In The News (continued)…
Park City Board Of Realtors� Reports Slight Decline In Single-Family Home Prices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 October 2008
For further information:
Tyler Richardson, President
435.640.3588 (cell)
tyler@asktyler.com
Lincoln Calder, President Elect
435.901.2696
lincoln@lincolncalder.com
Sharon Woodbury, Chief Executive Officer
435.200.6900
woodbury@ParkCityRealtors.com
24 October 2008 (Park City) – The Park City Board of REALTORS� reported today that the median sales price of a single-family home in the greater Park City area – which includes Summit and Wasatch counties – in the first nine months of 2008 showed a slight 3 percent decline to $653,750, down from $674,500 in the same nine-month period in 2007.
“The national economic downturn is affecting home prices in Park City,” said Tyler Richardson, president of the Park City Board of REALTORS�. “However, the decline in home prices in Park City is small compared to falling home prices in many other parts of the country, which in some cases are witnessing drastic price declines. Park City continues to draw buyers and has a competitive advantage compared to other Rocky Mountain resort communities.”
Park City’s competitive advantages include its close proximity to the Salt Lake International Airport, a short 30-minute drive to Park City. “This is going to become a larger advantage to our visitors and property owners as more rural destination resorts will very likely be impacted by the nearly 3,000 flights that USA Today has reported as being cut in the near future” stated Richardson.
Even though the overall median sales price was down in the greater Park City area, some locations actually saw price increases. For instance, in the first nine months of 2008, the single-family median home price in Park City proper climbed to $1.8 million, up 12 percent compared to $1.6 million during the same period last year. In the Kamas Valley during the same period home prices rose to $349,000, up 6 percent compared to $330,000 last year. The increase in median prices in the Park City proper area and the Kamas Valley is attributed to sales of newly constructed homes, which are typically higher in price.
“People who are buying in today’s market are motivated by lifestyle choices and long-term investments,” Richardson said. “They are not buying properties today, hoping to flip them next year. Many buyers recognize Park City’s incredible world-class skiing and recreational amenities. National economists have noted that mountain resort properties will hold their value and even show strong appreciation over the next five years.”
In the short term, however, price declines in some areas are expected. For example, in the Snyderville Basin in the first nine months of 2008, median home prices fell to $717,500, down 13 percent compared to $827,000 a year earlier. In the Heber Valley, the median home price fell to $350,000, down 6 percent compared to $372,500 during the same period in 2007.
For the first nine months of 2008, there were 390 single-family homes sold in the greater Park City area, down 42 percent compared to 674 sales in the same period in 2007.
The average days on market in the third quarter for all property types sold in the greater Park City area was 190 days. The sales-price/list-price ratio in the third quarter for all property types was 93.7 percent for all transactions, meaning properties sold for 6.3 percent less on average compared to their listing price.
Condominiums: The median sales price of condominiums sold in Park City proper in the first nine months of 2008 fell to $827,500, down 17 percent compared to $999,900 a year earlier. In the Snyderville Basin, the median price of condominiums was $622,500, down 9 percent compared to $685,000 in the first nine months of 2007.
Vacant Land: The median sales price of vacant land was $425,000 in the first nine months of 2008, down 23 percent compared to $550,000 during the same period in 2007 in Summit and Wasatch counties.
Richardson stressed that sellers must price their properties competitively. “In today’s market, buyers want a deal and have many properties to choose from,” Richardson said. “Buyers are finding excellent values and often have the upper hand in negotiations. Park City remains a good value compared to other Rocky Mountain resort communities.”
Richardson added that real estate values and trends vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood and buyers and sellers should speak to a local Park City REALTOR� for an accurate market analysis.
An increase in foreclosures is affecting some home values. However, Utah continues to have one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In the second quarter (the most recent data available), the percent of loans in foreclosure in Utah’s was 1.23 percent. Only eight other states had a lower rate. The national foreclosure rate for the second quarter was 2.75 percent. Florida had the highest rate at 6 percent.
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Park City Home Prices Continue To Hold Their Value
During First Half Of 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
31 July 2008 (Park City) - The Park City Board of REALTORS� reported today that the median sales price of a single-family home in the greater Park City area at mid-year continued to hold its value at $650,000, down just 1 percent compared to a median sales price of $655,000 a year ago. Read More …
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Today's Interest Rates Mean Opportunity
Rick J. Klein
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Headlines continue to bombard us with negative stories regarding the housing and mortgage markets. Yet, there is a window of opportunity with low interest rates.
