Too Late to Buy? Heck No!
Photography: Courtesy of The Colony / Lori-Adamski Peek
Right now, Park City is the best value of any ski resort in any state,” boasts Mike Sloan, Park City Board of Realtors’ statistician and branch real estate broker with Commerce CRG.
The numbers back up what many local realtors are boasting: with almost 4,000 residential and commercial properties sold in 2005, Park City moved more pieces of real estate than any other resort town listed in the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance report. But the corresponding $2.1 billion total sales volume proved that the average price of property for Park City lists significantly below its competitors: Aspen, Telluride, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley and Vail.
“It illustrates that we’re still undervalued,” says Betty Brown, president of the Park City Board of Realtors and broker for Brown & Company of Park City, Inc. And undervalued real estate means opportunity for buyers to take advantage of the market.
A. Flint Decker, a broker with Prudential Utah Real Estate, sums up the current local market simply: “Nobody’s talking about Colorado anymore.” Well-traveled buyers often approach Park City already educated about resort real estate by their experiences in Sun Valley, Aspen, Telluride and other western resorts. When buyers compare our area to other ski resort towns, they find thousands of reasons to move here.
Topping that list of reasons, as always, is Park City’s accessibility to an international airport, according to John McTigue, realtor associate with Jess Reid Real Estate. Other “added value” reasons to buy in Park City include the abundance of outdoor activities, the Olympic legacy, beautiful surroundings, captivating summers, the mining town history, the small-town feel and the excellent public school system. New qualities keep extending the list: Ted Ligety brought his 2006 Olympic medal home to Park City; the state’s economy is booming; and technology continues to blur the distinction between primary and vacation homes.
“Most buyers will [also] take into consideration that we are reasonably priced,” says Brown. “They weigh all of that, and they come to Park City.” While residents and longtime locals remember the days of lower priced homes, and forecasters predict “bubbles bursting,” buyers continue to find more reasons to explore and buy.
One of the emerging reasons to buy is family. Average Americans might not stay and live in the same towns they grew up in, but they’re still interested in being close to family, says Decker. If mountains, and especially skiing, are high on a family’s list of desirable attractions, Park City is the perfect location for a family’s primary or vacation home.
As Decker points out, not only does Park City have three ski resorts, but its relatively low elevation (6,900 feet versus Aspen’s 7,900 feet or Vail’s 8,150 feet) makes it easier for young and old to breathe and live an active lifestyle. Park City fosters community-oriented ideals with its history, local government and far-reaching vision for the future, says Decker. These things aren’t present in many urban areas, and it’s “what other towns would die to have,” he adds. “So many people who live in Park City could live anywhere else in the world, and they choose to live here,” says Decker.
And local realtors see the current spotlight on Park City as only the beginning of the attention it will receive. Money spent on marketing the area doesn’t come only from local businesses, ski resorts and the Chamber/Bureau anymore. Even bigger, global names are pumping money into advertising Park City, says Decker. Individual developers such as Promontory, Talisker and St. Regis are helping build the desirability and reputation of the area. “Their money goes on top of the existing expenditures of our ski resorts and Chamber and suddenly, the amount of impressions made just doubled,” says Decker. “It adds to the credibility and story of Park City. We’re now being marketed on the world-wide stage.”
Even the government has joined the effort. The Utah State Legislature recently began funding out-of-state branding efforts to promote its under-discovered state. “The state legislature is getting ready to spend serious money in advertising [Utah’s attributes],” says Sloan. “I don’t think people realize what an impact that will have.”
Although sellers are enjoying huge returns on their properties—especially if they bought before the post-Olympic boom hit in 2003—buyers still have opportunities to invest well in the market, says Decker.
“Buyers come to the same conclusion: Park City is a great investment because we have room to appreciate,” says Brown.
“It’s an exciting time to buy into Park City real estate,” concurs Decker.
Monika Guendner is a freelance writer whose appreciation of Park City continues to grow whether she’s buying real estate or not.
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