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Existing-home sales rose in July to the highest level in five months, although they continue to be well below the numbers from last year at this time, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Existing-home sales including single-family, townhomes, and condominiums increased 3.1 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June. Sales were 13.2 percent lower than the 5.76 million-unit pace in July 2007.
 
Many people might be bashing these numbers, because they say 40% of these sales were foreclosures….but don’t the foreclosures need to get out of the marketplace before we can move on???
 
Just speaking locally, we have seen activity in the market drop this year, but the prices have appreciated a few percentage points. If we could get some of the “fence-sitters” to pull the trigger I think we would be doing just fine.  There are a ton of lookers, but people seem to be gun-shy. This should probably change in the next 6 to 9 months though.  Stay positive!

White Barn in Park City, Utah

In the past few days we have seen 44 properties come on the market, 18 go under contract, and 21 close escrow. The notable ones are:
 
NEWLY ACTIVE:
-Silver Star ski in/ski out at Park City Mountain Resort for $3.15m; 6bd/7ba, 3690 sq ft, $854psf….let’s keep our eyes to see what this one does…at over $3m it is a big number, but where else can you get a 6 bedroom ski in/ski out home around $3m in Park City???
-Glenwild home at $3.875m; 6bd/7ba, 7710 sq ft, $503psf….priced just right in of Utah’s best communities.
-Promontory home at $4.29m; 4bd/7ba, 7563 sq ft, $567psf….we actually built this home and it is no $4m home in this market….$3.5m???, now that makes more since. Especially since it was bought for under $3M about 2 and a half years ago!
-Tuhaye home at $3.7m; 5bd/7ba, 7300 sq ft, $507 psf…seems priced right, but the inventory keeps building up out there.
-Another Tuhaye home (see my point above regarding inventory) for $3.99m; 5bd/7ba, 6200 sq ft, $644psf….with all that inventory and the lack of activity I don’t know where you get over $640psf from???
 
PRICE CHANGE:
-Old Town home down $700,000 from its original price to $3.7m; 4bd/5ba, 3401 sq ft, $1088psf…looks like this might need to come down a bit more, but they are in the ballpark…great location!!! Ski in/ski out and awesome finishes!
-Upper Deer Valley Silver Lake Village townhome down $100,000 to $1.099m; 3bd/4ba, 2368 sq ft, $464psf….this has great views and could be a steal!
-2 lots at the Colony located in the Canyons ski resort down to $1.895m….down $200,000
-Tuhaye lot down to $599,000….down $185,000
 
PENDING:
-Iron Canyon home in the Thanyes Canyon area for $2.798m; 6bd/7ba, 5526 sq ft, $506psf…great home!
-New Park townhome at $498,900; 2bd/3ba, 1345 sq ft, $370psf…these are a great buy.
-Lodges at Bear Hollow for $339,990; 3bd/2ba, 1330 sq ft, $255psf….at lot of activity in Bear Hollow over the summer!
 
CLOSED:
-Park Meadows home for $1.8m; 5bd/5ba, 5424 sq ft, $346psf.
-Park Meadows (Fairway Meadows) home at $1.95m; 5bd/6ba, 5912 sq ft, $330psf…nice ppsf!
-Bear Hollow townhome for $550,000; 4bd/4ba, 2757 sq ft, $199psf…Bear Hollow is moving product!

It’s so hard to keep up with all the news and information you crave…RSS feeds are a great way to tackle this and if you’re not familiar, here’s a quick video which gives the details in a fast and easy way…so go ahead try it!  Why not start with ParkCityWire!

we’ve been working on this new layout for the ParkCityWire site and we think we like it….actually, we are currently in the process of getting another newer more modern and wonderful updated version together for your viewing pleasure….but in the meantime…what do you think of this layout?  do you like the brown one better? let us know your opinions!

Tonight Rob and I are attending the Gipsy Kings concert at Deer Valley as the second to last chance to take part in the St. Regis Big Stars Bright Nights concert series.  It’s going to be a blast! 

And don’t forget to check out our new blog layout and the new newsletter button we put at the top of the sidebar…if you give us your email address we’ll give you our little newsletter and you know what that includes?….it includes coupons for local businesses here in Park City such as Chloe Lane and Jean Louis…thank us later! 

