Park City Real Estate Statistics Update Q2 2014

Posted by Sean Matyja on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 at 10:42am.

If we were asked how the market is we would have to say that we have been enjoying a healthy recovery, but in the recent months we are starting to see a slight slowdown in sales in certain areas. Over the last couple of years we have been enjoying a healthy increase in sales activity up to 2014. Now this year, we are starting to finally see a small decrease in the number of sales. This may be due to a couple of factors including more expensive listings, an uptick in mortgage interest rates, and a lack of inventory. If we had to give a more detailed reason for the slow down in sales, we would have to point to the overconfidence in today's sellers and the rapidly increasing listing prices. This seems to be across our entire market in all segments of properties.

As you can see in the chart above, pended sales were slower in 2014 for the months of February, April and May. Although June 2014 was the highest in pending sales it has been since 2005.

With the highly active last couple of years leading up to 2014, sellers have been watching their neighbors sell quickly with each sale moving up in price. The sellers see it as a very hot and active market, which has been correct to a point. This has given sellers an abundance of confidence in the market and in their properties, This overconfidence has resulted in many sellers going back to “testing the market" in their listing price. Many seller’s homes have been coming onto the market with prices that are quite a bit higher from the previous sales in their neighborhood. Buyers have been willing to move up in price from one sale to the next, but in gradual incremental amounts.

When sellers look at the market they see other high priced listings and they also want to price in that high range and not leave money on the table. The lack of buyer’s appetite for the new prices and the abundance of new listings at much higher prices is creating a gap between the buyers and the sellers. This is probably the main reason for the slowdown we are witnessing in the current market. The good news is buyers are still out there looking and sellers have the full ability to price more accurately after studying the sold comps. By doing so the market can continue to move upward in a reasonable and steady pace.

Sellers who do price closer to recent comps do seem to sell fairly quick. In really hot markets, for example in Old Town, we do see many homes on the market all priced about 10% too high. The buyers are out there looking but just don't have the appetite for these new prices. When a good property does come up at what can be considered a reasonable price compared to recent comps, buyers recognize the value and the property sells quickly, often with multiple offers. With so many online resources for buyers to choose from to learn and study the market, Today's buyers are so well educated and know when a home is priced well or priced too high.

We can provide you with any specific information that you would like to see for your area of interest as many of our statistical numbers provide a more generalized look at our Park City real estate market. The greater Park City market is made up of many small micro sub-markets, each with unique dynamics that make each area unique to another. If you are looking to buy or sell we can pull up the data and help you decipher that data and how it pertains to you as either a buyer or a seller.

Highlights from the 2014 Q2 Statistics Report:

There has been a decrease in number of sales in April, May and June for single family homes in Park City Proper (within the city limits), down 29% to last year’s number. But within Park City Proper, the median sales price for single family home is up 36% to just over $1.6 million. It does seem the prices are up by a lot, which is now slowing the number of sales down. As a seller, there is an opportunity to price accurately to sell before your competition. There was a higher number of single family home sales in Park City Extended (the Snyderville Basin and Jordanelle areas), compared to PC Proper, but down from last year’s number by 9%. Median sales price for single family homes in PC Extended is rising, but at a slower pace, up 8% over last year.

Condo median prices are flat for both PC Proper and PC Extended compared to last year. Although there are 29 Stein Eriksen Residences that recently went under contract as new construction sales. The number of condo sales is up – though most of the lower end condos are gone. Along with the new Stein Eriksen residences, we are also seeing the new 820 Park Avenue luxury condos and the new Parkite luxury condos, all offering a new higher level of condos in the Park City market that will eventually close when construction is complete and will highly increase the condo median price in the next few years. Looking forward, typically summer sales pick up in July and into the third quarter. Cold and wet weather in June may have been a factor for the reduced amount of sales.

