Presidents' Week

By Dennis Hanlon
Feb 16, 2012

This coming weekend is President's holiday which, aside from the Christmas week, is the busiest weekend of the year. This also starts all of the spring breaks and traditionally very strong business now through the end of the ski season. Fortunately, it started snowing again and we have received about a foot and a half since Sunday and it's snowing lightly today. Just in time for the holiday skiers to have a great time.

These past few days have been quite fun for me as I have had two friends who I went to college with come into town for a little bit of a ski reunion. One still lives in the upper peninsula of Michigan where I went to college and the other has moved to Calgary and neither has skied here. Quite a lot of fun to show them around Park City and the ski resorts. What's really been interesting is catching up since I haven't seen either of them since I graduated college in Michigan back in...oh, we don't need to go there. They'll be here through Friday and are having just a fabulous time skiing and exploring Park City.

Good Times in Park City

In Park City real estate news as I've been mentioning it's been pretty active since the start of Christmas vacation this year. In the Deer Valley area, which for this will include both upper and lower Deer Valley, Deer Crest and Empire Pass, there are currently 8 condos with contracts pending, and 9 condos that closed in the month of January. On the pended condos they range on the low end at $575,000 for a 3-bedroom condo in lower Deer Valley to a high of 9,800,000 for a 4-bedrom 6,800 square foot condo in the Montage Hotel located slopeside in Deer Valley. For closed condos, a low of $679,000, again a 3-bedroom condo in lower Deer Valley, to a high of another Montage, 3-bedroom condo at 3,400 square feet which was listed for $5,200,000 and closed for $4,400,000. For single family homes for the same areas there are currently 5 homes with contracts pending on them ranging from a low of $2,350,000 to a high of $5,795,000 for a 6-bedroom, 7,600 sq foot home in upper Deer Valley. Two homes have closed, one a 4 bedroom home in lower Deer Valley for $760,000 and then a 8-bedroom home, 12,000 square feet ski-in/ski-out in upper Deer Valley was listed for $6,990,000 and closed for $6,875,000. As you can imagine this is all very  welcome news and of course we all hope that this trend will continue throughout the rest of the ski season.

While we're still below average in the amount of snowfall the skiing is quite wonderful. With a foot and a half of snow this week, currently snowing and more snow in the forecast we are back to the conditions that everybody expects. So I hope to see you out here this year and of course give me a call and I will let you know the best places to ski and to dine.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Deer Valley
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World Cup

By Dennis Hanlon
Feb 07, 2012

Last week there were a couple of terrific events here in Park City. Wednesday evening was a street concert to kick off the World Cup Freestyle events over the weekend at Deer Valley. It was also a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, which was really terrific. A number of athletes from the 2002 games were there talking about their experiences as well as members of the current US Ski Team talking about what they remembered from that time. Everybody in the audience broke out their Olympic clothing: hats, jackets, uniforms, whatever we still had from the Olympics. Big screen TVs showing photos of that time and of course everybody swapping stories of what they did during the Olympics. All in all, a really terrific evening, made even better when it started snowing during the presentations and concert.

The dual mogul track, under the lights at Deer Valley

Friday and Saturday nights Deer Valley hosted the FIS World Cup Freestyle aerials and moguls. Friday night under the lights was men's and women's aerial finals, which if you ever get a chance to see is truly amazing. These young kids come down the slope and fly off the jumps about 50 or 60 feet straight up in the air, doing flips and spins, then land on a very steep slope and ski to the finish line. Saturday night was the dual moguls on the steepest, longest mogul run that the kids compete on all year. The dual moguls are when two skiers go head-to-head down a mogul run with two jumps built into it for added excitement. The competitors are scored on who crosses the finish line first, who does the best trick in the jumps and who has the best form on the moguls. The way the scoring works is heavily weighted to the skier who crosses the finish line first. As this is a 1 run head-to-head elimination, you can imagine that the competitors are going as fast as they can through the bumps and really, by the time of the quarter finals it is absolutely amazing how fast they're coming down the mountain, hitting the jumps doing flips landing in bumps and continuing to ski as fast as they can to the next jump where they do another flip. Oh, to have young knees again! The whole town turns out for these events...with several thousand people at the finish line waving flags, waving to the Americans--or if they're visiting from a foreign country, cheering for their team--and this weekend it was made even more special with a full moon Saturday night. These are just some of the things that make living in a ski town so wonderful.

A talented skier competing in Aerials

In real estate news, I want to do a year-end wrap up of the year 2011 compared to 2010. Overall 2011 was a much better year than 2010. For instance, Single Family Homes: the number of homes sold across the Park City MLS was up 19.4%: 780 homes in 2011 compared to 653 in 2010. At the same time the number of new homes listed was down 15.4%: 1,831 in 2010 compared to 1,549 in 2011. Average sales price was basically flat: $831,000 in 2010 to $820,000 in 2011. Condominium sales were very similar with number of sales up 10.5%: from 488 in 2010 to 539 in 2011. Number of listings was down 11.7%: from 1,22 in 2010 to 1,078 in 2011. Average sold price was down 21.7% from $774,000 in 2010 to $606,000 in 2011. I was looking at another graph that broke down condo sales by price range and by far the vast majority of condos sold in Park City last year were under $500,000. Pretty much equal in the two ranges: $100,000-300,000 and $300,000-500,000. This confirms what it has felt like: buyers are definitely looking in lower price ranges and actively searching for and purchasing distressed properties. It will be interesting to see how this pans out as the number of distressed properties has decreased significantly. Overall numbers in all types, in all areas of the Park City MLS sales were up about 17%, number of listings down 11.5%, and average sales price down 9%.