The chart below shows mortgage rates are still relatively low from a historical perspective. In fact, rates are considerably lower when compared to eight years ago when the 30-year fixed rate went above 8%.
Even more important, the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year allows for “jumbo conforming” loans (loans between $417,000 and $729,750) to be securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This means that loans in this amount range really are near historic lows.
An example of this may clarify the benefit of purchasing while rates are low. Many buyers believe home prices will fall over the next year, so they to decide wait and see. Now assume rates increase by 1% over the next 12 months (a conservative assumption, especially for jumbo conforming loans). The example below demonstrates the impact of a 1% increase in rates will require a full 10% decrease in home prices to avoid an increase in the monthly payment.
|
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Sales Price
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$600,000
|
$540,000
|
|
Loan Amount (80% LTV)
|
$480,000
|
$432,000
|
|
Rate
|
6%
|
7%
|
|
P & I pmt.
|
$2,877.84
|
$2,874.11
|
At present, the legislation authorizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase or securitize these jumbo conforming loans is scheduled to end on December 31, 2008. If Congress does not extend this authorization, this may well be a limited window of opportunity.
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Hope for Housing in Utah
Analyst says real estate faring better than in other U.S. states
By Jasen Lee, Deseret News
Published: Saturday, June 7, 2008 12:03 a.m. MDT
Despite the housing-market difficulties around the country and in some areas of Utah, a national real-estate analyst is optimistic about the present and future performance of the Beehive State's market.
Speaking Friday to an audience at the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance conference in Park City, National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said that Utah's housing situation is much better than the circumstances in many other states.
"The state of Utah is fundamentally healthier than other markets," Yun said. "In the state as a whole, prices are not falling, though in certain neighborhoods, prices may be declining."
Subprime loans have been a key component of the national housing downturn, even though they are a small percentage of Utah's and the nation's overall loan portfolio, he said.
Yun said that subprime borrowers make up about 10 percent of all homeowners nationwide, but represent approximately half of all foreclosures. In Utah, 23 percent of mortgage holders are subprime borrowers, but they account for 4.84 percent of foreclosures.
Wells Fargo economist Kelly Matthews, in an interview, agreed with Yun's assessment of the nation's housing market for the most part, but Matthews believes subprime mortgages account for 25 percent to 33 percent of foreclosures nationwide.
Regarding the possibility of a sharp increase in foreclosures similar to those in other national markets, Yun said that as long as Utah's economy continues to generate jobs, it should minimize any fallout from the subprime lending debacle.
"The second factor to look for is home prices, which are holding on very well in Utah," Yun said. If home prices stabilize and do not decline, that will lessen any foreclosure pressures.
"Prices are holding on much better in Utah, hence lessening the foreclosure pressure," he said. "Furthermore, there is strong job growth in Utah compared to the rest of the country."
Yun, along with Matthews, said the strong employment market is what enables the state's housing market and economy to remain stable.
"We have and continue to have a better economy than Arizona or Nevada or Southern California," Matthews said. "We didn't create as big a bubble, so we didn't have as much increase going up and don't have to have as much pain or adjustment coming down as those other areas."
Yun said the future looks bright for Utah because of the number of people who are migrating into the state, including baby boomers wanting to spend their golden years in some of Utah's resort towns.
"We see some trends of wealthier retirees wanting to move to Utah, and that's another positive for the state," he said. "Fundamentally, the long term, with people migrating into Utah and job creation being very solid, is very good." Read More...
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Utah housing market faring well; tax credit may help even more
June 6th, 2008 @ 5:04pm
KSL TV5, Keith McCord reporting
Another proposal that President Bush will consider soon is a plan designed to stimulate the real estate industry. Congress is working on a "home buyer tax credit" plan to jump-start housing sales.
It's not finalized yet, but if the president signs off on it, it would give first-time home buyers a tax credit of $7,500. The idea is to reduce the huge inventory of houses that are currently for sale across the nation -- around 4 million at the moment.
This was just one of the topics discussed in Park City today by the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Hundreds of real estate agents and ski resort operators from around the Intermountain West came to hear what Lawrence Yun had to say about the health of the real estate industry.
As the chief economist, Yun says although the industry is at a 10-year low in terms of sales with a large inventory, the signs point to improving conditions in the second half of this year and into 2009.