During the past 5 days we have seen 63 properties come on the market, 24 go under contract, 18 close escrow. The high notes are:
 
NEWLY ACTIVE:
-2 sky lodge units at $375,000 and $399,000; both 3 bedroom, fractions (one-eighth ownership)
-Silver Star ski in/ski out at Park City Mountain Resort at $2.625m; 4bd/5ba, 3689sq ft, $711psf….the price per sq ft is not too bad, but we’ll see what happens to some of the flippers.
-Short Sale in Old Town on Park Ave for $698,000; 3bd/2ba, 1582 sq ft, $441psf….If you are looking at a condo around this price point, this could be right up you alley…with no HOA fees.
-Deer Lake Village in Lower Deer Valley at $840,000; 2bd/3ba, 1728 sq ft, $486psf.
-Chatham Hills home at $1.628m; 4bd/5ba, 4089sq ft, $398psf….I like this neighbor for being in town and having great value for the convenience and views!
-2 Glenwild lots at $925,000 and $800,000 inventory is increasing on the lot front.
-Promontory lot at $379,000….good deals are all around at Promontory.
 
PRICE CHANGE:
-Poison Creek Mercantile condo in Old Town down $300,000 to $1.695m; 3bd/3ba, 2209 sq ft, $767psf…now it is priced about right! Great building and location too!!!
-Old Town home down $200,000 to $995,000; 3bd/3ba, 2388 sq ft, $417 psf…not a bad deal for this location.
-In The Trees condo in Deer Valley down $100,000 (in just 25 days) to $1.299m; 4bd/4ba, 2415 sq ft, $537psf….make an offer on this one, it looks like they could go lower and you get good rentals here.
-2 Glenwild lots down $100,000 and $200,000 both to $790,000.
-Mountain Ranch Estates home down $735,000 (over about a year) to $2,100,000; 7bd/7ba, 7670 sq ft, $274psf…they are probably at their bottom line on this one. It is a nice home, but has some odd features…but for a steal it could be right.
-Promontory home down about $2m! This is a must go!!! at $3.5m; 6bd/6ba, 10007 sq ft, $350psf….if you are in this price point this home could be the deal.
 
PENDING:
-Sky Lodge unit at $267,000; 2bd/2ba, 1260 sq ft, one-eighth ownership…good price for this buyer!
-Old Town home at $2.9m; 5bd/6ba, 3465 sq ft, $837psf….they did not get anywhere close to this… as it was supposed to be auctioned, but maybe someone came in a took it before hand. I believe the auction was to start in the mid-$1m’s
-Deer Valley home at $2.495m; 5bd/6ba, 4960 sq ft, $503psf….Deer Valley has had good activity since the spring!
-Thaynes Canyon home at $997,000; 4bd/3ba, 2820 sq ft, $354psf…they got aggressive and lowered the price on this one a few times and got it off the market pretty quick….good buy for the right guy.
-Old Town home at $1.19m; 3bd/3ba, 1766 sq ft, $674 sq ft….good to see some activity on the end of Old Town by the Resort. Things have been slow down there.
 
CLOSED:
-Grand Lodge unit at Empire Pass in Deer Valley for $3.5m; 5bd/6ba, 3264 sq ft, $1072psf….Always over $1000psf in Empire and they have had a relatively active summer.
-Promontory lot at $800,000…..a little activity in these times out there is great news! I think people “in the know” still believe in the development.
-Old Town home at $1.312m; 4bd/5ba, 2591 sq ft, $608 psf….they priced these newly constructed homes to move and they moved them well.

red rocks in Utah

Rob and I just got back from a great trip to Southern California for the wedding of our good friends Brian and Brittney.  Brian is that friend of ours who provides most of the great scenic photos we post here.  Brittney is his new lovely bride.  Brittney and I met while working at Chloe Lane, a local boutique here in Park City which sells the most forward, fun and stylish clothing in the entire state of Utah.

We had a great time in Laguna Beach where they held the amazing wedding of the century on the sprawling lawn of the St. Regis Monarch Beach.  The cliffs and beaches which make up the coast in that part of California are breathtaking.  Rob and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there, lazing on the beach and partying it up with Brian and Brittney’s families….There was one thing that really struck us both though as we headed to the airport to fly back to Salt Lake City and come home to Park City….even in one of the most desirable locations in the country….even while spending time at a top rated exclusive resort…we couldn’t help but realize that Park City still remains our favorite place to be.

It’s a terrific realization to come to that you live in a place, so wonderful, so scenic, so happy and full of interesting, open-minded people that even when you go to a place like Laguna Beach, California…you still can look around at the end of a weekend and say to yourself, “yeah, this is pretty nice…but Park City is one hundred times better and I can’t wait to get back there!”.

