Nobody Knows Park City Real Estate Like A Park City REALTOR®
14 February 2008 (Park City) - Old Town, Deer Valley, Park Meadows, Promontory, Snyderville Basin, Kamas and Heber Valley - to a home buyer the possibilities can be overwhelming. To a Park City REALTOR®, it's all part of a day's work.
Buyers want answers to the questions surrounding their purchase. And whether the issues include water rights, property management fees, environmental concerns or traffic patterns, a Park City REALTOR® is your best source of information. That's because a Park City REALTOR® is a licensed professional who knows and lives in the community.
Sellers also demand attention. The Park City Board of REALTORS® has its own multiple listing service, the only database of its kind which tracks properties for sale exclusively in Summit and Wasatch counties. Buyers come to Park City from around the nation and the world. They rely on Park City REALTORS® and the multiple listing service to find their next property. In 2007, more than $1.98 billion in sales transactions were executed by Park City REALTORS®. It was the second best-ever year in total sales volume.
But it is not just about closing the sale. Park City REALTORS® volunteer and serve on all types of organizations, including city and county planning commissions, education foundations, homeowner associations and with environmental causes.
As a group, the Park City Board of REALTORS® raised more than $225,000 in 2007 through its Luxury Home Tour and Auction, Building Balance Charity Golf Tournament and through the generous contributions of Park City Board members. Through the Park City Board of REALTORS® Philanthropic Foundation, the money was donated to The Peace House, Habitat for Humanity, Park City Education Foundation, North and South Summit High Schools and many other local non-profits within the community.
Park City REALTORS® also pride themselves on a pattern of professionalism and knowledge. Many Park City REALTORS® have furthered their education before becoming real estate agents. Most agents complete much more education than the standard requirements to renew their real estate licenses. It is that expertise which serves clients in transactions that can range from vacation homes and full-time residences to investment properties and land.
With three premier ski resorts located within minutes of each other, Park City stands alone among the world's elite ski destinations. An array of cultural and entertainment venues create a unique mountain retreat. Second-home purchases are on the rise and Park City REALTORS® are specialists in negotiating transactions surrounding resort and vacation properties. According to a recent report by the National Association of REALTORS®, 25 percent of all vacation homes purchased in the U.S. were purchased in the West. In addition, nearly one out of every four vacation homes was purchased at a resort.
Thinking of buying or selling? Nobody knows Park City like a Park City REALTOR®.
14 February 2008 (Park City) - Million-dollar properties remain in high demand among the West's premier destination ski resorts. In the greater Park City area in 2007, more than $1.9 billion in total real estate volume was recorded, the second-highest level of 11 ski resorts across the Rocky Mountain West, according to a new report by the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance (RMRA), an association representing the boards of Realtors of those 11 resorts.
At $2.6 billion, Vail, Colo., ranked No. 1 in total real estate transaction volume.
Driving Park City's high sales volume was its exceptional value. The average sales price of a Park City home in 2007 was $1.1 million, a value that ranked in the middle of the 11 resorts.
Aspen, Colo., Whistler, British Columbia, Telluride, Colo., Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Vail, Colo., each reported higher average home sales prices compared to Park City, according to the report. Steamboat, Colo., Breckenridge, Colo., Sun Valley, Idaho, McCall, Idaho, and Grand County, Colo., reported lower average home sales prices compared to Park City.
Even though the residential real estate market has softened in some parts of the country and media accounts portray a bleak picture, Park City and most Rocky Mountain ski resorts had their second best year on record, according to Dennis Hanlon, founder and president of RMRA. During 2007, the total number of homes, condominiums, land and other real estate properties sold in Park City declined to 2,306 transactions, down 15 percent compared to 2,707 transactions in 2006. Although sales transactions were down, total dollar volume was up 3 percent and the median price of single-family homes sold in Park City during 2007 climbed to $680,000, an 11 percent increase compared to $615,000 in 2006.
"Park City's sales numbers remain strong," said Hanlon, a Park City resident. "People still want vacation homes. They still want vacation properties and have the means to purchase them. Our owners tend to be financially strong and enjoy the use of their properties."
Hanlon said Park City's proximity to an international airport and its wide variety of homes and condominiums makes it attractive to resort buyers.
"Compared to other Rocky Mountain Ski Resorts," Hanlon said, "Park City has a broader range of different property types and better price ranges for people looking to purchase."
Park City ranked No. 3 of the 11 resort areas in the number of homes sold in 2007. It also ranked No. 3 in the number of condominiums sold. When measuring the number of land transactions, Park City ranked No. 1.
An recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Utah leads the country in home price gains for the 5th straight quarter. A report released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is reporting that Utah had a 9.27%gain from the 4th quarter of 2006 to the 4th quarter of 2007. Other parts of the country are not doing as well with California reporting the worst numbers. California reported a statewide decline of 6.65% from a year earlier.
Hopefully, this will be encouraging news for those considering a purchase in Park City or Deer Valley. Our states overall economy is still thriving!
Recently, the Park City Board of Realtors published a press release regarding the sales figures for 2007 Park City Real Estate. Following are some excerpts:
2007 Park City Real Estate Transactions Reach Nearly $2 Billion
Home Prices Show Double Digit Appreciation
30 January 2008 (Park City) - Big homes, big condos and big transactions led to a big year in 2007 for Utah's premier destination ski area.
In the 12 months ending December 31, 2007, Park City Real Estate transactions reached $1.98 billion, an increase of 3 percent compared to $1.92 billion in volume a year earlier, according to a report released today by the Park City Board of Realtors.
