Old Town Park City Enjoying a Strong Recovery

Posted by Sean Matyja on Sunday, February 2nd, 2014 at 8:36am.

Park City real estate in general is currently seeing a strong and healthy recovery. Sales activity is up for the 4th year in a row, and prices are moving back up as well. Of all the micro-markets of greater Park City, the community with the strongest gains is Park City's Old Town. Old Town has been a long time favorite location for both locals and for visitors. It's a highly unique area in that most properties are within an easy walk to popular historic Main Street and skiing at Park City Mountain Resort. As a much sought after community, we are now seeing a heightened level of activity as Old Town is being seen as one of the best places to own a home due to the year-round recreation it provides. The community also caters to all ages, and all members of the family, whether you're a big skier or not, or whether you're a big mountain biker or not, you have plenty to enjoy in the Old Town area. For the investment minded buyers, Old Town is recognized as the core, as the heart of Park City and should remain a highly desired location throughout Park City's future. In real estate it's true when they say location, location, location... and Old Town is probably the most significant example of that investment theory.

 

Old Town Real Estate Statistics

Most markets in Park City are hot right now, but Old Town just seems to be on fire. For condos there were 157 sales in 2013, that is up by 45% from 108 sales in 2012! The average price was up by 11% at $523,440 and the median price was up by 17% at $380,000. For inventory, we have a decrease of 39%.

For single family homes in Old Town we see the same increase of 45% in unit sales! Old Town had 47 sales in 2012, and 68 in 2013 - that is nearly 1 home sold every five days in 2013 just for little Old Town! If you can remember back in 2008 we only had 23 home sales. The median price is now up by 14% at $912,500 and the average price is up from $954,074 to $1,318,683, that is an increase of a huge 38% from the previous year. The inventory of homes is way down by about 41%. We only have about 27 homes on the market, whereas in the low point of the market we had nearly 80 homes at a given time.

Old Town Home Sales by Year:
2003 - 43 Home Sales
2004 - 91 Home Sales
2005 - 73 Home Sales

2006 - 36 Home Sales
2007 - 34 Home Sales
2008 - 23 Home Sales
2009 - 30 Home Sales
2010 - 38 Home Sales
2011 - 46 Home Sales
2012 - 47 Home Sales
2013 - 68 Home Sales 


2013 was a great year for Old Town, both in number of sales and in price increases. We saw a few really bigs sale occur, including the largest priced sale for any Old Town home ever, which we personally sold!


The Biggest Sales in Old Town

As Old Town was coming back, and numbers were improving, there is clearly one sale that truly re-set the entire Old Town market. We are proud to say that we produced that sale with one of our own buyers. As long-time, big-time fans of the Old Town area, we brought our buyers to the amazing home at 503 Woodside. The final sales price was right at $8 million, and was the highest price for a home sale ever in Old Town. Did the buyer pay too much? No. We have already been approached by a few local agents who have buyers inquiring to purchase the home from our clients for far more than what they paid. This home is amazing, as it sits above Woodside Avenue, accessed by a private gated tunnel that runs underneath the ski runs. The home's finishes and layout are great, the ski-out and ski-in access could not be any easier, and the views are spectacular. A truly rare and unique home that easily rivals Deer Valley options. On a dollar per dollar comparison, this home felt like a great buy considering what $8 million will get you in Deer Valley. Our clients had the foresight to recognize this and made a great choice.

503 Woodside
6 Bedrooms | 8 Bathrooms | Approx 8,291 Square Feet
List Price: $8,640,000 | Sold Price: $7,973,920 ($961 per SF) 

Prior to this sale, there were a few other big priced homes on the market in Old Town. Buyers had been viewing all these homes, but all were too scared to be the first one to make the big jump. Once our 503 Woodside sale closed, and everyone saw the number of $7,973,920, other buyers finally had the confidence to make the purchases they had been desiring to do. The success of our 503 Woodside sale is what ignited the Old Town market, and really made it possible for these two other big sales to follow shortly after.

808 Empire
4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | Approx 4,730 Square Feet
List Price: $4,595,000 | Sold Price: $4,412,500 ($932 per SF) 

808 Woodside
4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | Approx 4,360 Square Feet
List Price: $4,999,000 | Sold Price: $4,235,000 ($971 per SF) 

The home at 808 Empire and 808 Woodside both had been receiving many inquiries and doing showings, but nobody was ready to make the purchase as they were big prices for Old Town, even though 808 Empire was directly on the ski run, and 808 Woodside was just across the street from the ski run. Once 503 Woodside sold for about double of what these homes were priced at, these both sold soon after. Then of course, many other large sales priced a little over and under $2 million also finally sold. The entire upper-end of the Old Town real estate market was finally heated up and that energized the entire Old Town community.


Why is Old Town real estate is so popular?

Years ago when the market was at its height for pricing in 2006-2007, we saw a surge of spec homes being built throughout Park City, with quite a few in Old Town. The late-to-market spec homes in Old Town were built on land that was extremely expensive to buy. The rush on properties in 2004-2005 created scarcity and increased demand, and therefore pushed prices up for buyers in 2005-2007. With land being so hard to find, people even bought homes to tear down and build new spec homes. The aquisition prices of many of these properties were too great. Then add in the build costs and you're at a high price just to break even, with little room, and a large risk for making a profit. When the music stopped, those who were still building these homes got caught holding the bag. With an abundance of new, empty spec homes and a major slowdown of the real estate market and national economy, Old Town's real estate market took a massive dive. It took a few years to get through the distressed inventory. Now finally over these last couple years we have been watching a healthy recovery.

Today's buyers recognize the value that Old Town provides as a year-round location with many options of recreation for all members in your group. Additionally, there is a new, heightened level of quality in homes and condos in today's Old Town market. The bar has been raised again and again, and this is evident as you drive through the neighborhood today which has a much different feel from even 10 years ago. No longer do you need to look in Deer Valley to find the ultimate in luxurious finishes. In fact, Old Town has some of the most stunning homes offering a new sense of style. Popular today in Old Town is a blend of mountain and modern finishes. Old Town offers a unique mountain urban lifestyle, and the newest homes are showcasing interiors to match.

We saw some new numbers in Old Town in 2013, and we anticipate the numbers to move up further in 2014. There is some amazing new product due to come onto the market, especially in the luxury condo market for Old Town. Summit Sotheby's has the exclusive listing for a re-envisioned Silver Queen and another upscale condo property at the old Marriot building on Main Street. The Parkite is the new rebuild of the old Main Street Mall. This property will feature large, luxurious and contemporary condos with expansive outdoor spaces. The interiors will define a new level of contemporary styling not commonly found in the mountains of Park City and Deer Valley.

The most exciting project that is coming up is the Rio Grande building at 820 Park Avenue. The new 820 Park Avenue is planned to offer only ten luxury condos with a fresh take on mountain modern styling. The most unique factor is this building will boast direct access to the Town Lift Ski Plaza. Simply walk out the door and the Town Lift takes you right up the mountain. End your day by skiing right back to your door. In summer the lift also provides hiking and mountain biking. This location is at the heart of Park City and fine dining, shopping and nightlife is also ony steps away. The building will feature a roof top deck with ht tub and skier's prep lounge. There will also be reseved undeground parking, a rare commodity for proeprties near and along Main Street. We are the listing agents for this project and can answer any further questions. Reservations are now being accepted for the only ten units that will be for sale.

Old Town has always been our favorite community. If you have any questions regarding selling or buying property in Old Town, please give us a call at (435) 901-2158. We are always happy to be of help!

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

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