Rob and I love writing this blog and sharing the goings on in the Park City Real Estate Market.  We also love sharing local events and news with other local readers and people who are interested in this unique and wonderful place we call home.  Park City’s breezy, dry summers with eighty degree weather and green mountain scenes are the ingredients for the best May through August months I’ve ever had.  No Chicago summer at the Lake Michigan beach or Orange County Pacific surf getaway can even come close to the perfect setting and fabulous community of friends that Park City has offered us….and I just had to share this point with our readers….

So - if you’re interested in judging for yourself just how splendiforous Park City summers can be, you still have time.  Book a trip to Park City ASAP and make a point to let Rob and I know you’re coming….we’ll be happy to show you around!  There are still plenty of great concerts to take-in at the Deer Valley Amphitheater (Gipsy Kings and Bob Dylan to name a couple) and we are happy to provide some good locally available wine suggestions or restaurant deals to any of our friendly readers….

Speaking of friendly readers…and getting back to that terrific store I mentioned at the beginning of this post – Chloe Lane – don’t forget to check out www.mychloelane.com for your own Chloe Shopping Experience from where ever you are…I’m friends with the fashionable owners of that store and I hear that there are some coupons offers I’ll be able to offer to our readers very soon….I’ll keep you updated! 

That’s all I have for today…check back tomorrow and hopefully Rob will have one of his handy Real Estate Updates for you!

somewhere over the rainbow...in Park City

Over the past few days we have seen 33 properties come on the market, 11 go under contract, and 20 close. The high notes are:
 
ACTIVE:
 
-Sky Lodge condo (one-eighth fractional)at $267,000; 2bd/2ba, 1260 sq ft…these units seem to be coming down in price dramatically.
-Old Ranch Road home for $1.495m; 3bd/3ba, 3400 sq ft, $440psf….great views and not too bad of a deal for a home with room to expand.
-Short Sale at Promontory for $980,000; 3bd/6ba, 5339 sq ft, $184psf….if you want to be in Promontory and believe in the long term vision, this is a great steal!
 
PRICE CHANGE:
 
-Old Town home down to $1.499; 4bd/5ba, 2400 sq ft, $625 psf….down $450,000 from the original price. This area of Old Town is getting beat up! There are 3 auctions and dramatic price reductions….if you like being close to PCMR and have some cash, you can find an unbelievable deal.
-April Mountain reduced to $1.625m; 5bd/3ba, 3420 sq ft, $475psf…it is down over $150,000 from its original price and will probably come down more (see below in the closing section the April Mtn home that just closed for $1.15m).
-Promontory home down to $1.9m; 4bd/5ba, 5335 sq ft, $356psf….down $700,000 from its starting point and they are probably at the bottom line. A good value if you like Promontory.
-Tuhaye home down to $1.99m; 3bd/4ba, 3601 sq ft, $555psf…this one has come down $550,000 and looks like a great home. The problem is when in a golf course community you have to follow the “four-some” rule when building a house. The “four-some” rule states when designing a home in a golf course community, ask yourself how many golfers are in a four some and then you need at least that many bedrooms…..This is a good looking home, but they might have to come down some more.
 
PENDING:
 
-Sky Lodge unit (one-eighth ownership) on Main St at $240,000; 2bd/2ba, $1260psf….looks like some folks are doing some bottom fishing and getting good bites!
-Deer Crest home at $6.99m; 7bd/9ba, 10071 sq ft, $695psf….great home!!! someone will really enjoy this beast!
-Park Meadows home for $1.379m; 4bd/4ba, 4505 sq ft, $306psf
 
SOLD:
 
-Deer Valley townhome in Deer Lake Village at $1.05m; 4bd/4ba, 2035 sq ft, $516psf…a pretty good deal for the buyer on this one….seller probably made a few bucks too!
-April Mtn townhome at $1.15m; 5bd/3ba, 3420 sq ft, $336psf…for all the buyers out there, this is a good comp! I like these homes for the right prices….you are in town but removed, good views, good neighborhood, great location!
-Promontory home at $1.75m; 4bd/5ba, 4628 sq ft, $440psf….a little activity in Promontory….not too far off the norm at $440psf.\
-Promontory lot at $635,000…some more activity….maybe people are starting to wise up and realize the deals that are available out there!

Glenwild report YTD:
 
We have seen some nice activity in the Glenwild housing market in 2008, and the opposite for the vacant land market at Utah’s #1 golf course.
 