Yun also says, unlike other parts of the country, the Rocky Mountain region will improve first. "People are moving into the region; far more coming in than moving out. That's always positive. That creates additional demand for housing, and anytime there's demand for housing, that makes the market much more healthy," he said.
Yun also says low interest rates, fixing the sub-prime loan mess and a general improvement in the economy will also bring buyers back. Plus, he says there are a lot of people still "sitting on the fence" wondering when to get into the market.
"I don't think that's a good strategy from a buyer's point of view. They have the advantage. The inventories are plentiful. They have more negotiating power," Yun said.
Yun says Utah's home prices have taken a breather in the past year, but he says when the fence-sitters get moving, that will change significantly. "But five years from now, the market will be very healthy locally, and home prices could be 30 to 50 percent higher than what they are now," he said.
One sector of the real estate industry that's still vibrant is resort areas. People with money who want a second home are still buying. The numbers in the greater Park City area confirm that.
"We have been quite different from the rest of the country. Our prices over the first quarter have been very stable compared to the first quarter of 2007," said Tyler Richardson, president of the Park City Board of Realtors.
Every economist has a crystal ball it seems, but many we've spoken to over the months say Utah and our neighboring states are in position to fare much better and recover more quickly than the rest of the country.
Regarding that "home buyer tax credit," Congress tried it back in the 1970s and it did light a fire under the market. Read More…
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Park City Median Home Prices Remain Stable In The First Quarter
PRESS RELEASE
25 April 2008 (Park City) - The most exclusive real estate in Utah continued to hold its value as the median price of a single-family home sold in the greater Park City area, which includes Summit and Wasatch counties, in the first quarter remained at $649,140, nearly unchanged compared to a median price of $650,000 in the first quarter of 2007, according to a report today by the Park City Board of REALTORS.�
Within the city limits of Park City, the median home price was $1.76 million for single-family homes, down 11 percent compared to $1.98 million a year earlier in the same quarter. The median single-family home price in the Snyderville Basin was $742,450, down 4 percent from $771,000 in the first quarter of 2007. In the Kamas Valley, the median home price was $285,000, down 9 percent from $314,450 a year ago. Homes in the Heber Valley, however, saw median prices increase 9 percent to $359,900 compared to $329,000 a year ago.
“We have seen price adjustments going on in the market and sellers need to be realistic in their pricing,” said Tyler Richardson, president of the Park City Board of REALTORS.� “For buyers, it shows there are some good values out there.”
Richardson added that having only one quarter of statistics gives limited information on specific market areas. “I would urge buyers and sellers to contact a local Park City REALTOR� to get a full market analysis on what is happening in their area of interest,” he said.
The median price of condominiums sold in the first quarter in Park City proper climbed 13 percent to $1.05 million compared to $925,000 in the first quarter of 2007. This rise was largely due to closings of newly constructed high-end condos with ski-in/ski-out access. Richardson noted that, “Location and lifestyle still hold sway, showing, once again, that buyers come to Park City for lifestyle reasons rather than purely economic reasons.”
Sales of single-family homes in the greater Park City area, which includes Summit and Wasatch counties, totaled 113 sales in the first quarter, compared to 209 sales in the first quarter of 2007. Fewer sales mean sellers need to be flexible in pricing their properties.
Condominium sales in the first quarter in the greater Park City area totaled 136 transactions compared to 247 sales a year ago. The median condo sales price in the first quarter was $533,900, down from $550,000 in the same period last year.
“There is an opportunity for buyers to find a great value, but they need to work closely with a local Park City REALTOR� to do so,” Richardson said. “There has never been a better time for locals to make a lateral move within our market. It is a good time for a family to move up to a larger home, an out-of-town family to move into town or for empty nesters to scale down to a smaller home or condo. With interest rates still low and the temporary increased mortgage loan limits, it is even more of a good time to make a move.”
The good news for both home buyers and home sellers is that conforming loan limits have been raised to $729,750 for properties in Summit County, considered a high-cost area. The new loan limits, part of an economic stimulus package signed by President George W. Bush in February, are temporary and will expire at the end of this year.
According to a leading Park City lender, “Not all counties received this higher increase. A conventional, conforming loan today (loan amounts less than or equal to $417,000) with standard closing fees would carry about a 6 percent interest rate on a 30-year-fixed. A jumbo loan would be about 7.25 percent. The agency, high-balance conforming loan (loans at $417,000 - $729,750) would be about 6.5 percent.”
