Park City & Deer Valley

Park City, Utah Ranks Second in First Quarter Sales

As they say, it's so convenient to travel to Park City from anywhere in the states. 

You can hop on a plane in the morning and being on the golf course or ski slopes in the afternoon. 

Why wouldn't one want to live and vacation here!

* In Canadian dollars

** Disclosure: Undisclosed sales are reported at 95% of list price

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

Unlikely to Deter Park City Real Estate Buyers

Trends in Utah underscore national survey data showing consumers more

concerned about home prices, interest rates and unemployment

Press Release

PARK CITY, UT - The expiration of the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit on April 30th, 2010 is unlikely to put off Park City residents or visitors looking to purchase homes, according to Prudential Utah Real Estate. This reflects the results of a new Prudential Utah Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc, a Prudential Financial, Inc [NYSE: Pru] company, national survey which reveals that consumers believe now is a good time to buy and are confident that home prices will rise. The survey of 1,000 Americans between the ages of 25 - 64 with at least $35,000 household income was conducted during April 15th - 20th, 2010.

In the national survey, more than 90 percent of consumers believe that the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time buyers and the US housing market overall. Among consumers actually shopping for homes, 65 percent believe that the end of the tax credits will have little or no effect on their interest in purchasing a home.

While consumers remain unsure about the direction of the housing market, the survey reveals that they are optimistic about real estate values with 46 percent of consumers expecting real estate prices in their area to increase over the next year. Just 12 percent expect prices to decline. Over the next five years, 79 percent expect real estate prices to increase, with 20 percent expecting that prices will increase substantially.

"The federal home buyer tax credits clearly played an important role on a national level in getting the real estate market moving again," said Steve Roney, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Utah Real Estate. "The survey data shows that overall consumers believe the market has hit bottom and are more optimistic about the future."

Survey respondents identified concerns about rising mortgage interest rates and the national unemployment rate as the most important factors affecting decisions to purchase homes, along with more stringent lending criteria and fewer mortgage-backed securities pruchased by the Federal Reserve. The expiration of the tax credits placed lowest on their list of concerns. Among those who have recently purchased a home, 61 percent cited low mortgage interest rates as "very important" to their decisions an amount greater than either the tax credit or even cheaper prices. The 66 percent expecting interest rates to rise underscores potential headwinds for the market.

Despite the significant downturn in the real estate market, the survey underscores that the dream of home ownership and the perception that owning a home is a good investment remain intact. Among current renters, 75 percent sill believe owning their home is a better long-term choice than renting. The majority of consumers also believe that homeownership is a better investment than individual stocks or bonds (75%), mutual funds (72%), or savings accounts (74%).

"While the tax credits clearly helped stimulate the market, the more pressing concerns of people looking at homes in the Park City area are the availability and cost of financing, as well as if they are getting a good deal," added Roney. "Despite the market downturn, consistent with the national survey data, tha majority of our clients are more confident and, importantly, continue to believe that owning a home is a good investment."

The Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey was conducted online. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent. A more detailed breakdown of the data is available, as well as supporting charts and visuals, at www.news.prudential.com.

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com



*This information is subject to change without notice.

Point One Comparison of 1st Quarter 2010 vs 1st Quarter 2009

Overall Sales Dollar Volume for 1st Quarter 2010 is $303 million Up 107% from $147 million in 1st Quarter 2009

Number os Sales for 1st Quarter 2010 is 325 Up 95% from 167 in 1st Quarter 2009

Sales have increased across the board for almost all property types:

   +73% for Single Family Residences

   +118% for Condos

   +236% for Vacant Land

   -43% for Fractional (very small part of the market; ie, large percentage but very small actual numbers)

Reasons for the upswing: Mostly attributable to pricing, but consumer confidence and availability of capital is also a reason.

Average and Median Prices (all areas):

First Quarter Stats by Area:

Distribution of sales has shifted slightly from year-end figures for 2009. At the end of 2009 sales of Single Family Homes, as a percentage of volume was 56% and condo sales were only 39% of the market. For the 1st Quarter of 2010 single family home sales were 44% for the market, while condo sales were 51% of the market. We expect those numbers to flip-flop by years' end and expect single family home sales will remain the strongest part of the market.

Vacant land sales in the 1st quarter fo 2010 were still a small part of the total at about 5%.

Inventory levels have remained fairly stable since the fourth quarter of 2009 and have remained below 3000 units for the year so far (about 2775 units on the market right now excluding commercial properties). This compares to about 3500 units on the market a year ago.

Point Two Comparing the 12 Months Ending March 31st vs the Previous 12 Months Ending on March 31st, 2009

(April 1st, 2009 thru March 31st, 2010 vs April 1st, 2008 thru March 31st, 2009)

When viewing the last twelve months versus the previous twelve months, in general total dollar volume is up, number os sales is up and median price is down.