As of today (8.14.08) here is where we stand at Glenwild for 2008:
 
HOMES
Active homes:
-13 homes on the market
-Prices range $2.385m to $5.995m with $3.85m being the average
-Price per sq ft range from $514psf to $705psf with the average coming in at $557psf.
-The average days on the market is 127.
 
Sold homes:
-5 homes have sold in 2008
-Ranging from $1.7m to $3.255m coming it at an average of $2.5m
-Price per sq ft range from $392psf to $535psf  with an average of $478psf
-Average days on market was 173 days
 
Pending home:
-1 pending (along with the $5.995m home in contract negotiations)
-$2.695m
-5690 sq ft working out to $473psf
-On the market for 321 days
 
LOTS
Active:
-38 on the market
-Ranging from $495,000 to $1.99m averaging out at $899,710.
-On the market for an average of 259 days
-Size ranges from .59 acres to 42 acres
-All 3 lots right around an acre
 
Sold:
-3 sold
-From $695,000 to $849,000 with an average at $781,000
-On the market for an average of 306 days
 
Pending:
-1 pending
-For 1.175m
-10 acres
-On the market for 81 days.
 
As we have said before, the housing market at Glenwild is strong, and we continue to see buyers flocking to the community. There are some great deals on lots, so start looking!

Rainbow Over Solamere

Since late last week we have seen 69 new properties come on the market, 25 go under contract, and 20 close. The high points are:
 
ACTIVE:
-Silver Star ski in/ski out at Park City Mtn Resort come on the market at $1.5m; 3bd/3ba, 1986 sq ft, $755psf….this is not too bad for a 3bd/3ba ski in/ski out.
-Pinnacle at Deer Valley at $955,000; 4bd/4ba, 3530 sq ft, $270psf…under $300psf is good in my book, especially for a downhill unit that will have great rental revenue!
-Promontory home at $2.5m; 4bd/7ba, 8500 sq ft, $294psf…again under $300psf is a steal! This one very well might be priced just above construction cost.
-Tuhaye home for $3.5m; 4bd/6ba, 5400 sq ft, $648psf….kind of a ridiculous ppsf for this one. Especially since the spec home inventory at Tuhaye is not exactly jumping off the market! I love the Talisker development, but not a home for $648psf.
-Another Tuhaye home at $2.75m, 6bd/6ba, 4940 sq ft, $556psf…that is a little more reasonable.
 
PRICE CHANGE:
-Old Town home down $425,000 from its original price to $1.725m; 4bd/4ba, 3106 sq ft, $555psf is a good deal in Old Town and the trend says this one will get better in due time…this is a nice home with room to grow, due to the fact it occupies almost 3 lots!
-Thaynes Canyon home down $200,000 to $997,000; 4bd/3ba, 2820 sq ft, $353psf….not a bad deal for a home with unobstructed golf course and ski run views….not to mention a motivated seller!
-Lower Deer Valley home down $200,000 to $1.695m; 4bd/4ba, 4305 sq ft, $393psf…this could end up being a good deal in Hidden Meadows.
-Deer Crossing lot at Promontory down $120,000 to $650,000…there are some good deals to be had at Promontory….they will probably get better up until the first of the year. So start looking now, let the seller bleed until November, then make an offer!
-Tuhaye home down $150,000 to $3.45m; 4bd/6ba, 6200 sq ft, $556psf.
 
PENDING:
-Old Town home at $1.045m; 4bd/3ba, 2074 sq ft, $503psf
-Bear Hollow town home at $499,000; 3bd/4ba, 2128 sq ft, $234psf…good deal in my book….with 3 resale townhomes pending in Bear Hollow over the past few weeks, maybe we are starting to see a bottom at that development.
-Park Meadows town home – Last Sun at the Cove for $2.25m; 4bd/4ba, 4345 sq ft, $517psf.
-Mountain Ranch Estates home at $1.449m; 5bd/5ba, 5048 sq ft, $287psf…not a bad deal either!
 
CLOSED:
-Glenwild lot at $625,000….people might be starting to see the value in land at Glenwild.
-Old Town condo at Towne Point for $899,000; 3bd/3ba, 1627sq ft, $552psf
-Old Town home on King Rd at $1.975m; 4bd/5ba, 4600 sq ft, $429psf…this one was a steal! Not the best finishes, but the location is great and what you could do to this home in the future is amazing.
-Tuhaye cabin at $1.8m; 5bd/5ba, 3567 sq ft, $504psf….looks like that ppsf is a little more reasonable for Tuhaye!