By Annette Velarde
Real Estate sales during 2013 were hot in all sectors—many of which were up as much as 20% over 2012 sales. That does not mean the days of great deals are behind us, but it does mean the inventory is moving fast. Many properties were under contract just a few days after being listed. We asked a few of the foremost experts on Park City real estate—Realtors® —what neighborhoods had heated up the most during this past year.
Properties within Deer Valley Resort led the way in terms of price recovery during 2013. Prudential Utah’s #1 team in sales for Deer Valley—Chin, MacQuoid, Fleming, Harris, Park City Realtors®, attributed the improvement to pent-up demand caused by the return of buyer’s confidence. The continuing bullish stock market combined with growing scarcity in available new and nearly-new condos and homes in Deer Valley gave further incentive to buyers who had been sitting on the fence. St. Regis Deer Valley has closed to date $200M and Empire Canyon’s newest hotel, Montage Deer Valley has sold $128M. Both of these properties represent the newest completed for-sale properties in Deer Valley. Another signal that this multifaceted market is trending up is the surge in development at The Belles at Empire Pass, Nakoma, and Deer Pointe, a new project in Deer Crest.
Historically, there has been a strong emphasis on ski properties in and around Park City. This emphasis has largely driven sales and will always continue to be a strong component of our real estate market, but interests in other property types are beginning to appear more frequently. Shane Herbert of Summit Sotheby’s Utah said, “We are now seeing an interest in homes with acreage and privacy. Over the past twelve months, Sotheby’s alone has participated in ten sales of homes that are on multiple acres with prices ranging from $4.3M to $18.5M.”
This upswing evidences that buyers are not necessarily looking for a second home they will occupy for just a few weeks per year. Many times these larger properties are part of a bigger personal financial plan to relocate to this area, so privacy often takes precedence over front door access to ski runs. Several residential neighborhoods saw a significant increase in sales during 2013. Some of this was due to an interesting trend of second homeowners buying in these neighborhoods rather than the resort areas. Carol Anne Kret, Realtor with Keller Williams, said, “Communities such as Silver Springs and Trailside Park have experienced increased popularity and sales activity due to their close proximities to schools and the ski resorts. We are seeing more of these homes sell as both primary and second homes. The newer neighborhoods of Willow Creek Estates and Mountain Ranch Estates are offering homes have that increased desirability over more mature subdivisions.”
Vacant land sales also saw an upswing in 2013. Jeff Spencer, President of the Park City Board of Realtors, said, “Land sales in the ski-in, ski-out community of The Colony doubled between 2012 and 2013, with the average sales price increasing nearly 60%.” There is something inherently satisfying about owning acreage. It represents the sense of adventure rooted in the West.
During this past year, many of the parcels of vacant land offering acreage have been silently acquired off the market for astonishing prices with custom homes being built on the majority of them.
There are excellent real estate values to be found in all neighborhoods in and near Park City. The area has a surprisingly wide variety of districts and corresponding price ranges. Because all real estate markets are so unique, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of the in-depth knowledge of a member of the Park City Board of REALTORS®.The local Board of REALTORS® maintains an extremely helpful website, ParkCityRealtors.com, that is loaded with information you will find useful.