Year to date, there are 84 condo sales in Old Town, which is up 27% to last year. The median price for a condo in Old Town is $380,000 which is actually down 14% compared to 2013. Empire Pass has doubled the number of condo sales compared to the same time last year, with a 7% decrease in price. Looking back, Empire Pass condos were one of the hardest hit market segments in the real estate slowdown, and it produced many great buys that were bought up quickly. With the increase in sales, that market recovered quickly and the prices rose again very fast. In 2013 the Empire Pass condos seemed to be priced too high and the sales activity slowed. Now that the rest of the market has caught up in pricing the Empire Pass condos do not seem to be overpriced but now feel be priced fairly and sales are occurring in that market segment once again. Total condo sales in Park City Proper, year to date, is at 168 units which is 8% more than the same time last year with an 11% increase in price to $636,500. The highest number of condo sales, year-to-date in the Park City Extended area, was in the Jordanelle area with a 48% jump to 62 total units sold, also up 15% in price to $380,826 in median price compared to 2013. The Jordanelle area has been offering new construction condos and townhomes with beautiful finishes at very affordable prices. For a buyer looking at older condos in Park city proper, they can now drive out 15 minutes to the Jordanelle area and find some great options to choose from in a much better price range. Kimball Junction saw 31 condo sales with a median price of $203,005.

Again looking at old town, if we look at the year-to-year comparison we can see that there were 175 condo sales in Old Town which is up 36%. Single Family home sales were down in Old Town by 15%. The year-to-year comparison looks at the last 12 months of data compared to the previous 12 months of data. The year-to-year comparison is a good way to study and try to recognize certain trends without having the seasonality of sales applied to the data. The single-family home sales in Old Town are down by 15% but there are still many buyers out looking in Old Town and they are waiting for the right fit to come up at a fair price. Once we see current sellers reduce their prices to appropriate amounts or as we see new good properties come on the market we may see an increase in sales for single family homes in Old Town. Old Town has always been one of the more sought after neighborhoods of Park City. If the properties are priced right they do sell.

Comparing the high-end luxury market of Deer Crest and The Colony. Buyers are more price sensitive in The Colony lots and homes and there is more inventory available. Deer Crest lots have not gone up as much as Colony (lot size is 8x the size of lot size in Deer Crest). Confidence in Deer Valley’s name substantially helps sales in Deer Crest & Upper Deer Valley. Single family market data has shifted up more in Upper Deer Valley than any other market area. However the numbers are down in condo median price for Upper Deer Valley as the product is older. Newer product is available in Empire Pass which generates more interest in luxury or second home buyers as most do not want to buy a project, they prefer newer finishes and move-in ready.

Promontory lot sales are way up (67 sales in the last year), and the median price is up as well. We saw 49 lots sales in Park City Proper, an area that is running out of lot options as most are already built out. Pinebrook and Jeremy Ranch SF median price are slightly over $700,000. Homes in the Snyderville Basin priced up to $800,000 have been doing well, this would include Trailside Park and Silver Springs. Homes sales in these areas priced over $900,000 have been very slow. The reason may be that normal people with normal jobs can afford up to about $750,000 comfortably, and they are not going up in price as people in today’s market don’t want to leverage themselves as they have eagerly done in the past. We are also seen less people moving up in price from their current home. It seems as though more people are satisfied staying in their current home or doing some remodeling on their current home rather than selling and trying to move up in the market. This is a much more responsible path for homeowners to take, yet may influence a subtle slowdown in unit sales.

Distressed sales are the lowest they have been since the Board has been tracking since Q2 of 2011. Distressed sales in 2014 were at only 3% of the market compared to 27% of 2011. The amount of distress sales in our marketplace has been so low for the last few months that it really has not been much of a factor anymore. Buyers are still out there hoping to find a great buy in these distressed properties but a few that are on the market are quite disappointing and not really a good deal compared to the normal market rate homes.

In summary the fact that we have a highly segmented market has not changed. We can see a wide range of differences from one neighborhood to the next. For the Park City multiple-listing service the overall inventory is currently at 2,353 compared to 2,248 last year which is a 5% increase. Board-wide dollar volume is up 8-9% over last YTD – Number of units sold is only 2% over last year.

Overall pricing for the greater Park City area is slow and steady at 4.9% above Q2 of 2013 – back to 2006 prices, but still down over 30% compared to 2008. Although many sub markets have seen substantial increases in pricing and have enjoyed a much quicker recovery compared to other market areas. Again, we do like to look at the statistical data for the Park City MLS and we can use this data to recognize current and evolving trends in our real estate market. For the most accurate and up-to-date information and how it may pertain to you and your area of interest, please give us a call or e-mail and we can compile the data for your area and explain how it may affect you and your plans to buy or sell. We are always around and happy to be of help.

Sean Matyja - Realtor® / Associate Broker
Mobile: (435) 901-2158 | Email: sean@enjoyparkcity.com 

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