (this is not an exaggeration) for the "third parties" to get approval back to the buyer, they will then ask for a closing within days. 

             This timing issue means that as a Buyer, you need to keep from getting emotionally attached to the property and have no need to move quickly into owning the property.   On the other hand, the Buyer needs to be able to move very quickly through their due diligence, evaluations and approvals as the third parties may ask for the sale to close within 10 days of their approval (in a "normal" sale this would be a 25-30 day process).

             Another curve that is thrown into the short sale is that the seller can (and will) keep marketing the home while the Buyer's offer is awaiting approval in hopes of another or better offers.  So it may be months before you find out that your offer was bettered by someone else and you should have been trying to find something else instead.

             Buying a home can be very stressful and buying a home in a short sale situation is even more stressful.  That being said, there are some short sale properties available in the Park City area (though not nearly as many as in areas where the housing market is "depressed") and they may represent a good value for the Buyer.  If you want to know more about the short sale process and whether it is an option that works for your Park City real estate needs, contact us at www.YouInParkCity.com

The Park City housing market has seen change recently.  The rocketing upward of prices has slowed and Park City is returning to a more normal real estate market.  The effect of the changing market varies greatly depending on the price, neighborhood and subdivision. 

The entry level market appears to have been affected the least by the downward pricing pressure here in Park City, Utah.  Finding a single family home in Park City that is under $400,000 is still very hard to do; the same goes for a truly affordable condominium.  There are a number of factors keeping the entry level home pricing up while other Park City marketplaces flatten or fall.

The economy of Park City and most of Utah is still strong.  Job losses and cutbacks have not been a problem here, and the resorts are still enjoying strong tourism.  The fact that the job market hasn't changed much means that people living in Park City aren't falling behind on mortgage payments and aren't being forced to sell their homes. 

The entry level tier of the housing market has the most resistance to falling prices.  While no-one ever wants to take a loss on an investment, the people who scraped everything together to buy the home they live in truly can't afford and refuse to take a loss and start over.  If these people aren't forced into selling their homes due to job-loss or some family tragedy, chances are they will just stay where they are until such time that the market changes or they have accumulated enough wealth to move upward within the area. 

People still want to live in and raise their families in Park City.  Demand for housing, especially entry level housing has not changed much.  There is a very strong service industry in Park City and the wages that coincide with these jobs dictates that entry level housing in Park City is what these workers can afford.   The recent changes affecting credit and financing have made it harder to get loans, but in truth these were not the people that needed sub-prime loans anyway. 

Things do happen and people are forced into selling their homes at "rock bottom" prices at times in order to move them quickly, but there are few indicators that "the bottom is falling out" and that entry level pricing will fall dramatically in the near future.  For more information regarding pricing in specific Park City real estate neighborhoods and/or subdivisions, visit http://www.youinparkcity.com/ 

VRBO.com is: Vacation Rentals by Owner a web portal for rentals.  The site allows you to advertise and rent out your property on your own.   For a relatively small price ($300-$500 for a year) you can advertise your property online and find short term renters.  The site is well known amongst vacationers and is gaining popularity and available listings all the time. 

Many Park City real estate owners and investors look to this site to increase their exposure and rental income.  I have often been asked by prospective property Buyers "Can I increase the net rental dollars if I put it on VRBO?"  The answer is: "maybe".  VRBO is an option and when you consider that property management companies in Park City take up to 50% of the rental revenue in return for their services, VRBO's advertising costs are fairly insignificant.  There are however many hidden or unspecified costs.

There are cleaning services that need to be factored into the equation.  Some VRBO users add in a cleaning fee to the rental price to handle this.  There is also the question of checking in and picking up a key.  Key-boxes at the door can handle this and some rental companies provide this service for a nominal fee.  Maintenance can also be a factor: if the plumbing backs up, who is going to respond?  Small per service or hourly companies can take care of this issue.   The most daunting tasks though are answering the questions (both when guests are "in-house" and before they arrive) and dealing with problems that occur during the stay. 

Being a small operator, you do not have the luxury of moving guests to another unit if they aren't satisfied with their accommodations (this is an advantage property management companies have).  You also become the one that answers the late night phone calls.  Finally you need to set up the ability to take credit card payment (this can be handled via Paypal) and be ready to do battle with guests over their charges. 

The question becomes; "Is it worth it for the added revenue?"  Once again, the answer is "maybe".