This winter continues to be delightfully sunny with occasional small snowstorms in the 4-5" range. But while our snowpack is one-half of what we'd normally have this time of year, coverage is good and the skiing is quite fun. I was out during the weekend and most everyone I talked with was having a good time and enjoying themselves. As always, come out! The slopes are less crowded than they usually are, restaurants are easy to get into, and, of course, come visit me at the Plaza at Silver Lake in Deer Valley for my pick of skiing, restaurants, and activities that are not to be missed.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Realtor, Skiing, Deer Valley, world cup
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We survived another Sundance

By Dennis Hanlon
Jan 31, 2012

Well, the Sundance Film Festival ended this Sunday and we have reclaimed our town. From everything that I have heard, 2012 Sundance was a success with many films selling, the weather cooperated by snowing heavily, and I think everyone generally had a good time. So now on to the next event, which begins this week. This coming Wednesday we kick off the start of the annual FIS Freestyle World Cup with a street concert on Main Street and a commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the 2002 winter Olympics. There will be a lot of celebration with former Olympic athletes, big screen TVs showing highlights of the Olympics, pin trading tents and everyone telling their favorite Olympic stories. Then Thursday, Friday and Saturday is the World Cup Freestyle at Deer Valley. Thursday being qualifying, Friday evening under the lights will be a men's and women's aerial competition, and then Saturday night under the nights will be the premier event: the dual mogul competition. This is where skiers to go head-to-head down a very steep mogul field and are judged on time, techniques and form on two jumps in the middle of the mogul field. Come back next week for photos of this event.

Great video: Building the World Cup Courses at Deer Valley Resort

In real estate news I did a couple of searches and found some pretty interesting numbers. For this ski season, which would be From Christmas through the end of January, here in Silver Lake in mid-mountain Deer Valley, 11 homes and condos have sold, ranging in price for a low of $550,000 to just over $3,000,000 for condos, and a high of over $7,500,000 for homes. What's really interesting is that during the same time period last year there were zero sales for homes or condos in Silver Lake. Another interesting report that I pulled up was in an area called Park Meadows--which tends to be a full-time residential community--in 2011 over 60 homes sold. And there are currently only about 30 homes listed for sale. This is the first time in many years that we have seen less than a years' inventory available in any area of Park City. Everything that I'm looking at is indicating that the fourth quarter of 2011 is up substantially over the fourth quarter of any year going back to 2008. As I have mentioned in the past I feel that this is a combination of three things: prices are low, inventory is down thus creating some urgency, and the economy has certainly made a dramatic recovery since the fourth quarter of 2008. From just watching and listening to agents in my small office (only seven of us) I am observing a lot of activity with agents writing offers and having offers presented on their listings. This is really terrific news for everybody in Park City, RE agents, sellers and buyers alike, and we all hope that this is the start of a good trend.

While this certainly is not a snow year like it was last year, we have over a four-foot base of snow and the skiing is absolutely delightful. One benefit to a year like this is that the temperatures are milder, mostly in the 20s and 30s, and we have more bright sunshiny days than we've had for a while. So as always when you come out for your ski trip, give me a call or stop in my office for my pick of the best skiing, dining, and activities.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Skiing, Deer Valley, world cup
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Sundance is Happening

By Dennis Hanlon
Jan 25, 2012

So after all the hoopla last week of all the storms arriving it started off as a big ho-hum. Between Wednesday and Friday we received a measly 14 inches of heavy wet snow. While to some that may seem like a lot, remember we are a ski town and were hoping for multiple feet of snow. Then Saturday came and the storm arrived in full force. A full-on old-fashioned Utah blizzard all day and well into the night and left us with 28 inches of our famous Utah powder. Needless to say, the skiing Sunday morning was incredible. Many of the bowls at Deer Valley that had not opened all year opened on Sunday with nearly four feet of new snow and with soft snow all the way to the bottom, no bumps, and a crystal clear bluebird day, the skiing was epic. And of course every powderhound in Park City was out. The frequently heard comment on the chair was "I could have gone to a Sundance Party last night or gotten up early this morning for first tracks. I chose the latter."

Monday afternoon at Deer Valley

Monday afternoon at Silver Lake, Deer Valley

So the Sundance Film Festival started last Thursday right during the start of the snow and was quite comical on Saturday during the blizzard. Understand that during a normal busy day during the ski season, all the cars are parked at the ski resorts and the mountain is busy with skiers enjoying themselves. During Sundance, no one is skiing, everyone is scurrying back and forth between films so the streets are clogged with Sundance traffic. Now throw in a good old-fashioned blizzard, lots of two-wheel drive cars with no snow tires, and drivers who don't understand driving in the snow...well, you can picture the results. While Sundance will continue for another week, the first weekend is really the busiest. All of the Hollywood stars are here for the opening shows, presentations and parties, and all the Salt Lake star-watchers come up to see and be seen. It's all quite entertaining and certainly worth a visit here, if for nothing else just to see what a crazy place our town can get turned into.

We nearly got run over by people with cameras! Must have been a star up the street.

As I mentioned last week, I just returned from Sun Valley where we held our annual meeting for the Western Mountain Resort Alliance. One of the primary purposes of WMRA is the distribution and discussion of real estate market conditions and activity throughout the western ski resorts. The trend that I've been reporting on all year has continued with every resort showing a decrease in the number of listings. Steamboat, Sun Valley and Lake Tahoe showed the smallest decreases at 3, 4, and 5%, respectively, and with the remaining resorts showing a decrease in the number of listings between 12 and 22%. During the same timeframe all of the resorts showed a strong increase in number of units sold with Vail and Lake Tahoe showing the smallest increase at 2 and 5%, respectively, while the remaining resorts showed an increase in number of units sold between 18 and 31%. For total dollar volume sold four of the member resorts reported an increase in dollar volume sold: Whistler 9%, Park City 6%, Steamboat 7%, and Big Sky a whopping 41%; and four resorts showing a decrease in dollar volume sold: Sun Valley -4%, Vail -19%, Tahoe -9% and Teton -4%.

Two things jump out with these numbers. And that is for the resorts that showed a decrease in dollar volume sold but an increase in number of units sold one of three things are occurring: either prices are continuing to fall in those resorts, buyers are purchasing less expensive properties or a combination of the two. For instance Vail showed a 2% increase in number of sales, a 19% decrease in total volume sold and a 25% decrease in the median sales price. Park City showed an 18% increase in number of units sold, a 6% increase in total volume sold and a 13% decrease in median sales price. Here in Park City I am not seeing that a home or condo was worth 13% less in 2011 than in 2010. So I feel that this is more a factor of what people are purchasing. In talking with the agents from the other resorts everyone was very pleased with Christmas traffic and most were reporting the return of the high-dollar buyer. Interestingly the high-dollar buyer here in Park City is the $5-10 million range, and in Vail it's $15-20 million. All a matter of where you live.

So the snow is here! Skiing is fabulous and Sundance will be over next week. So plan your ski vacation and let me show you around our wonderful ski town of Park City.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Skiing, Sundance Film Festival, wmra, Real Estate Statisics
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It worked!

By Dennis Hanlon
Jan 19, 2012

This past Saturday, in puling out all the stops, Park City Mountain Resort invited the Ute Indian tribe to come out and perform a traditional offering to Mother Earth and a snow dance. This was really quite an event, held on the Plaza of Park City Resort, where about 15-20 Ute Indians in full traditional garb performed a snow dance to encourage snow. Well, it worked as yesterday was cold and snowy and the forecast is for heavy snow Wednesday and every day going into next week. Finally! Of course it always help to schedule a snow dance when the forecast calls for snow. Tends to make the dance more successful and everybody feel better about it. But still with this winter even with a forecast for snow there's no sense in taking any chances.

This Thursday is the beginning of the annual Sundance Film Festival which is the largest festival for independent filmmakers. For the ten days of the festival we lose our town to PiBs (People in Black), traffic, noise, star-watching, and (some) very good films. Historically the film festival also brings snow. There's nothing quite as amusing as watching a starlet--or starlet wannabe--navigating very steep Main Street in stiletto heels, a short dress and a foot of snow or her male companion in slick leather soled boots. One interesting thing has occurred over the last several years of the film festival and that's that it's a terrific time to ski. While the streets are clogged with festival-goers going from venue to venue, restaurants are full of producers trying to sell their films and wannabe actors trying to get noticed, the ski slopes are amazingly empty. The savvy skier has taken note of this and more and more have shown up every year to enjoy uncrowded slopes with typically excellent skiing.

Real estate is continuing to be very strong this year with several high-end sales last week. A ski-in/ski-out condo in Stag Lodge sold with a list price of $3.4 million, (the second Stag Lodge condo sold since Christmas), a condo in the new Montage Hotel (slopeside at Empire Pass in Deer Valley) sold with a list price of $5 million, and a home in the Deer Valley ski community of Deer Crest with a list of $5 million also sold. While the strongest part of our market continues to be homes under $2 million and condos under $1 million, it's both refreshing and exciting to see the high-end once again selling.

Last week I was asked by a reader of this blog--yes, there are actually readers--what did I attribute this turnaround to? I feel there are several factors in play here. First and foremost is that prices are low, in that they are significantly down from the peak of 2006. Secondly interest rates are at historic low numbers. Third, while still somewhat shaky, we have seen an improvement in the US economy and with it a renewed comfort level from potential buyers. With the stock market holding near and above the 12,000 mark many people are breathing just a tad easier and feeling that the time is right to make their purchase. We're seeing more and more articles in national newspapers and magazines that confidence is growing and that the national housing market may have bottomed out. I'm actually seeing that here in the resort town of Park City where we once again are seeing multiple offers and sellers holding a little tighter to their asking prices.This week I am heading to Sun Valley, Idaho to attend the annual meeting of the Western Mountain Resort Alliance, which I created in 1996. At this meeting will be representatives from most of the major resorts in the western United States and I'll have an opportunity to speak to Realtors from each of the resorts and will come back with a clear indication if Park City is an anomaly in real estate right now or if the other resorts are seeing the same trends. (I suspect that most are experiencing similar sales interest). So come back next week where I will be reporting on this meeting and giving you an idea of what's happening throughout the western ski resorts. In the meantime plan a trip to Park City/Deer Valley. The skiing is good and getting better. The slopes are uncrowded and the weather has been absolutely delightful. And of course, when you do come out, stop at my office on the Plaza at mid-mountain Deer Valley, say "hi" and ask me where the best skiing of the day is. I'm not afraid to share.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Skiing, Deer Valley
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And the Sun Continues

By Dennis Hanlon
Jan 13, 2012

As of New Years day, 2011 has come in for 4th place since 1944 for the driest winter and if it snows less than 40" through the rest of this month it will be the second driest winter since 1944. However, with all that said, the skiing is amazingly good. Last Thursday I attended a party at Deer Valley sponsored by SKI Magazine to honor Deer Valley being the #1 rated ski resort in North America for 5 years straight. The editor of SKI Magazine (from Boulder, CO), was up to present the award and having skied that day at Deer Valley was quite clear in his comments that we have the best skiing in Colorado, Utah, and California.

In real estate news the Christmas holidays and continuing through this week have been the busiest that I have seen in many years. In my office in Silver Lake at mid-mountain Deer Valley I cannot remember a time when this many people have walked in inquiring about real estate. From everything that I hear in talking with visitors for the most part they're having a great time skiing as the weather has been delightfully warm and sunny. This just reinforces our visitors' view that even in a bad year such as we're having this is really a great place to own property and our visitors are looking. What's interesting to me is the price range that they are looking at. Ranging anywhere from the $500,000 low-end condo in Silver Lake to homes in the $4-5 million range and everything in between. If this trend continues thru the ski season--and I don't see any indication that it will not--we will see the best numbers for sales that we've seen probably since 2005-2006.

