Todd Anderson

St Regis, Dakota Mtn Lodge, Treasure Hill, Summit Research Park and more

As the funicular cars fro access to the new St Regis Hotel at Deer Crest in Deer Valley were set to be installed (Friday July 17,2009), local radio station KPCW was airing a story about a Deer Crest residence owner suing the project and its developers.

The radio report indicates that the owner of a home and lot in the lower portion of Deer Crest near the base of the Jordanelle Gondola at Deer Valley Resort has brought a lawsuit against the developers of the St Regis claiming that the developer has improperly changed the original documents pertaining to the parking and access to the hotel at Roosevelt Gap (above the Lower Deer Valley area of Park City, Utah). The complaint stems from the parking that now exists at the hotel and the employee parking lot and shuttle to the hotel from the base area near the gondola. The Deer Crest home owner claims that traffic impacts on the private road through Deer Crest (Deer hollow Rd.) due to the employee shuttles, taxi and limousine service, and service/delivery trucks is outside the scope of the original guidelines for the area and that changes to the guidelines were made improperly.

The St Regis at Deer Crest developers have counter-sued claiming that all changes were made legally and stated that the filing was an attempt to gain access to the amenities of the hotel by the property owner.

In other Park City real estate news, the new Dakota Mountain Lodge at The Canyons Resort in Park City opened its doors for business. The Dakota Mountain Lodge is a part of the internationally renowned Waldorf-Astoria Collection luxury hotels.

The Snyderville Planning Commission has approved guidelines for the Summit Research Park. The research park is an 89 acre development in the Kimball Junction area of Park City just off hwy 224 near the I-80 interchange. The development is scheduled to begin work soon with some road improvements designed to improve traffic flow around the Landmark Dr. Area. The development of the research park with the housing and business construction around it has a possible 20-year build out.

In other planning commission news, the Park City Planning department is scheduled to hear more on the Old Town area Treasure Hill development. This possible large hotel and residential development on the southern hillside above Old Town appears to be moving forward.

The fact that there are major projects finishing up, under construction, and being planned for the near future are positive signs for the future value of real estate in Park City and Deer Valley. These developments will have impacts both positive and negative for many other Park City area communities and developments. To discuss possible recent and future development impacts on your property or future property purchases, contact a YouInParkCity.com Group REALTOR® with Keller Williams Park City Real Estate.

With the end of June came what is considered summer here in Park City after an unusually wet spring "mud-season". The end of June also marks the end of the 2^nd quarter and time for a Park City and Deer Valley real estate market update. The Park City and Deer Valley home and condominium sales for the quarter show that the market has slowed, but probably not as much as people think.

For comparison purposes, we will look only at areas 1-22 for the Park City MLS which includes the Park City neighborhoods of: Old Town, Thaynes, Lower Deer Valley, Deer Crest, Upper Deer Valley, Empire Canyon, The Aerie, Prospector, Park Meadows, The Canyons, Olympic Park, Silver Springs, Old Ranch Road, Kimball Junction, Pinebrook, Summit Park, Jeremy ranch, Silver Creek/Glenwild, Trailside park and Promontory. Our data for comparison will be limited to single family homes, condominiums and vacant land.

Sales data for Park City real estate for the quarter are as follows: 120 total units sold for the quarter with 55 being single family homes, 56 being condominiums, and 9 parcels of vacant land or building lots. These numbers represent a drop in total sales volume of 44% versus 2008 and 67% versus 2007. The drop in dollar volume versus 2008 was 58% and 74% when compared to 2007 sales. The lack of new product has a very pronounced effect on the condominium data; look for these numbers to turn around dramatically in the next two quarters as we see the St. Regis at Deer Crest and Dakota Mountain Lodge sales recorded.

The YouInparkcity.com group feels that of particular interest is the relation of the actual sales price versus the original and asking prices at the time of sale: sales prices were discounted 10% versus asking price and 19% versus the original price for the quarter. Of course the relatively small sample size we are dealing with can skew these numbers. For more information or data regarding a certain segment of the Park City and Deer Valley real estate market contact us or call (888) 968-4672. Areas we feel may be of particular interest statistically include Promontory and Empire Pass.

The Park Record, Park City Utah's local twice weekly news source, ran an article over the weekend titled "Optimism for Park City economy might be justified - Statewide economy expected to get worse this year". The title of the article seems to be in conflict with itself as much as most of the rest of the article. Within the article, there are quotes from the Park City Board of Realtors President stating that national indicators often drive the Park City real estate market and that the current trends in GDP and stock market have had positive effects on consumer confidence ‘which will prompt many buyers to make the home purchase they've been contemplating for months.' This is a great positive spin for Park City and Deer Valley real estate. The article writer then reverses direction with the following statement:

‘But the frozen credit markets are still hurting Park City's real estate market, he said. And the employment situation is still a concern because if someone has lost their job, or fears losing it, they're less likely to come to Park City for a vacation and/or think about purchasing a home here.'

