We've Moved!

My website, KarinGage.com has been fully redesigned! As such, we're moving my blog into that site; you can now find it at KarinGage.com/blog. So please, stop by for the latest in Park City and Deer Valley real estate information.

SUMMER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Park City has so many events going on! The Park City Wine and Food Classic starts today. Free outdoor concerts five days out of the week: bring a blanket and beverage and listen to great music at Deer Valley or the Canyons or Silver Star Café or hike and bike on the Mid Mountain Trail (mostly flat from Deer Valley to the Canyons and beyond).

Come and enjoy the mountains!

Park City Chamber Events Calendar for the month of July

Big Changes to The Bonanza/Kearns Area

Hi Everyone,

The following is an update on the Bonanza/Kearns-area development, which is in the preliminary stages of approval. Mark Fisher owns this large parcel, triangle-shaped, and has plans to demolish all buildings (including the Maverick station, Blind Dog, Park City Mountain Resort maintenance building and all in between). In their place, plans to build commercial, office and condominiums with open space.

Bonanza Park ideas, a bold set of blueprints, presented to huge crowd

Another interesting tidbit on Park City development/real estate sales: an investor group has purchased a significant amount of real estate in the past month, including the NewPark Hotel developer condominiums ($20M+), Fairway Springs developer condomiums at the Canyons ($14M), Silver Queen Hotel/Main Street ($4.95M), Silver Baron developer condominiums in Deer Valley, Red Stag developer in Deer Valley, the Imperial Hotel and adjacent lots/Main Street and additional Main Street properties, just in the past several weeks. A reflection of the present value and future projections. Excellent time to invest...

Karin

Presenting Park City’s summer happenings

Park City offers the most entertaining arts and concerts under the stars and mountaintops as well as Big Stars, Bright Nights Music with top musicians and experience the outdoor Utah Symphony. Festivals include the Kimball Arts Festival and Deer Valley Music Festival. Come and Savor the Summit, a unique dining experience with one long continuous table set down the middle of historic Main Street with each restaurant presenting incredible foods. Or Park City Food and Wine Classic, an annual wine festival. Gallery strolls on Main Street every last Friday of the month. The Utah Olympic Park has a summertime version of bobsled riding and aerialist water ramps for visitors to participate in. The streets are lined with visitors from everywhere in the world for the 4th of July Parade and Rodeo...a fun celebration. Flyfishing expeditions on the Provo River, mountain biking and hiking on hundreds of miles of trails with lifts at each resort taking you to the top of the mountain, world renowned restaurants on Main Street...Park City is a beautiful, dynamic mountain town. Our guests come for the winter and stay for the summer!

The following are dates for these summer events:

Savor the Summit June 25th
Big Stars, Bright Nights/Utah Symphony and free concerts June 22nd-August
Kimball Arts Festival August 5th-7th
Park City Food and Wine Classic July 7th -10th
Rodeo and 4th of July June 30th-July 4th

Comparison of Ski Resorts

Hi Everyone...

Interesting comparison of the different ski resorts in the Rocky Mountain areas…..

The Western Mountain Resort Alliance is composed of boards of REALTORS® of destination ski resorts in the Mountain West. Frequently, buyers for a vacation home in one resort are comparing similar properties in neighboring resorts. From this realization came the idea of sharing sales information from the various resorts as well as pressing issues the resorts are facing. The following are the ski resorts:

Tahoe, CA
Crested Butte, CO
Steamboat Springs, CO
Summit County, CO
Telluride, CO
Vail, CO
Winter Park, CO
McCall, ID
Sun Valley, ID
Big Sky, MT
Park City, UT
Jackson Hole, WY

The 2011 Western Mountain Resort Alliance Comparison

An FYI...Deer Valley Resort last day is April 10th. Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort have extended their closing day to April 17th. Come and spring ski...we are still getting powder!

Karin

Did I Mention the Skiing is Incredible?

Photo taken last Friday at Deer Valley Resort. The peak is Jupiter, seen from Lady Morgan.

The Greatest Snow on Earth

Hello All…

“The Greatest Snow on Earth” is the only description for this ski season. Yes, the skiing is still incredible. Powder days have been numerous along with blue sky days. Over Christmas, Sundance and Presidents Week, the busy times, the bookings were up 15% over last year. Sundance saw a huge increase in visitors and participants/sponsors of large corporations in comparison to 2010. The new Montague Hotel and the St. Regis, our newest luxury hotels, were sold out over Christmas.