The Park City Board of REALTORS� also reported that along the Wasatch Back, sales of single-family homes in the Heber Valley were down 44 percent – 41 transactions in the first quarter of 2007 compared to 23 sales in this year’s first quarter. In the Kamas Valley, there were seven sales in the first quarter compared to 20 sales a year earlier.
“Our area market as a whole has seen no change in the median price from the first quarter of last year to this year’s first quarter,” Richardson said. “Park City real estate is weathering the storm very well. While the volume of transactions is down we are not seeing the dramatic fall in prices and only a slight increase in foreclosures. In general most of our sellers are strong and have the wherewithal to hold through during a weaker market, helping price stability.”
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Utah 9th for 'pro-business, ' 2nd in 'most livable' ranking
Utah has been named in a pair of top 10 rankings this month.
From the Deseret News Saturday April 12, 2008 Deseret News Article
The state was second in the "Most Livable State" rankings compiled by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly. Last year, Utah was fourth.
The rankings are based on 44 factors that reflect a state's basic quality of life. Each category is averaged to yield a final score to determine a state's "livability rating."
Utah also finished ninth in a list of "pro-business states" in a report published by Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate. The study examines 29 factors that focus on job creation and retention efforts of the federal government and all 50 state governments.
North Carolina led the Pollina rankings, while California was 50th.
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Foreign buyers fuel second-home sales, while U.S. buyers hold back
Report finds 30.6% drop in overall sales of vacation homes in 2007
By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, March 31, 2008.
Sales of vacation properties fell 30.6 percent in 2007 compared to the prior year, with investment-property purchases down 18.1 percent, according to an Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey report released by the National Association of Realtors.
Total sales of new and resale homes used as primary residences, by comparison, dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 2007, survey results revealed.
Based on responses from 1,965 second-home buyers, the survey concludes that investment-property purchases accounted for 21 percent of total home sales in 2007, down from 22 percent in 2006; while purchases of vacation properties accounted for 12 percent of all home sales in 2007, down from 14 percent in 2006. The survey was conducted this month and controlled for age and income.
Real estate professionals tell Inman News that foreign buyers are taking advantage of lopsided currency values against the U.S. dollar in some market areas and are propping up second-home sales while many U.S. buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach. Markets with luxury properties can be more immune to the slowdown in second-home sales, real estate professionals also report. Read More...
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Why Now Is a Smart Time to Buy
RISMEDIA - http://rismedia.com
Posted By Paige On March 18, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
RISMEDIA, March 19, 2008-Considering all of the negative press the housing market received in late 2007, it's more important than ever for buyers to separate fact from fiction when deciding on a time to buy a home. This report is intended to help home buyers assess the facts of the real estate market objectively.
About Inventory
FACT: The housing market is undergoing a natural cyclical correction.
It's impossible to ignore the ongoing news surrounding the downturn of the housing cycle. The recent "housing boom," which lasted from 2001 to 2005, was caused by low interest rates and a rapid increase in property valuations, resulting in high numbers of renters opting to buy. Three factors caused this decade's housing boom to spiral upward:
1) A run-up in home-price valuations that spurred a high sense of urgency in home buying and selling.
2) Poor lending practices, which caused many home buyers to secure loans that they ultimately couldn't afford over the long term.
3) Speculative purchases of homes also increased, with buyers investing in real estate with the hope of a quick return on investment.
Like the dot-com bust, the housing market has begun to correct itself after a number of years of unwise purchasing, but unlike what the media would have us believe, a correction in the housing market doesn't equate to a crash. Read More...
Second Home Buyers Accounted for One-Third of Transactions in 2007
REALTOR.org Report
For more information, contact: Walter Molony, 202-383-1177, wmolony@realtors.org
WASHINGTON, March 28, 2008 - The combined total of vacation- and investment-home sales declined with the overall market in 2007, but still accounted for 33 percent of all existing- and new-home sales, which is close to historic norms, according to the National Association of Realtors�.
The market share of homes purchased for investment last year was 21 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006, while another 12 percent were vacation homes, compared with a 14 percent market share in 2006. The total share of second homes declined from 36 percent of transactions in 2006. NAR's annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent to 740,000 in 2007 from a record 1.07 million in 2006, while investment-home sales fell 18.1 percent to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006. At the same time, primary residence sales declined 10.0 percent to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the findings suggest different cycles for each of the sectors over the past two years. "Investment-home sales declined sharply in 2006 as speculators disappeared, leaving the market to serious buyers, with the pattern continuing in 2007," he said. "Vacation-home sales rose to a new record in 2006 because there was a pent-up demand from buyers who couldn't find a property as a result of tight supplies in preceding years." Read More...