Point Three  Points of Interest for Our Market

We Have Had Three Straight Quarters of Improved Sales

The top of our market in terms of price (using 12 months of data) for all property types in all areas was for the time period 12/1/2006 thru 11/30/2007 when the median price was $559,500. For the 12 months ending March 31st, 2010, the median price for all property types in all areas was $425,000, a 24% decrease.

Median sales price for a single family home in Park City in the year ending March 31st, 2010 was $1,352,500 which is slightly down from year end 2009 ($1,385,000) and down about 27% from the year ending March 31st, 2009, which was the peak of the market (median home price of $1,850,000).

Median sales price for a single family home in the Snyderville Basin for the year ending on March 31st, 2010 is $651,750, which is down about 6% from the previous year figure of $692,500 for the year ending on March 31st, 2009.

The Heber Valley median home price was $305,000 for the year ending March 31st, 2010, down about 10.5% from $341,000 for the previous year total.

The Kamas Valley also saw a decrease for the year ending on March 31st, 2010 with a median price of $275,000, down about 26% from the year end March 31st, 2009  price of $369,900.

The median price of a condo inside Park City limits for the year ending March 31st, 2010 was $925,000, up 20% from $735,000 for the year ending March 31st, 2009.

Median price for a condo in the Snyderville Basin for the year ending March 31st, 2010 is $329,450, down 15% from $388,000 for the year ending March 31st, 2009.

Looking at just the ski season (December 1st thru March 31st), in the ski season of 2007 - 2008, 340 properties sold in the greater Park City area. In the 2008 - 2009 ski season 156 properties sold in the same area. For the ski season that just ended (2009 - 2010), 344 properties sold in the same area.

Point Four   Where We Stand Now

The Park City Board of Realtors reported a strong third and fourth quarter in 2009, compared to the first half of that year and the end of 2008. The first quarter of 2010 continues to trend with an increased closed sales dollar volume and continued steady numbers of sales.

National housing statistics presentd by the National Association of Realtors and independently by the Case-Schiller Index point to flattening home values (home prices no longer declining wiht some localized price increases). Economists have indicated the great recession ended sometime last summer, and the stock market has risen about 50% since it's low point last March.

Locally, the bottom of the real estate market in terms of number of sales was in February 2009. In looking at the first quarter stats and the rolling 12 month average for pricing, it appears that the Park City real estate market has also bottomed out in terms of pricing. Prices have not yet started to rise but on average prices have stopped declining.

Prices today are on average about 20 - 30% lower than they were at their peak, which was in late 2007 and early 2008. It should be noted that prices on individual properties or in specific neighborhoods may not be off by as much as the numbers above, while at the same time prices for some properties and for some areas are now much lower than the 30% decline mentioned above.

As for distressed properties, Notice of Defaults (NODs, which are precursors of a foreclosure) and Foreclosures are down from previous quarters. In Summit County the peak activity for NODs was the third quarter of 2009, while peak activity for foreclosures was the fourth quarter of 2009. In Wasatch County the NOD activity peaked in the first quarter of 2009, while foreclosures peaked in the third and fourth quarters of 2009. It is too soon to tell if this trend will continue or if foreclosure activity will again rise.

Point Four  Looking Forward

Continued buyer activity appears likely as prices will continue to remain low for the foreseeable future. Interest reates are also quite low, so area property is more affordable than it has been for a number of years. Foreclosure activity will continue, although probably at lower rates than what we have recently seen. For the near term inventory levels will remain stable and buyers will continue to have many choices.

One of the reasons there will remain higher levels of properties for sale is that there is probably a sizable "shadow inventory" of properties that will continue to come on the market, keeping those inventory levels high. Foreclosure activity along with the higher inventory levels will keep prices from rising much this year, although by year's end we feel that we will have some price appreciation.

For sellers, pricing is still the most important aspect of getting their property sold. Correctly priced properties have a good chance of selling, while properties that are priced just a little high for the market will sit.

Projections at this point for the year indicate that we should see sales dollar volume over $1 billion again. The number of sales should top 1300. Both of these numbers would be about a 15+% improvement over 2009, and should be in line with 2008 figures. Prices could rise in the low single digit range.

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

The Greater Park City area

has seen an increase with the number of transactions pending and closed!

Pended Sales: demand

Greater Park City: # of pended sales

This year (2009/2010) compared to 2008/2009 has increased 117%

This year (2009/2010) compared to 2007/2008 has decreased 19%

Home Sales: demand

Greater Park City: # of closed transactions

This year (2009/2010) compared to 2008/2009 has increased 120%

This year (2009/2010) compared to 2007/2008 has decreased 9%

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

*Courtesy of Rick Klein of Mountain Summit Mortgage - An Affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage