Second Quarter Report Shows Major Improvement Over 2009
About one quarter of all real estate transactions
in Park City involve distressed properties.
That's not bad, said
Deanna Devey of the Utah Association of Realtors. It's average for the
state if not slightly better.
Foreclosure activity is
definitely improving, said Park City Board of Realtors president Mark
Seltenrich.
"They appear to be trending down, but remain
historically high," according to the second quarter report summary from
the board released July 22.
Devey said short sales account for 13
percent of all sales in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber and Tooele
counties. They are only 10 percent of sales in Summit and Wasatch
counties.
"Comparatively, Summit County isn't doing too bad," she
said via email.
Statistics that sound negative but are actually
good news was a theme for the mid-year report from the board of
Realtors.
For example, sales prices are way down all over Summit
and Wasatch counties. That has increased both sales volume and dollar
sales volume by more than 60 percent compared to the second quarter of
2009.
The title of the report summary was "Park City real estate
sales continue to thaw."
With $543 million in real estate sold,
board president Mark Seltenrich said this year compares almost exactly
with 2008 as the market was coming off the peak and beginning its slow
decline. But perhaps a better comparison might be 2003 or 2004, he said.
Since 2005 was when the boom began, an argument could be made
that the 2010 mid-year numbers show the area returning to "normal," he
said.
So far this year, 669 units have been sold. That's up from 415
for the same time last year and roughly compares to 2008.
The
fact that lower prices are spurring activity in the Park
City area is great news, he said, because homes
won't move in a depressed market regardless of price and that's
happening in other parts of the country.
With fewer speculation
buyers shopping, the Park City area is continuing its decade-long trend
of becoming more of a year-round community. People are recognizing the
convenience of traveling in and out and are choosing to make it their
permanent residence, he said. That brings stability to the market.
"It's
really unique that people live here who aren't related to the resort
industry. That means if the resorts do poorly, the housing market can
still be strong," he explained.
Seltenrich said part of the level
of controversy over the Sweeney family's Treasure Hill development is
evidence of that. When people make a mountain town their permanent home,
they tend to be more involved in development decisions their city or
county make.
Lower prices resulted in a 36 percent increase in
sales of single-family homes during the first half of the year. Homes
priced under $1 million are selling the fastest. Inventory levels are
down about 450 units from the same time last year. That's still too many
for the homebuilding industry, but it is progress, he said.
The
median sale price for a home in Park City proper is now $1,125,000
down 37 percent. That's average for 64 homes sold almost twice as many
as the same time in 2009.
The median sale price in the Basin is
$650,000, which is down 7 percent for 105 units sold. Last year 66 were
sold by mid-year.
Heber Valley home prices are down 12 percent to
an average sale price of $289,500. Kamas is down 30 percent to
$272,200. Seltenrich said the housing markets to the east and south of
Park City and the Basin rely on the health of the latter to succeed. The
farther away from Park City a community is, the more susceptible to
market fluctuations it tends to be, he said.
Condominium sales
saw the most improvement, Seltenrich said.
He thinks it is
because prices came down on high-end units in Empire Pass. Also, St.
Regis Deer Crest this year was successful at closing many of the deals
made during the boom something not every development has been able to
do.
Because more expensive units sold, the median sale price is
up 29 percent from the same period in 2009. Sales volume is up 93
percent.
Even at $1.5 million, many condos were sold at 30
percent below original asking price and that was considered a bargain by
those kinds of buyers, he said. Increasing sales also had the effect of
bolstering confidence in the market.
Condos in the Snyderville
Basin did not fare as well. The median sale price for the first two
quarters is $325,000 down 14 percent.
Most of those sales were
made outside The Canyons, he said. The developments near the ski resort
saw buyers who put deposits down during the boom years but were reliant
on bank financing that didn't come after the recession started.
The
area has also seen the worst cases of foreclosure because people bought
overvalued property and went "underwater" on the mortgages quickly, he
said.
This kind of unwise buying was widespread because Park City
real estate was so hot that people bought property simply because they
could.
"At the very height of the market, the value of a property
was that it was for sale people wanted to get in at all costs," he
said.
The rebranding of the Dakota Mountain Lodge to Waldorf
Astoria Park City was a wise move, Seltenrich added.
"If it was a
Waldorf from day one it might have seen a different mix of buyers," he
said.
Sellers of vacant lots are also lowering prices and saw a
13-percent increase in total sales. Lots still only make up 10 percent
of all real estate sold during the first six months of the year, but
that's a major improvement, Seltenrich said.
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
by Andrew Kirk OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record
http://www.pureparkcityrealestate.com/00AE72
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