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Park City Real Estate Transactions Reach Nearly $2 Billion
Sales Prices Remain An Exceptional Value
14 February 2008 (Park City) – Million-dollar properties remain in high demand among the West's premier destination ski resorts. In the greater Park City area in 2007, more than $1.9 billion in total real estate volume was recorded, the second-highest level of 11 ski resorts across the Rocky Mountain West, according to a new report by the Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance (RMRA), an association representing the boards of Realtors of those 11 resorts.
At $2.6 billion, Vail, Colo., ranked No. 1 in total real estate transaction volume.
Driving PArk City's high sales volume was its exceptional value. Read More...
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Nobody Knows Real Estate Like a Local Park City REALTOR�
14 February 2008 (Park City) – Old Town, Deer Valley, Park Meadows, Promontory, Snyderville Basin, Kamas and Heber Valley – to a home buyer the possibilities can be overwhelming. Read More...
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Luxury Homes, Recession-Proof So Far
January 31, 2008, MoneyNews.com
The luxury home market is an economic anomaly. High-end homes are selling quickly and at prices that are breaking previous records.
Amazingly, there are not enough luxury homes on the market to satisfy millionaires who want to buy yet another trophy home.
Market data from DataQuick shows that sales for homes costing $5 million and more increased by 31 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same quarter in 2006, Newsweek reported.
Prudential Douglas Elliman, the real estate company, reported that sales of Manhattan apartments worth $10 million or more tripled in 2007.
There is one surprising exception. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has actually reduced the selling price of his five-acre waterfront home, Rosehearty, on Centre Island by $2 million, Newsday reported.
Last June Murdoch was asking $14.8 million for the 10,0000 square-foot Colonial-style Nassau County, NY home that also has 260 feet of beach frontage.
Even with the price reduction, Murdoch and his wife, Wendi, will make at least a $5 million profit. When they purchased the home in 2003, the selling price was $7.8 million.
Listing agent Barbara Candee of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty would only say that the price was lowered in preparation for the spring market, Newsday reported.
Brokers in popular markets such as California, Palm Beach, Manhattan or the Hamptons said they can not satisfy the demand of buyers of luxury homes, especially those of international buyers.
Foreign buyers are getting even more of a discount with the increasingly weak U.S. dollar.
"The rich are even richer than ever before and the very wealthy are pouring more money into residential real estate," Laurie Moore-Moore, founder of Dallas-based Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a membership and training group for luxury-real-estate agents, told Newsweek.
She said the buyers now hail from China, Brazil, India and Russia and not just from Europe.
Shlomi Reuveni, executive vice president and senior managing director of Manhattan's Brown Harris Stevens Select (an affiliate of Christie's Great Estates), said the weak U.S. dollar is a boon for the wealthy.
"Affluent clientele are not about price," Reuveni says. "With the highest caliber properties, supply is limited, and cost is not something that determines their purchase."
There are more millionaires in the world now, too.
The Merrill Lynch's World Wealth report published in June 2007 reported that the number of "ultra-high net worth" individuals -- those with $30 million or more -- increased by 11.3 percent.
In addition, the there are 9.5 million millionaires worldwide, an increase of 8.3 percent from the previous report issued in June 2006.
The softening dollar and the debt crisis have not stopped Americans from buying additional luxury homes at exorbitant prices.
Hedge fund manager Louis Moore Bacon, who founded Moore Capital Management, purchased the 171,000-acre Trinchera Ranch in Colorado from the Forbes family for $175 million recently.
Bacon, who is worth about $1.7 billion, spent a mere $1,000 per acre for the ranch, which cost Malcolm Forbes only $50 an acre in 1969. Read More...
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Deer Valley Resort Ranked #1 Ski Area in North America For The Third Time!
DEER VALLEY, PARK CITY, UTAH (Winter, 2007/2008) - Deer Valley Resort has been honored with being named the #1 ski resort in North America by the readers of SKI magazine for the third time. Remarkably, in the past ten years, Deer Valley's rating hasn't dipped. Read More...
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� Park City Board of REALTORS� 435-200-6900
