Park City Real Estate Market Update for Mid-Year 2013

Activity and Prices Up in Almost all Market Segments

We recently had our meeting of the Statistics Committee for the Park City Board of Realtors®. This is the opportunity for us on the committee to review and discuss the current real estate market conditions for the Park City and Deer Valley communities. We meet four times a year, once for each quarter. We print out sheets and sheets of all sorts of statistical numbers and information and try to dissect it down to what's important, what is trending in our market, what stands out, and what is the big picture?

Its tough to try to define an answer to a simple question: "How is the market?"

We try to note the overall trends and shifts in the general Park City real estate market as a whole, but over the years of doing this as an educated group, we have continually proven to ourselves that there is really no one "market" to talk about. Instead what we see every year is a myriad of micro markets. We often discuss broader markets such as Park City "In-Town" or "Extended" to try to give more generalized lump sum figures, but comparing single family homes in Park Meadows to ski condos in Upper Deer Valley does not work well, and both of these would fall into our Park City In-Town market. So in our quarterly real estate market reports we still do include more generalized overall market numbers, because it sure is interesting to see that larger snapshot of the market, but the real valuable information is found when you look at a particular area of focus, and then disseminate to either homes, condos or land.

There are also many ways to break down the information in our comprehensive statistical reports, such as viewing average price or median price. We have found that looking at median price has given us the most timely and comparable set of numbers, from quarter to quarter, whereas the average selling price seems to be skewed too easily by a very large or very low sale price in a given group. On timeframe to view, we can look at the first two quarters of this year and compare them to the first two quarters of last year, and it shows interesting data to compare. But when we look at the last 12 months (1 year back) and compare that to the previous 12 month period, it seems to give a little more of a sense of the trends going on, with less focus on the seasonality of the numbers. Park City has its busy winter selling season, and a busy summer selling season - although the market is starting to become more and more year-round. Looking at a full year's time period is how we like to look at the numbers. For any other info that you would like to see, you can always contact us for more detailed or specific information.

Overall Park City Real Estate Market (Entire MLS)

When looking at the entire Park City MLS for all data we see some positive numbers. Great news for all of us, we appear to be in a healthy real estate recovery. We are making gains, but not as rapid as you might think. For the total MLS numbers in this report, we are only looking at Homes, Condos and Land - we have not included Fractional or Commercial. Total unit sales for the entire Park City market were up from 1,615 to 1,925, up by 19%. The median selling price was up by 9%. So, in the last 12 months the median price was at $415,000 and had been at $380,000 for the year prior. Vacant Land sales were up by 38% with almost no price change. Home sales went from 802 sold to 888 sold, up by 11%. The median price of homes sold went from $537,750 to $581,025, up by 8%. Condo unit sales for the entire MLS moved up from 537 sales to 655, up by 22%. The median price moved up from $320,000 to $359,000, an increase of 12%.

Entire Park City MLS Market Summary:
Homes - Unit Sales Up by 11% - Median Price Up by 8% 
Condos - Unit Sales Up by 22% - Median Price Up by 12%
Land - Unit Sales Up by 38% - Median Price Even

It is also interesting and important to note that although we are at about a 10% increase in median price for all property types, we are still at about 29% off from the peak of the market of early 2008. With that in mind we hopefully will continue to see prices trend back upward, but it may take some time to get fully back to where we were.

Market Update for "In-Town" Park City

The "In-Town" area of Park City includes the neighborhoods of Park Meadows, Prospector, Thaynes, Old Town, the Aerie and all of Deer Valley. These are each very unique and diverse communities, some leaning more towards vacation and second home use, and the others more known as home to full-time residents. In general, when looking at all sales for In-Town Park City, unit sales of all property types were up by 23% with a median price decrease of 1%. The median price went from $709,500 down to $700,000. The average price also shows a slight decrease of 3%.

Lets see how it breaks down by property type. Vacant Land sales went from 37 to 50 units sold, up by 35%, and an increase of price by 14%. Unit sales of homes moved up from 167 to 187, up by 12%. The median price for Park City In-Town homes moved up from $1,025,000 to $1,115,000, up by 9%. Condo unit sales were quite active and up by 28%, going from 258 sales to 331. The median price for condos was at $537,500, virtually no change from the prior year, although the average price does show a 9% decrease.