"Our total volume in 2007 was the second best-ever year in real estate in Park City" said Tyler Richardson, president of the Park City Board of Realtors. "I don't think Park City real estate prices have peaked if we look at what has gone on in other resort destinations in the Rocky Mountains."
The median price of single-family homes sold in Park City during 2007 climbed to $680,000, an 11 percent increase compared to $615,000 in 2006. Condominium sales in 2007 reported a medium sales price of $559,750, a whopping 31% rise compared to $427,000 a year earlier. The median sales price of vacant land also climbed in 2007 to $549,000 up 17 percent compared to $470,000 in 2006.
"The fundamentals for the Park City market are very good, " said Lincoln Calder, president elect of the Park City Board fo Realtors. "The Park City real estate market has never been focused primarily on investment speculation. People buy in Park City because it is a place where they want to be and a place they want to bring their family and friends."
Richardson indicated that the Park City area was less prone to the wild investment speculation that gripped many regions of the country, artificially driving up demand and prices. "People buy homes in Park City because they've got the income and they've got the ability to do it and Park City is the place that they want to be," Richardson said, "They are making a lifestyle purchase, a family legacy purchase."
"The demographics point to an increase in second-home ownership," Calder said. "Park City has a lot of great things going for it. It is very easy to get to and from anywhere in the country. Delta Air lines is adding an international flight from Salt Lake City to Paris this year. In addition to Park City's world class resort facilities and year round recreation opportunities, our community offers a wide range of cultural events including the Sundance Film Festival, Kimball Arts Festival, Park City Jazz Festival, the summer concert series and Eccles Center events just to name a few. There are a lot of great reasons why Park City is a great place to be."
We have had massive snowfalls at Park City and Deer Valley resorts this week! Just last night, Park City Mountain Resort reported 23 inches of new snow and it will still snow all day. This snow storm follows a storm on Wednesday that gave us a few feet of fresh snow and another huge storm is expected in a few days. The Park City School District cancelled school on Wednesday for the first time in 10 years due to the snowfall!
Hopefully, the national attention of record snowfalls will once again focus attention on how Park City, Deer Valley, and The Canyons is a tremendous value for a ski vacation or second home purchase. Our proximity to Salt Lake International Airport and our easy highway access continues to strengthen our position as a year-round resort. With only a 30 to 45 minute highway ride to the airport, Park City is becoming widely known as the easiest resort to reach in a short period of time. There are very ski resorts where you can fly in the morning and be skiing by the afternoon!
Greg Cutt, President of I-Net Mortgage in Park City, Utah, sent me a great article about why it is a good time to buy a property right now. I thought I would share his wisdom with others.......
A Good Time to Buy
With all the negative news about the housing and mortgage industry, many people are waiting to see what happens before they make a decision to purchase real estate. However, the time is right to purchase property now. There are three reasons why the time is right.
Interest Rates
Interest rates on mortgages have fallen substantially over the past 30 days. Rates on conforming 30 year fixed loans ($417,000 and below) are 5.25%. Rates on Jumbo loans (amounts above $417,000) are also very good. For example, the rate on a 7 - 1 Jumbo Adjustable Rate Mortgage is currently 5.25%. That means the 5.25% is fixed for 7 years before the loan converts into an adjustable rate mortgage.
Rates usually get better when the housing market and economy slow down. The interest rate markets typically anticipate what will happen in the future, so if the markets feel we are heading towards a recession, rates decrease. Many times they decrease before we actually get into a full recession. The same is true as we come out of a recession. The markets anticipate that we are going into a recovery and rates start to increase. In a lot of cases, when the Fed aggressively cuts interest rates, (as they are doing now) this actually causes mortgage rates to start increasing, because the markets believe that the aggressive cuts by the Fed will begin to spark the economy. Generally, by the time the public hears that the economy is starting to recover, rates are already moving up in anticipation of a recovery and they miss the bottom of the interest rate market.
Rates are now at levels that we have not seen since 2003, when rates hit all time lows. In 2003 and other periods when rates hit all time lows, these rates only lasted for a couple of weeks. Therefore, the"bottom" of the interest rate market is generally short lived.
It is important to understand that saving 1.00% to 1.50% on your interest rate today will save you thousands of dollars during the first 5 to 7 years of your loan. These savings can be much greater than what you save by waiting for prices to drop further on real estate. Therefore, waiting for prices to decrease could actually cost you more in the long run if rates are higher when you find that "great deal".
Mortgage Programs
During the last 8 months, we have lost many mortgage programs and it appears that underwriting guidelines for certain mortgages will continue to tighten. This means it will get harder for people to qualify for mortgage programs in the future. Therefore, if you wait to see what happens with real estate prices, a loan program that would be perfect for your situation today may not exist tomorrow.
Market Timing
The third reason the time is right to purchase real estate has to do with market timing. Everyone would love to "buy at the right time", meaning when prices are at the bottom. Whether it is stocks, bonds or real estate, we all want to buy low. However, it is very hard to know when prices have hit bottom.
Let's look at the current real estate slow down as an example. By the time news of the real estate melt down was being broadcast by the media, the melt down was already in full swing. Many mortgage companies were already out of business, houses were not selling and prices were falling. These things were all happening for several months before the general public became aware there was an issue.
The same is true when the real estate market begins to recover. By the time the media begins to talk about a real estate recovery and the general public learns that things are improving, prices are already on the rise. As a result, it is very difficult to "time the market" and buy at the bottom.
At this point, there are lots of very attractive deals on properties and it makes sense to start taking a hard look at purchasing property.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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