The Park City/Deer Valley real estate market continues its upward momentum in sales. Prices are still flat compared to last year, in some areas negative, which is good news for buyers. Sales have increased by an average of 30% so much of the inventory is being absorbed. We are seeing more and more investors purchasing foreclosures and well priced properties, indicating the real estate market is way past the bottom. Seeing interest rates starting to creep up is another strong reason investors and 2nd home buyers are purchasing Park City real estate.

Come and ski….the lifts/resorts close early this year on April 10th. Look forward to seeing you on the slopes or stop by at my Silverlake office

Karin


The following is excellent information on Park City……..

PARK CITY HOUSING FACTS

By Park City Board of Realtors

Park City Real Estate Market

The global economy may dip and soar, but life in Park City remains pretty stable. While we can’t claim total immunity from external economic pressures, this localized real estate market is a safe harbor to weather the storm. Why? The fundamental attractions of Park City — world-class recreation, a comfortable year-round climate, convenient access and a strong sense of community — are unwavering. Together, these fundamentals will continue to create growth and stability in our market, long into the future.

Convenient Access

Not only is it a snap to get around in Park City with our free, kid-friendly bus system, but getting here in the first place is also incredibly easy. The Salt Lake City International Airport is only 30 miles away by major freeway, and boasts over 450 scheduled departures per day to over 100 non-stop destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. What’s more, in 2008 the Salt Lake International Airport ranked first in the nation for on-time departures and arrivals and had the fewest number of flight cancellations. Compare this convenient access to that of most other major resorts in the country, which require lengthy drives or costly commuter flights to remote regional airports.

It’s so easy to access Park City that you could catch a morning flight from almost anywhere in the country and be skiing on our slopes by the afternoon. In fact, the Park City Quick Start program allows visitors to convert airline boarding passes for free same-day lift tickets at Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort or The Canyons Resort. Check out this site for details:

 http://www.parkcityinfo.com/quickstart/

Strong and Competitive Market Values

While Park City’s real estate market does follow the same general trends as most Rocky Mountain resort destinations, this area offers some unique factors that keep our market stronger and steadier than most of our neighbors. The Park City area is earlier in its development cycle, thus offering a better value than many other top tier resorts. In most resort communities, developable land is all but built out, driving prices to nearly impossible heights. While our developable land is becoming scarce, Park City still offers new construction projects.

What’s more, the Park City area offers incredible variety—both in terms of price and product type. The diversity of real estate offerings ranges from multi-million dollar luxury estates to more affordable options. So much variety only serves to keep our real estate values competitive.

A Proven Commitment to Quality of Life

Park City residents are deeply committed to preserving the open space that provides scenic vistas, wildlife habitat, an extensive trail network and rural charm. In fact, we’re so committed, that locals have bonded themselves twice in the city limits and once in the county to the total tune of $40 million, for the sole purpose of purchasing and forever preserving land as open space. Buying into Park City means you’re buying into an area with an increasing supply of protected open space and a decreasing supply of developable land.

Park City’s commitment to quality of life is further echoed in its significant strides in sustainable living practices. Park City Municipal Corporation is leading the charge with bio-diesel public transit, a community carbon footprint counter, wind and solar power exploration and a progressive green building program. Major community businesses are also looking ahead with long-term sustainability measures. All three area ski resorts implement eco-friendly practices and Park City Mountain Resort was recently honored for offsetting 100% of its power consumption with the prestigious Silver Eagle Award for Energy Conservation.

More Options for Skiing
When you choose Park City for a vacation destination or your new home base, you have a lot of choices. Choices for dining, choices for shopping, choices for real estate and…choices for skiing. Right within the Park City community are three of the continent’s top-ranked mountain resorts. In 2008, the readers of SKI magazine ranked Deer Valley Resort #1, Park City Mountain Resort #5 and The Canyons Resort #13 out of over 750 resorts in North America

Add to these choices Park City’s own White Pine Nordic Ski Center, which offers over 20 kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails. And, within an easy hour’s drive of Park City are seven other major alpine ski and snowboard resorts and four cross-country ski centers

A Year-Round Recreation Haven
Playtime doesn’t stop when the snow melts. All year long, Park City residents can be found hiking, running, horseback riding and biking on our literally hundreds of miles of trails. In fact, our trail network is one of the most comprehensive, non-motorized trail systems in the country, and one of the best examples of collaboration between government, citizens, businesses and non-profits. Learn more at http://www.mountaintrails.org.

The Park City area is home to six golf courses, with more proposed; tennis courts and swimming pools; a complete city park and an indoor field house. Only a few minutes outside of town, the Jordanelle Reservoir beckons for sailing, canoeing and motor boating, and the mountain rivers feeding it offer blue ribbon fly-fishing

A Multi-Faceted Market

The Park City community actually comprises two markets in one. Of course, the area’s myriad resort and recreation offerings make Park City an ideal second home market. From historic district condominiums to slopeside estates, much of Park City’s real estate is owned by second home residents.