So in spite of what you may be hearing the skiing is delightful, the slopes are uncrowded and everyone is enjoying skiing in spring-like temperatures in January. So come on out, bring your sunscreen and enjoy the mountains this winter. Oh, and do your Snow Dance!

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Deer Valley
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Happy New Year!

By Dennis Hanlon
Jan 04, 2012

2011 came in as a lion and went out as a lamb. It has been warm, sunny, and dry for the last month; December having been the driest month on record here in Utah and not seeing any major change on the horizon. In spite of this, the skiing is actually quite good. I was out yesterday and had a delightful time skiing around the mountain under crystal blue skies. Last summer Deer Valley invested in several new high-efficiency snowmaking guns and the results have paid off. Everyone that I've talked to on the mountain is really quite pleased with the conditions given that most of the country has yet to experience winter. Also from talking with various friends around town it's pretty apparent that Deer Valley has the best conditions of the three Park City resorts.

In looking at preliminary numbers for 2011, some pretty interesting trends are emerging. While final numbers will probably change I believe the trends will hold true. Comparing the 4th quarter of 2008 which you may recall was the real beginning of this economic downturn that we're in, with the 4th quarter of 2011, some interesting numbers are out there. In the 4th quarter 2008 the number of active listings through the Park City MLS was 5,724 while 4th quarter of 2011 we had 3,382 active listings for a 40.9% decrease. Numbers of properties that had contracts pending in 2008 was 158 in 4th quarter and 361 in 2011 for an increase of 128%. Number of properties closed in 4th quarter 2008 was 234 and 4th quarter 2011 was 377 for an increase of 61%. Over the 3-year period we've seen the numbers of listings decrease by over 40% and the number of sales increasing dramatically. While prices have been holding flat for this year it will be interesting to see how much longer this occurs as upward pressure mounts. Another interesting number that is very telling as to what's going on in our market is sales absorption for the percentage of properties that have sold compared to the number of active listings.  In the 4th quarter 2008 this was 4.09% while 4th quarter 2011, 11.15% of all properties listed have been sold.

These past two weeks of the Christmas holiday were the busiest that I have seen here in my 20+ years of selling real estate. I think this was a combination of many factors. Oddly enough, I think that the just-average ski conditions were a contributing factor as people were not skiing all day but rather stopping after lunch or early afternoon and then wandering around wanting to look at real estate. Most of the buyers that I've spoken with over the past two weeks have been coming here for many years, understand how unusual these conditions are, are excited to take advantage of the nice weather and see what's available. Another factor is that our prices are down considerably since the peak in 2006 and people are feeling that this can't last much longer. Everyone also seems to be feeling a little bit more comfortable economically even though there is still much to be concerned about, and are feeling if they don't take advantage now they may soon be kicking themselves. Typically over the Christmas holiday we are very busy showing property and introducing people to what we have to offer but generally do not write a lot of purchase contracts until later in the winter. Our guests are out here to enjoy a vacation, they see what is available then go home and discuss their options.

So in spite of what you hear on the national news the skiing is actually quite good, the crowds are gone and everyone's having a great time. So come out, bring your sunscreen and experience winter in the mountains. And oh by the way, it WILL snow.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Deer Valley
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The Holidays are Here

By Dennis Hanlon
Dec 29, 2011

It is the week between Christmas and New Years which is one of the busiest weeks of the season here in Park City. In spite of the lack of snow visitors are having a wonderful time skiing and walking around the shops and restaurants on Main Street in unseasonably warm weather. Now here in the mountains, when I say "unseasonably warm weather" I'm talking about daytime high temperatures in the 30s and nighttime lows above 0, so it's really a matter of perspective. I've been out skiing several days over the holiday and the skiing is actually pretty decent considering the shortage of snow. November/December 2011 is going to turn out to be the 4th driest November/December here in the Wasatch since all records were kept. The driest year was 1976 when only 30 inches of snow fell during these two months. And this year we've had 70. While for us this is pretty much drought conditions for us, many resorts would be thrilled to have that much snow already and cities around the country would have used up their snow budget for the year.

An article just came out from Forbes Magazine talking about luxury hotels in ski towns. The article is describing only the highest-end of the hotels that would stand their own anywhere in the world; not just in ski towns. As the article states, "I am only including hotels that are exceptional by any global standards, not merely the best in a ski town." Park City is the first resort discussed and I think the first sentence says it all: "No American ski town has as much upscale lodging as Park City, home to three world-class ski resorts, Deer Valley, The Canyons and Park City Mountain Resort. The first luxury ski hotel in the nation, the Stein Eriksen Lodge is here, as are the newer St. Regis and Waldorf Astoria, but the one that stands out above them all is the huge Montage Deer Valley..." I think it is quite a feather in our cap to be recognized by such a prestigious magazine as Forbes for the quality of our hotels and accommodations.This really is quite a testament to how Park City has changed over the 27 years that I have been here.

Another very interesting article that I read this morning reports on a National Association of Realtors (NAR) study that in 2011, despite low mortgage rates, a record number--38%--of all homes purchased were purchased with cash. That's up from 34% in 2010 and double the 19% of 2006. It's felt that the tight lending standards and the ability for cash investors of distressed properties to see a much stronger yield on their investment than they can anywhere else are the contributing factors to this high rate of cash purchases. We have seen this here in Park City and while we have always seen a significant number of cash purchases my observation has been that this has increased significantly this past year. In mid January I'll have the 2011 year-end recap and should have a better feel for how much cash purchases have increased.

So for now, enjoy the holiday, make your New Year's Resolution to come visit Park City and Deer Valley and find out just how wonderful the skiing here really is. Yes, it will start snowing.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Deer Valley
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Merry Christmas

By Dennis Hanlon
Dec 23, 2011

It's Christmas week, the town is full and it's snowing! While we terribly-spoiled locals consider the skiing right now to be quite average, all of the visitors that I've spoken to are having a lot of fun. Kudos to the snowmakers and groomers for doing an incredible job of making snow and grooming it so that everybody is having as much fun as possible.

Like everywhere, this week is full of Christmas activities. Last Saturday I went to see a concert with a group called Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, which was so much fun. They are a modern-day big band/swing band and were doing their version of Christmas songs. The audience was bouncing up and down and rocking and everybody was having a great time. Tonight, to celebrate the winter solstice, Park City is having a light parade, where everyone decorates their cars with lights and parades up Park Avenue through Main Street. It's a holiday hit, and as it will be snowing, should really feel like Christmas. This coming Saturday, as can only happen in a ski town, Santa arrives by Chairlift. Santa will be coming down the Town Lift and arriving on the plaza on lower Main Street. This is a great event for children of all ages with Christmas carols and much frivolity.

In looking at real estate, I looked at a home in the Deer Crest area of Deer Valley listed for $6.6 million. This is probably my favorite home that's for sale in all of Deer Crest, as it features a very open and clean floorplan with spectacular views of both the Jordanelle reservoir and Bald Mountain in Deer Valley. As with all Deer Crest homes, it also has walk-out-your-door ski access. For anyone looking for a ski-in/ski-out home in Deer Valley, this is on the top of my list for showings.

In lower Deer Valley, I saw two condos last week that really struck me as being exceptional. Both are in a development called Black Diamond Lodge, which is right on the slopes of lower Deer Valley Resort, located next to Snow Park, the main base lodge of Deer Valley. These are three-bedroom condos, direct ski access, very open and comfortable, and Black Diamond Lodge has terrific amenities. These units are listed for $2,465,000 and $2,400,000 with the former being one floor above the other, but both in the highly-desired third building of Black Diamond.

The snow is here, although not quite as much as we would like, people are skiing, and the town is full. I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very prosperous 2012. As always, be sure to call me for the latest in snow conditions and the best places for dining.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor
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Let the Holidays Begin!

By Dennis Hanlon
Dec 14, 2011

So, we're five days from the start of the Christmas holiday here in Park City and while the snow has certainly been on the scarce side, it's been cold and all the resorts have been working to make snow as hard and fast as they can. I was out skiing over the weekend and conditions were surprisingly good. Of course we here in Park City are pretty spoiled as we normally have a much deeper snowpack by this time of the year, but it will come and resorts continue to make new snow and open new trails everyday.

This morning I was at the Waldorf Astoria hotel at Canyons Resort and heard about a new program with Talisker, Canyons, and Deer Valley. Talisker Club members have always had access to the Talisker lounge on mountain in Deer Valley and the golf course and spa at Tuhaye among many other amenities. Talisker purchased the Canyons resort a few years ago, and since the purchase have put many millions of dollars of upgrades into the resort, and now have included with the Talisker membership, amenities at Canyons Resort as well. These include valet parking right up at the resort (no need to take the people carrier lift up), members-only lounge at the Plaza and a members-only restaurant at mid-mountain Canyons. Talisker Corporation recently purchased the Waldorf Astoria hotel at the base of Canyons and is opening up memberships in Talisker Club to their owners as well. They're offering a very nice incentive for new owners who wish to try out the Talkisker Club by allowing new owners at the Waldorf Astoria to become members of Talisker Club for three years at 50% of the annual dues and the initial deposit buy-in not due until year four. This is a great program for owners to try out and discover how wonderful all the amenities of the Talisker Club are while owning a condo at the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Continuing with my theme from last week of talking about exceptional buys going into the ski season there are a couple more I would like to point out. First is a 3-bedroom condo in the Chateaux at Silver Lake at mid-mountain Deer Valley. The Chateaux is a wonderful hotel being run by the Stein Eriksen Lodge--a Forbes 4-star hotel--and right across the street from the lifts at mid-mountain Deer Valley. The Chateaux has a restaurant, a very comfortable bar and lounge with great views of the mountain, fitness room, spa, outdoor pool and whirlpool and full concierge service. The Chateaux offers conference facilities and therefore is heavily booked year-round. This particular 3-bedroom unit is priced well below recent comps at $1.295 million and has in the past generated around $100,000 per year in gross rental.

In Lower Deer Valley there's a project called Silver Baron Lodge right across from the parking lots at Deer Valley. There are 2- and 3-bedroom units in here that are priced very competitively, from the high $600,000s to the mid $700,000s. These are also terrific rental properties and are booked all year long.

Also in lower Deer Valley is a development called Daystar. In Daystar there is a beautifully remodeled uphill, (the preferred floor plan), unit with excellent views of Deer Valley. The owners of this unit had a kitchen designed specifically for this unit and is much larger and open than the original model. This is a 3 bd unit with hot tub, 2 car garage and is priced at $815,000.

With the Christmas holiday coming up in just a few days, the town is abuzz with activity with everyone looking forward to a very busy and hopefully snowy holiday. The first couple weeks of January are typically very slow which makes for a great time to visit and ski the local resorts. So plan your vacation and as always, please contact me for the latest on ski conditions, new restaurants and the "must-do" activities around town.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Deer Valley
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We're Skiing!

By Dennis Hanlon
Dec 07, 2011

Deer Valley opened Saturday with 16 runs and ten lifts open. Not a bad start for opening weekend. While I have seen better conditions for opening day, I have also certainly seen much worse. On the runs that were open the coverage was quite excellent and the skiing was pretty fun. The weather turned quite cold last Friday and as the weekend progressed, steadily got colder which means that snow making has been going full-speed, nonstop since Friday. I expect by this weekend we will see at least two more lifts open and several more runs particularly over on the Northside area. That's the good news, but unfortunately it doesn't look like there's any significant snow in the forecast for at least a week.

As is customary, on Deer Valley's opening weekend, we had the Deer Valley Celebrity Classic Ski Race. This is a yearly event and is a fundraiser for support the Waterkeeper Alliance, a clean-water advocacy group. Though the celebrities that show up are not necessarily the most well-known, the fun is in watching our local celebrities. Phil and Steve Mahre, Heidi Voelker, AJ Kitt all former members of the US Ski Team. Watching them you can see that the competitive juices have not left.

It looks like plans are starting to come together for a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Olympic winter games that were held here in Park City. There is talk of once again closing Main Street to vehicles, making it a pedestrian-only event with music and other events commemorating the 2002 Winter Olympics that were such a success. As this event starts coming together, I'll certainly let you know of it. This would be an event to make plans to come out and partake in.

In part of my efforts to stay as current as I can on the market I am constantly going out and looking at what's new and what's good. Last week I toured two areas of Deer Valley, the first being Empire Pass and the second the Silver Lake area at mid-mountain Deer Valley. The first thing that struck me was how little there is available. We've been talking for years that in spite of all the condos that were on the market in Empire Pass nothing new was being built and it would not be long before there was a shortage of available product. Well, this time has come. However, one place that is available and struck me as being one of the better buys, is a penthouse unit in the Arrowleaf building in Empire Pass. This is a true ski-in/ski-out, top floor unit with vaulted ceilings and spectacular views of Deer Valley. The unit features large windows, is beautifully furnished, comes with the full Talisker Club membership, and is listed for $2 million. Of everything that I saw in Empire I feel that this one is probably the best unit available. In the Silver Lake area of Deer Valley, I feel from everything that I've seen the best condo available is a 3-bedroom Stag Lodge in the main building where you literally walk out your door and you're standing on the ski slopes. This unit is also beautifully furnished and updated, has large windows to take in the views, and is listed for $2.8 million. While these are my favorites and what I feel are the best buys in each area, there is certainly a wide variety of homes and condos to choose from.

Ski season is here, the town is buzzing with anticipation, and rental condos are filling up for the season. So if you haven't already done it, book your vacation and feel free to either call or email me for the locals' inside information on ski conditions.

Tags: Park City Real Estate, Park City Realtor, Deer Valley Real Estate, Deer Valley Realtor, Skiing, Empire Pass Real Estate, Deer Valley
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Split Jet Stream, Skiers' Woe

By Dennis Hanlon
Nov 30, 2011

It is not uncommon in fall/early winter for a split jet stream to set up over the interior west. What occurs is that a strong and dominant high-pressure system takes hold of the western US. Low-pressure systems originating in the Gulf of Alaska typically move southward along the coast of British Columbia and swing inland anywhere between Northern California and Washington, sweeping over Utah and providing our famously fluffy powder snow. However when a high-pressure system sets up over the west as it is currently, as these low-pressure systems start to move inland they encounter the high-pressure and split apart. With one part going north over the top of the high-pressure and another section swinging south under the high-pressure leaving Utah warm and dry. This is the pattern that we are currently in. But the high pressure is just far enough to the west that the northern branch of the jet stream does clip Utah bringing us occasional light snowfall. This is what is going to happen this Wednesday and Thursday with probably not more than 3-4 inches of snow for the northern Utah resorts while the central and southern Utah mountains could see several feet.HMMM, Could we possibly switch this pattern for May, when it snows continuously and we want sunshine?

On a brighter note, Deer Valley opens this Saturday and conditions should be pretty decent for opening day. I haven't heard what is going to be open yet but I would expect runs down Bald Mountain, Flagstaff and Northside should be open. The Stein Eriksen Lodge, located on the mountain in Silver Lake, Deer Valley, has received the Forbes 5-Star rating for its spa. This is the only 5-star rating for a spa in the state of Utah and only one of 4 throughout the country. This is quite a feather in the cap for Stein's, as it completely redid its spa two years ago and has made great efforts to bring up the level of service.

Last week I spoke of The Montage Hotel here in Deer Valley. This week I'd like to talk about one of Deer Valley's other great hotels, The St. Regis. The St. Regis Hotel, located in the Deer Crest area of Deer Valley overlooking both the town of Park City and the Jordanelle Reservoir is truly one of the luxury hotels here in town. The St. Regis first started selling units in 2005, prior to completion of the hotel, The hotel was substantially completed in December of 2009 and at that time was about 60% sold. Even during the downturn of the economy the majority of owners who purchased during the pre-construction phase ended up closing on their units, and this year there have been four new sales in the St. Regis. There are only ten units available for sale, a one-bedroom listed for $1,370,000, two-bedrooms listed around $1,500,000, and three-bedrooms listed anywhere from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 depending on location and views. The hotel has the space, feel, and services that you'd expect from the St. Regis and certainly lives up to its brand. The St. Regis features a wonderful heated patio overlooking the ski slopes of Deer Valley, which is a favorite gathering spot for lunch or early afternoon cocktails in the spring and Sunday afternoons throughout the summer.

To get to the St. Regis, guest ride a funicular--a European-style cog train--from lower Deer Valley to the terminal in the St. Regis. Riding down the funicular in the evening with the lights of Deer Valley sparkling is something all visitors to Park City should experience.

Ski season is here and going strong. I have been arduously working off my Thanksgiving dinner, as I hope you have. So plan your trip to Park City, come see me in my office at Silver Lake in mid-mountain Deer Valley and let's go skiing. In the meantime, do your snowdance, drink a glass of wine to the Snow Gods, or whatever else you feel works to bring on the snow!

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We Are Skiing

By Dennis Hanlon
Nov 22, 2011

This past weekend four more Utah resorts opened for skiing. Brian Head in central Utah, Alta and Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and Park City Mountain Resort have all opened with very good conditions for the middle of November. We received about 6" of snow Friday night and snow has continued off and on all weekend and into today, Monday. This week, Thanksgiving week, Canyons Resort opens followed by Deer Valley the following weekend, December 3rd. With the early snow that we have been receiving and the resorts opening with very good conditions, the lodging companies are all reporting higher than normal bookings for the year. While in the past, management companies have all said that visitors are booking closer and closer to their actual vacation time to see who has the best snow and rates. This year with early snow throughout all of the Rockies, visitors are once again booking ahead and booking early to assure that they get the accommodations that they want.