Park City "In-Town" Market Summary:
Homes - Unit Sales Up by 12% - Median Price Up by 9% 
Condos - Unit Sales Up by 28% - Median Price Even
Land - Unit Sales Up by 35% - Median Price Up by 14%

In the Park City In-Town MLS area, a stand out community would be Old Town. Old Town has always been a favorite location as it is the area that surrounds historic Main Street and is at or nearby the base area of Park City ski resort. When the market was hot back in 2005-2007, Old Town was on fire. At that time too many people bought property in Old Town with the speculative mindset of making a big profit flipping property. When the market slowed, it was tough on Old Town. Today we are seeing sales by people who actually want to be in Old Town, and don't seem to be buying to sell in the near future. Old Town is now enjoying a renewed interest and recovery. Condo sales in Old Town have moved up by a staggering 47%, from 88 to 129 closed sales. The median price for condos is now at $370,000, up by 13%. For homes in Old Town, we saw an increase of 23% in sales, and an increase to a median price of $868,750, or up by 15%.

In Deer Valley, Upper Deer Valley saw an increase in sales of 35% for condos, and a median price decrease of 3%. Lower Deer Valley condo unit sales were up by 17%, but the median price was down by 8%. Likewise in Lower Deer Valley, the home sales were up by 38%, but the median price was down by 17%. It sure appears that buyers are not as interested in the often older, tired and dated interiors often found in the homes and condos of Lower Deer Valley. Empire Pass condo sales were up from 24 to 28 sales for an increase of 17%, and the median price moved up by 27% to $2,919,630 - largely affected by the recent success of sales at the Montage, and the increase of pricing now that we have flushed through the inventory of bank owned properties. Park Meadows continues to be an active community with an increase in condo sales by 34%, and a gain of 8% in condo median price. Homes in Park Meadows remained steady with a 12% increase and also a 12% increase in the median price at $1,205,000.

Market Update for Park City "Extended"

The "Extended" area of Park City includes the neighborhoods of the Canyons Resort, Silver Springs, Sun Peak, Kimball Junction, Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook, Silver Creek, Promontory, Summit Park, Trailside, and Old Ranch Road. Aside from the Canyons Resort area, most of the properties in these neighborhoods are full-time residents of Park City. Total unit sales in Park City Extended (or Snyderville Basin) moved up from 627 to 709, up by 13%. The median price for all property types was up by 5% at $441,500. Vacant Land sales were up by 27% but the median price was virtually unchanged. For Single Family Home sales in Snyderville Basin, we saw a 10% increase from 314 sales to 344 sales. The median price for homes moved up by 5%, from $645,000 to $676,000. Condo sales also saw a healthy increase from 206 sales to 229, an increase by 11%. The median price for condos moved up to $308,750 an increase of 16%.

Park City "Extended" Market Summary:
Homes - Unit Sales Up by 10% - Median Price Up by 5% 
Condos - Unit Sales Up by 11% - Median Price Up by 16%
Land - Unit Sales Up by 27% - Median Price Even

The Big Picture

We don't really like to give one simple answer to: "How's the market?" However we do understand that we'll receive that question often. Not too long ago we were seeing some increases, and still some decreses in pricing. Now, we can say that for almost all areas of Park City we are seeing prices moving up, and sales activity continuing to increase. Combined, we are still seeing a tightened inventory which can be frustrating to buyers ready to make a move. Overall, activity is good, and the market seems to be in a healthy recovery. But it is so important to really look closer to your particular area of interest. If you are buying or selling property, you need to know the ins and outs of your precise community. The only way to do so is to get in contact with a local Park City Realtor® who can pull up the numbers for you. And furthermore, one who can help you evaluate the information. We are Park City Realtors® and we only work in the greater Park City area. If you would like more information on any neighborhood, or sub-market of Park City, please give us a call or email. We're always happy to be of help!