Park City Life Realty Blog

Halloween on Main Street is one of the best people watching events the town has to offer, Sundance would be another.  The street fills with adults and children decked out in costume for the holiday.  Even the dogs get to dress up and have a parade.  This is a Park City classic. 

Another reason we chose to partner with Sotheby's is the brand, which is so well known and respected in the real estate market.  Sotheby's is the industry leader, plain and simple.  When you list your next property select a realtor you are comfortable working with, who has the power of an excellent brand and their marketing at their fingertips.  Reach out to me for your next Park City, UT real estate needs.  Doug - 435-731-0170

We love all 4 seasons in Park City.  Fall is crips, and we're surrounded by autumn colors.  One family favorite is a visit to Park City Gardens for Fall in the Nursery.  Click on the link below for details. Occasionally Park City will get its first snow in October.

Here in Park City we are very fortunate to be within a day's drive to a number of spectacular National Parks.  Just another reason to live and love Park City.  Reach out with you real estate needs or questions!  Doug - 435-731-0170

Industry leaders have said that we’re in the most confusing real estate market in memory.  Let’s walk through what’s happening together. 

In Park City, at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, stay at home orders were put into place. We saw the ski lifts stop turning in March and the real estate world came to a screeching halt. After a few months, more people were given the freedom to work remotely, and therefore could relocate to their most desired location. This is when Park City became an extremely high demand location for people looking to move from large cities. And so started the strongest “Sellers-Market” we are likely to see again. 

There were many people wanting to move to Utah without enough homes for sale.  We began seeing all-cash multiple-offers, bidding wars, and buyers waiving normal contingencies to get contract acceptance on a property. This strong buyer demand in conjunction with the extremely low inventory led to sharply increasing property prices. 

Earlier this year, we started to see inflation creep up and more uncertainty in the world with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, talk of a recession, and a declining stock market. The FED started to increase interest rates to try and curb the inflation, coupled with increased property prices, this drove many people out of the market while others moved to the sidelines with a “wait and see” approach. 

Conditions have evolved, and we’re seeing a much slower market with buyers on the fence. Conversely, there is finally an increase in available homes for sale.   

We’re calling the current market a “Normalizing Market”. If we were to compare the current sales stats to one year ago, we’d look and say the market is decreasing dramatically, however as mentioned earlier, there were unusual factors that lead to the most robust market we may ever see again. 

Now, let’s compare our current market with that of 2019- before the Covid Boom- and this is where we are now as far as volume of transactions and buyer demand.  We’re almost back to 2019 numbers for available inventory as well - hence the coining of a “Normalizing Market”. 

We’re hearing that buyers are waiting for prices to come down before they purchase, and this is why we wanted to address this topic.  Prior to the Covid Boom, Park City real estate had an average increases year over year pretty consistently of 7-9%.  We propose this is what we will return to as things normalize. 

If we look back 20 years to 2002, in Utah real estate, there has only been 4 years of negative appreciation. This was from what was truly the lending and housing crisis of 2008-2011 where we did see appreciation drop as much as 8.7% in 2008. By 2012 it was a positive 12.5% and 2013 with a positive 9.6% made up for the losses in just 2 years. Since 2002, the appreciation is up 273.1%. Utah was just named the “most stable real estate market in the US” from data drawn from CNBC America’s Top States for Business study, the Federal Finance Agency (FHFA), the U.S. Census Bureau and Attom Data Solutions. 

We all got accustomed to the low interest rates, and we realize the new rates are a bit of a sticker shock. However, with interest rates, these are simply normalizing as well- money could not stay nearly-free forever. Historically, rates are still low when compared to other decades of 12% or higher and re-financing is always an option as rates are likely to decrease again in the long term.

The takeaway - Utah real estate is going to continue to appreciate, and interest rates are likely to increase.  Now is a great time to purchase your primary, secondary, or investment property in Utah.  If you “wait and see” the market will continue to progress and when you do purchase your Utah property, it will cost you 10% or more each year you wait.  Let’s get you a Park City property sooner than later!

Call Doug Almstedt to discuss your real estate questions.  

(435) 731-0710

Why live in this mountain town of Park City?  Because there's are so many fun old traditions, the Shot Ski is one.  Imagine lining Main Street with one very long ski, actually 500+ skis that have shot glasses attached to the top.  Then imaging over 1,000 individuals doing a shot at the same time!  High West coordinates this old town event, this year on October 15.  Click on the image for more details. 

The Scarecrow Festival is a family favorite each year as Park City slips into the heart of fall.  These crafty works of art are located on the path behind the "white barn" (McPolin Farm).   Locals create one-of-a-kind scarecrows to view and enjoy.  Click on the photo for more details.

One of our favorite events each year is the Park City Wine Festival.  What's better than tasting wine in a beautiful mountain setting.  This year the festival falls on September 29-October 1st.  Click the image for more details.  Cheers!

Moose are one of the locals' favorites wildlife.  Shown below is a female moose curious about what was happening in our garage last winter.  Mama moose with babies can been seen around town throughout the summer and the males come around in later summer, early fall.  In general, they aren't dangerous however you do want to give them a respectable amount of space so that they don't feel threatened. 

Each fall Park City hosts the Autumn Aloft hot air balloon event.  This year hot air balloons will be filling the sky on September 17-18.  This is a beautiful event and a perfect time to enjoy fall in Park City. Click on the photo for more details!