Last week I was at a luncheon where we heard speakers from all three Park City resorts talking about what's new and what improvements the resorts have made over the summer months and also from White Pine Touring which operates the cross-country ski tracks around town. White Pine Touring also works closely with Mountain Trails Foundation which is a non-profit here in town dedicated to the building and maintenance of mountain biking and hiking trails throughout the mountains. Apparently the International Mountain Biking Association has named Park City as the best mountain biking town in the country. This is such a tribute to the Mountain Trails Foundation and the hard work that they do building and maintaining the Park City trail system.

On another note two weeks ago Park City, through our local radio station held a community wide call-in fundraiser for all of Park City's nonprofit organizations. I am very proud to say that our small town of Park City, permanent population of 7,000, contributed over $300,000 that day to our nonprofits. These non-profits are such an integral part of our community in maintaining hiking trails, putting on music festivals and contributing to the arts in town and this money will help assure their continued success. Way to go, Park City, and one of the things that I so much love about this town.
Last week I was up at the Montage Hotel at Empire Pass in Deer Valley and toured some of their new residences. They are absolutely stunning and the location of the Montage Hotel is in the "A" location for skiers. The Montage Hotel is located at the base of the Empire lift of Deer Valley with premium ski access to Deer Valley's most challenging expert terrain or the easy groomers of Northside. It is no wonder that The Montage has been a resounding success for both guests wishing to stay at the best Deer Valley has to offer or buyers wanting to own a condo in the heart of skiing.

Ski season is here so get your skis tuned up and waxed, and when you are out this winter, let me take you on a tour of Deer Valley and show you my favorite places to ski. Remember my office is mid-mountain Deer Valley in the Silver Lake Plaza, right across from the ticket booth.

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Third Quarter Resort Comparisons

By Dennis Hanlon
Nov 15, 2011

A very interesting observation as winter approaches North America is in watching reactions to forecasts of snow. When watching the news stations or weather channel I have noticed that when snow is forecast for most cities in North America or the US, it comes with a warning for travel and usually with advice for residents to avoid traveling outside and to stay at home. It does not seem to matter whether the forecast is for an inch of snow or several. Ski resort towns, on the other hand, not only do not panic with the forecast of snow, but instead celebrate it. The ski resorts in the western US really don't even take notice or start to get excited unless the forecast is for at least a foot. Then the excitement is not for concerns of traveling around town (we all know how to drive in snow) but rather the prospect of excellent skiing the next day. Just another example of how ski country people are just a little different from the rest of the country.
This past weekend we had a fairly decent storm with 8-10 inches of snow on the Park City side and between 1 and 2 feet in the Alta/Snowbird area. Unfortunately the combination of new snow and early season enthusiasm is a recipe for disaster. Over the weekend and mostly on Sunday, there were around a dozen skier/boarder-triggered avalanches in the Wasatch Range. And most unfortunately, pro-skier,  Jamie Pierre was killed in an avalanche at Snowbird Resort. Prior to the opening of the resorts--Snowbird and Alta don't open until this Friday--the resorts aren't doing avalanche control work and early season enthusiasts forget that while skiing at these resorts, one must take the same precautions as backcountry skiing. This is a lesson that is all too often learned too late.
The third quarter statistics for all of the resorts of the Western Mountain Resort Alliance have just come out and are pretty interesting. The statistics are for most of the major resorts in the western US: Whistler in British Columbia; Park City, Utah; Steamboat, Vail, and Crested Butte in Colorado; Sun Valley, Idaho; Big Sky, Montana; Lake Tahoe, California; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Pretty interesting that what I've been reporting for Park City all year is quite similar to what's happening at the other resorts. All year I've been reporting that the number of listings has been down (and for Park City it's down 6% over last year) and likewise, the other resorts are down anywhere from 2% in Whistler to 16% in Big Sky. Only Lake Tahoe is up at 6% and Jackson Hole is even from last year. Over this past year I've been saying the number of units sold has been up in Park City (which it has by 18%) and every resort except for Crested Butte is also showing number of sales up over last year. Vail is basically even, up only 1%. Big Sky, Montana has had the biggest increase at 40% in number of sales of last year, and Crested Butte is the anomaly down 45% in number of sales last year. I have been following these statistics since 1996 and pretty consistently, Vail has always sold about twice as much as we have in Park City. However last year and again this year, total dollar volume sold in Park City has surpassed Vail. Through September, Park City has sold just over $853,000,000 for a 7% increase over 2010. Vail, on the other hand, has sold just under $725,000,000, which is a 24% decrease over 2010. In looking at all of the resorts, four are up this year and five are down. Whistler, Park City, Steamboat and Big Sky are all showing increases in dollar volume over 2010. While Sun Valley, Vail, Lake Tahoe, Jackson and Crested Butte are all showing a decrease. Jackson Hole continues to have the highest average sales price of all resorts with the average sales price for all property types for the entire county of $1,225,000. By contrast, Vail, which we always assume is very expensive, is showing an average for all property types of $898,000 and Park City at $676,000. Jackson Hole has always been expensive because of the scarcity of developable land. Only 3% of all the land in and around Jackson is available for development. This is one of the big contrasts that we have here in Park City where one of our main issues is actually that there is too much land that can be developed. Please feel free to contact me for detailed or more specific information for any of these resorts.

The snow is piling up, the resorts are opening, Park City, Alta, and Snowbird open this weekend, so it's definitely time to find where your ski gear hid itself over the summer and get the ski legs in shape.