However, to a much larger degree than many other resort communities, Park City also has a strong and steady primary home market. This year-round community is populated with a devoted and diverse group of local residents who give the town its colorful and unique character. These local residents comprise an entirely separate real estate market of primary, single-family homes. Because our market has two strong foundations, it is less susceptible to the influences that can weaken less balanced markets

A Dynamic Metro Market
The greater Salt Lake Valley is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. This healthy population growth combined with one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the nation combine to create an agile and evolving economy. It is not only possible, but also easy to reside in the dream community of Park City and still be only a half-hour from the dynamic career opportunities of the Salt Lake Valley. You can have it all: a thriving career in a bustling metropolis and an inclusive small town community with numerous recreation options

Increased Visibility Through Advertising

Tourism is big business in Utah and the state government is now leading the charge on this important source of revenue. After decades of extremely limited advertising compared with neighboring states, in the past few years, Utah’s State Government has significantly upped its annual marketing budget from less than $1 million to a whopping $11 million for promoting tourism. This increased spending translates to more visitor traffic and more bookings for nightly rentals. As one of the state’s most important year-round tourist destinations, Park City reaps the benefits of this ongoing and comprehensive advertising campaign.

What’s more, Park City’s three ski areas, the local Chamber of Commerce, Ski Utah and multiple large scale development projects produce their own advertising, creating a huge visibility for this area and keeping Park City on the map

The Olympic Bounce
Of course, Park City was a renowned winter adventure destination well before the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. But, being beamed onto televisions all over the world made Park City a household name. And, it cemented our reputation as the premier, authentic American ski destination. Today, Park City continues to enjoy increased awareness and tourism traffic into our marketplace because of ongoing recognition from the Winter Olympics

An Ideal Climate
While our mountains receive hundreds of inches of dry, powdery snow during the winter months, temperatures in Park City are surprisingly mild. Compared with many other western resort destinations, the winter months here are downright pleasant, especially considering this area is blessed with over 300 days of sunshine every year.

For many Park City locals and visitors, the summertime climate is even more enticing than the winter one. With average summer temperatures in the high 70’s or low 80’s, and low humidity, Park City’s summer months are green and idyllic. In fact, the climate in Park City is enviable year-round, from bright, crisp fall mornings, to warm, lazy spring afternoons. In Park City, the old adage holds true: most locals say they came for the winters, but stayed for the summers.

Compelling Demographics
Half of all second homes in America are owned by Baby Boomers. As the 75 million ‘Boomers reach retirement age, they are looking for more than a savvy investment property. Primarily, this generation is looking to create a place for gathering with family and friends. The men and women of this generation have worked hard their entire lives, have become successful and are now looking to reward themselves with the opportunity to reconnect with their loved ones. Park City, with its convenient access, multiple choices for skiing and recreation, and enjoyable climate is becoming an increasingly popular choice for Baby Boomers to purchase real estate.

Park City is “In”
There’s more to do in Park City than ski, and the world is taking notice. From a new spate of high-end boutiques, diverse art galleries and elegant spas, to a vibrant array of world-class restaurants and a dynamic nightlife scene, Park City is a hipster boomtown. From the globally-renowned Sundance Film Festival in January, to big name musical acts performing in the open air during the summer, Park City is the new place to see and be seen.

A Fundamental Stability
Park City’s real estate market will continue to enjoy growth and stability long into the future, because of the fundamental reasoning behind the above-listed factors. The essential draws of the Park City community will continue to override the emotional, ephemeral factors that are influencing so many aspects of our current economy.

INTERESTING FACTS ON PARK CITY:

*Discovered in 1800

*2^nd largest silver strike in the United States

*2000 miles of tunnels

*In the 1800’s, the east side of Swede Alley was a Chinese settlement(Rossi Hill)(need to find out why they named it Swede Alley!)

*1969 Treasure Mountain ski resort(Park City Mountain Resort)

*Park City has 44% of all skier days in 2010 in Utah

*Expenditures by ski visitors….33% on mountain/67% off mountain

*Edgar Stern, the developer of Deer Valley Ski Resort, had luxury

hotels in New Orleans. Hence, the name Royal St. in Deer Valley

*3.5M visitor nights….55% winter/45% summer

*Visitors…21% from NYC/20% from LA

*76% of $ spent in winter

*The new hotel, Montague in Empire Pass…over Xmas, 35% of their

guests were first time visitors to Park City