Michael Jacobson

Park City scores again with 3 resorts in SKI Magazines top 15 ski resorts in North America!

SKI Magazine released its annual reader's survey and Deer Valley has retained its top spot as the # 1 ski resort in North America. Park City Mountain Resort moved up from sixth to fifth place and The Canyons jumped from 18^th to 13^th place. In short another great year for the Park City ski resorts!

Skiers and resort home buyers today are looking for more than just the skiing; they are looking for a total vacation experience. A Park City vacation starts with the ease of getting to the slopes from Salt Lake City Airport (only 30 minutes away), extends to the night life of Main Street, shopping and other entertainment for the non-skiers, cross country skiing and snow shoeing represent just some of the experience that goes far beyond Park City's 3 Ski (and snowboard) Resorts.

Deer Valley has been ranked #1 four out of the past eight years. They continue to be ranked #1 in service, food and grooming year after year. Deer Valley limits itself to 6,500 skiers per day skiing on its two thousand plus acres. The limitation is set not by how many people the mountain can handle, but by how many skiers the resort can handle in terms of food service. Un-crowded slopes lead to a great experience. For accessibility Park City is by far the best ski location in North America, offering free skiing on your day of arrival. None of others can this offer this convenience.

These great reader poll results should make Park City real estate the beneficiary of more people putting Park City into their ski plans. Park City is more and more being recognized as one of the premier ski and resort destinations in the world. It remains on a cost /value comparison a better value than Vail or Aspen. The fact that interest rates are currently very favorable (although tougher in terms of qualifying) bodes well for real estate sales. Great ratings from skiers and snowboarders will keep Park City real estate desirable to own and help to keep property values here high.

All three Park City Ski Resorts and the city itself are very pleased with the ratings again this year.

SKI Magazine Top Ten North American Ski Areas:

•1. Deer Valley, UT

•2. Vail, CO

•3. Whistler / Blackcomb, BC

•4. Snowmass, CO

•5. Park City Mountain Resort, UT

•6. Beaver Creek, CO

•7. Aspen, CO

•8. Steamboat, Co

•9. Breckenridge, Co

•10. Telluride, CO

•13. The Canyons, UT

Park City Real Estate Market First Quarter 2008 results are in.

Utah and Park City have been some of the last areas to feel the decline of the U.S. real estate market. Recent Board of Realtor statistics show that Park City real estate prices have held steady during the first quarter of 2008. During the first quarter, the number of listings has doubled and actual number of sales have fallen 45%. Single family homes sales fell from 209 in the first quarter 2007 to 113 first quarter 2008. Condo sales fell from 247 to 136 in 2008.

While all these numbers can be very discouraging, you must look at each area independently. Many of the larger developments have seen sales decline, while some of the established areas sales have held steady. Several areas like Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook and Silver Spring that have the ability to attract buyers who want to live in the Park City area but commute to Salt Lake City as well as those who want to live here for the skiing, hiking biking and golf have shown great resilience to the recent market changes.

For Buyers, things have never been better. There are more choices today than ever before (note the increased inventory mentioned earlier). Financing is currently very attractive for qualified buyers (current interest rates remain very low). Additionally, the maximum conforming loans limits have recently been increased to $749,750 for Summit County. These new limits will revert back to the old limits at year's end.

Sellers today, on the other hand, do need to be realistic and flexible in their pricing expectations. While the market has softened, we have found that properties that have been priced to reflect today's market have been selling. The average "Days on Market" of sales have been less than 45 days recently for Mike and Ken's listings with www.YouInParkCity.com

Experts suggest that while Park City and the state of Utah were some of the last real estate markets to feel the decline and are projected to be on of the first to recover and that declines will not be as sharp as many other areas in the nation.