Finally, many owners have taken it upon themselves to use this service to find renters and then use an "owner usage block" with the management company they work with; thus increasing their revenue and still maintaining the benefits of a company to handle all the problems.  Beware; this will undoubtedly put you in violation of your contract with your Park City property management company. 

While it may appear that fees for management are high, most property management companies in Park City provide many services that justify their fees. These services include websites, advertising, reservationists, shuttles and drivers, front desk personnel and answering services, breakfast, concierge services, cleaning and laundry, maintenance and more. 

The dates that the VRBO works best for the property owner are often the easiest to book and most desirable.  By removing these from the property management company inventory it only increases their costs and it is reasonable when looking form their side that this would be a violation of their contract with the owner and that the owner should be removed from their rental pool altogether.  It's a case of "you can't have your cake and eat it too". 

So, in terms of what you can do in Park City to increase your nightly rental revenue, VRBO may or may not be a good resource.  You may make more money, but it will cost you time and effort.

Hitwise (a web metrics company) reported that in March, 2008 the top 4 real estate websites in terms of market share were Realtor.com, Re/max, Yahoo.com and Zillow.com. 

If you watch the month to month statistics that lead to these rankings, nothing seems wrong.  These are big companies with large marketing budgets and many people working to make sure the sites show up when people use various search engines to find real estate. 

As many of the various MLS's (multiple listing services) become more transparent and the use of the internet increasingly becomes where consumers start their housing searches, web traffic to these sites seems normal.  There is one glaring problem with some of these searches; stale and/or incorrect data, as well as inconsistencies.

Recently while I was working with a Buyer, I was sent a list of MLS numbers that the client wished to see.  There were nine numbers emailed to me which corresponded to the 2 different MLS systems available to the greater Park City, Utah area (Park City MLS and Wasatch Front MLS).  Being a member of both the Park City and Salt Lake Boards City of Realtors, the numbers didn't present a problem.  After searching the numbers, I found not one "active listing" in the homes my client had liked.  All of the listings had sold or expired, some had new listing numbers.  The sales had happened a year ago or more.  All of the data that my client had searched was stale and effectively worthless.  What a waste of time!  I asked what search was used and the response was "Yahoo".    

I redirected the Buyer to my website http://www.youinparkcity.com/ which features an IDX feed from the Park City MLS and my client found current active listings and information.

While the You In Park City group will never have the budget of a Yahoo or Zillow, it is somewhat comforting to know that we will always have a better ability to stay current and offer better information and service than the big dot com's.

            A TV news broadcast caught my attention recently.  The consumer affairs/product test reporter produced a piece relating to credit scores.  The segment dealt with three people and spent four weeks working on their credit scores.  At the end of the four week test, all three had increased their FICO scores between 20 and 70 points.  The participants had been coached by Al Bingham a loan officer with National City Mortgage out of Salt Lake City, Utah.

            Real estate in the Park City area is primarily second homes and vacation property.  The majority of the home sales in Park City do not run into financing problems due to their secondary home nature, many are purchased for cash.  There are however, many younger families and people in the area that do finance their primary residence here.   Finding homes and condominiums in Park City that are affordable for the "average person" or the working class of Park City can be very challenging.  A person's credit score can make the difference in monthly payments that can make or break a possible sale.

            Bingham's book The Road to 850 illustrates the cost of a credit score (not only in terms of a mortgage, but how it can affect other areas of our lives) and gives directions as how to make your score better.  The chart below illustrates the monthly cost of a $200,000 mortgage in terms of monthly payment and the total cost over the full term of the loan.

It is conceivable that these numbers have only become more pronounced in their differences and costs to the consumer with the recent liquidity issues in the mortgage business. 

            Another interesting point made by the book is that credit scores also affect your insurance rates and that credit reports are becoming part of background checks for employment and other things.   The book points out that many, if not most, peoples' credit report contains some inaccuracy.  The book gives instruction on how to correct these issues and lets us know that it isn't easy.  As the use of credit scores expands it makes sense to know what your credit score says about you and know if it is correct. 

            The recent sub-prime lending mess has brought credit and financing to the front page of the news.  The changes in lenders' standards as well as the other uses of our credit scores make this book something I highly recommend.

Todd Anderson

http://www.youinparkcity.com/

Todd@YouInParkCity.com