The Park Record then quotes another prominent local Park City real estate agent whose predictions are cautiously positive noting an incremental recovery locally and predictions for a national recovery in 2010. The newspaper and local real estate agent then go on to note that local tourism reports predict summer travel to mountain destinations to be down 15% from last year. And a six month forecast expecting occupancy to be down by 20% with room rates down by 10%.

It seems that for every negative indicator there is a positive real estate note to go along with it and vice-versa. A look back at last winter can show that during the tough economic and political climate people still came out to ski and enjoy Park City. While they may not have bought local real estate, they did still come (albeit spending a bit less while they were here). I'm sure that soon local real estate agents will point to "pent up demand" from those people that didn't buy last year as the reason for optimism.

Summer is here and this past weekend with its many markets, festivals, and celebrations showed Park City and Deer Valley in their best light. There's no doubt that many visitors had a thought that they should move to or buy a vacation home in Park City.

The Park Record Newspaper (Park City Utah's twice weekly news resource) ran an article this week stating that while construction costs should be enticing for building, builders and suppliers remain quiet.

Park City home building costs have come down recently due to a lower lumber, asphalt, steel and concrete costs. Jim Drexinger, senior vice president of sourcing for Stock Building Supply, which has a large store near Kamas that supplies local builders, said global markets are affecting many of the products they sell. Some lumber products have seen a "significant" reduction in price and some to "multi-year historic lows," he said. Additionally, the slow building market has lead to a glut of construction laborers which has lead to very favorable labor costs for those people choosing to build.

Unfortunately while costs are down (Jared Rakisits, president of the Park City Area Homebuilders Association was quoted as saying "It's probably the best time in quite a few years to build a house"), we are still dealing with a tight credit market and construction loans are not easy to obtain in Park City & Deer Valley (or most other spots in the country).

Not all home construction costs have gone down in the Park City area. A local lighting retailer noted that prices in their field have been steadily rising at five to ten percent a year. This has some Park City and Deer Valley home builders trying to cut costs and search for cheaper materials.

The lack of recent sales of vacant land in the Park City and Deer Valley are another indicator of the slow construction and building market. There are currently over 450 listings for vacant land in the greater Park City real estate area and there have been 9 sales over the past 3 months.

Local Park City and Deer Valley builder Richard Jaffa of Jaffa Group Design/Build was quoted as saying ‘While the recession may be over by next year, it will take about three years for the area's housing boom to fully recover.'

Predicting the bottom of the Park City and Deer Valley real estate market is anybody's guess, but there is no doubt that the current high inventory levels coupled with low building costs make this an opportune time to purchase and build n Park City, Utah.

As skiing film maker Warren Miller liked to say: If you don't do it now, you'll just be a year older when you do next year.

Golf courses and spas are a major component of resort real estate in the Park City and Deer Valley area. Many of the real estate communities in The Canyons area of Park City have some reliance on golf in the area. A meeting will be held today to discuss why the proposed golf course adjacent to The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah has not come to fruition.

In the late 1990's as part of The Canyons Resort specially planned area (SPA), a golf course was required as part of the plan. The plan required a course to be in place by 2002.

The SPA allows for increased density at the base of The Canyons Resort and has many conditions which allow for the density increase such as a golf course (golf is often developed as "open space" in large development and SPA areas in and around Park City, Utah), roads, trails public right-of-ways, etc. Many of the problems with the proposed golf course and overall development of the base area at The Canyons Resort stem from the fact that there are over 25 different land owners involved dealing with complicated trades, leases and other transactions to get the original SPA approved.

With the Talisker Corp. as the new owner of The Canyons Resort, it was widely anticipated that due to its golf background, the course would move forward quickly. This has yet to happen and the lawsuits surrounding the area can only make matters worse.

Many of the real estate developments within and around The Canyons and Park City have made mention of the future course and no doubt many Buyers have made real estate purchases based on the proposed course.

The proposed golf course at The Canyons could play an important role in making the resort and surrounding tourism driven developments more profitable year-round. Most of the newer real estate developments in The Canyons area (The Grand Summit, The Sundial Lodge, Escala, Vintage on the Strand, The Westgate, Dakota Mountain Lodge, Fairway Springs and more) have made some claim to proximity to and added benefit to owners and guests that the proposed golf course at The Canyons will bring.

Unfortunately, golf courses are not cure-all prescriptions for real estate and tourism. Local private and semi-private Park City area golf courses are experiencing difficulties. These can be seen by the recent bankruptcy and subsequent emergence from bankruptcy at Promontory, as well as the exodus of over 100 members at the Jeremy Ranch golf club and heavily discounted memberships becoming available at Park Meadows Country Club.

The completion of the proposed course at The Canyons Resort in Park City will be a welcome addition by area golfers and tourists alike, but how well the Park City area which boasts more than 14 golf courses (and at least 3 more on the way) within a 20 mile drive can absorb enough tee times to make them all work is yet to be seen. The effect on the real estate surrounding the Park City and Deer Valley area golf courses is a great discussion.

For more information about golf related real estate opportunities in the Park City and Deer Valley areas, contact a YouInParkCity.com real estate agent.