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Snow, snow, snow

By Dennis Hanlon
Nov 10, 2011

Last Saturday, Park City held a Snow Dance Parade on Main Street where everybody was encouraged to dress up in appropriate snow gear, ring cowbells and parade to bring on winter. Well, it worked! It's been snowing ever since, and all three resorts are making snow. Big news this week is the announcement of opening days. Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon opens this Thursday followed by Solitude on Friday. Park City, Snowbird and Alta are opening the following week on the 18th or 19th, Canyons on the 25th, and Deer Valley as is consistent, opens the first Saturday in December which is the 3rd this year. Fall has definitely ended and winter is here now for the duration.

The excitement in town is readily apparent with the ski shops getting all the new equipment out and everybody gearing up for a great winter. With last ski season showing a marked improvement in visitors to Park City over the 2009-2010 season, we are hoping the trend  will continue and with abundant snowfall visitors will come.

In real estate happenings, for the off-time of the year, we are remaining relatively busy. Buyers are continuing to take advantage of low prices and low interest rates to purchase their ski property prior to the arrival of winter visitors. I had some clients in town last week and their reasoning for coming this time of the year was the of the availability of properties to look at. With very few visitors in town right now getting appointments to see property is very easy, unlike during the height of the ski season when everything is rented. So if you are contemplating purchasing a ski property this year, this is a terrific time to come out and look. The availability is high and there is great selection of properties to look at.

The start of the ski season is just days away so continue working on your strength and agility exercises, and let's go skiing!

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Park City Mountain Resort Goes Green

By Dennis Hanlon
Oct 27, 2011

With all the talk over the last several years of global warming (or more correctly, climate change) and the concern that we have of ever-rising snow levels, the three Park City resorts have been taking steps to reduce and hopefully eliminate their carbon footprint. Several years ago both the Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort purchased wind power electricity and converted their fleets of snow groomers to bio diesel. This year Park City has gone a step further and installed a wind turbine at the top of the mountain along with solar panels with the goal of becoming completely independent from conventional electricity and using only renewable sources. This is a great move and I believe we'll see more and more resorts going this direction.

Last week I talked about my Hero Tree in the backyard that stays green well after the other trees have turned golden. This last weekend it finally gave up and started to turn. I guess this means the end of fall has arrived. While there's still a few splotches of gold in the mountains the leaves are coming off pretty quickly and we're entering the brown season. The brown season is when all the leaves are gone but snow has not yet arrived. It looks like we're going to get another small shot of snow this week and with very cold temperatures. I was just in Deer Valley purchasing my season pass for the year and saw that they had the snowmaking guns out. This is a good opportunity to remind everyone that on November 1 season pass and coupon book rates increase at our local resorts.


Continuing as we have been all fall, there is nothing terribly exciting in real estate  happening. However the past week my phone's been ringing with inquiries for ski condos prior to the start of the ski season. Prices continue to be low and interest rates remain at historic lows and buyers are taking advantage of this. On the flip side, as I mentioned last week, the number of new properties listed are decreasing significantly which is making it harder to find steals. There are great deals out there but I would caution buyers that if they're looking and find something that fits their requirements not to dawdle.

Last weekend the new Warren Miller ski film, Like There's No Tomorrow, premiered here in Park City and now of course everybody is enthused and ready for the start of ski season. If this film comes to a town near to you I recommend seeing it as it's one of his better ones in the last several years. With that, I hope to see you on the mountain this winter!

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My Hero

By Dennis Hanlon
Oct 19, 2011


I know every week I talk about just how beautiful it is and how it can't get any prettier...but it does! This weekend was the peak of the colors and it's absolutely spectacular. The hills were awash in color, the temperature was near 70 and then we had a little snow last night. My hero this week is an aspen tree in my backyard. While all the other aspens have turned bright gold and are starting to lose their leaves there is one that holds on and is still bright green. Way to go, aspen. Don't give up!


In real estate news the sales stats are in through the end of September and the trend we have been observing all year is continuing. Comparing year-to-date January 1 to September 30 of 2010 and 2011, the number of single family homes sold is up just over 17% and the average sales price of a home has risen 4.5% from $826,000 to $863,000. Condo sales are up just over 13% and continuing the trend we've seen all summer, average sales price is down about 27%, from $862,000 in 2010 to $623,000 in 2011. Looking at and comparing this September to last September, the number of homes sold was flat at 74 for each month but average sales prices rose almost 24% from $767,000 in September of 2010 to $948,000 for September of 2011. From September 2010 to September 2011 in condo sales, number of sales is up 21% and average sales price continues to decline to just over 35%. A major contributor to this decline was sales in lower Deer Valley where last year there was one sale with a sales price of $2,289,000 and this September there was again one condo sold but sold for $514,000. This shows a decrease in sales price of 77.5%. Now we know condo prices in Deer  Valley haven't decreased 77%; this is just a function of what sold this year compared to what sold last year. I believe that this holds true for the average sales price of homes and condos overall. I do not believe that home prices have increased 17-24% or that condo prices have dropped 27-36%, but rather more expensive homes are once again selling, but buyers are looking for the lower priced condos.


Also a continuing trend we've been following all year: the number of new listings continues to decrease. Year-to-date, 2010 to 2011, the number of new homes listed is down 15.6% and number of condos listed year-to-date is down 18.9%. Looking at September 2010 versus September 2011 the number of new homes listed was down almost 26% and number of new condos listed decreased 31%. I think we have several factors going on here of which I think the major factor is that many of our sellers are not desperate to sell, not in trouble, and are willing to wait until the market starts to return. This is also the message that most agents are telling their sellers: unless you really want to sell and are willing to price it according to today's market, don't sell. However, if the trend continues of number of sales increasing each month and numbers of new properties being listed decreases, something has to give and we're starting to see this. We're seeing well-priced properties selling quickly and we're seeing more and more multiple offers. With the economy continuing to waffle along and interest rates running historically low, buyers are definitely taking advantage of this opportunity and are purchasing. We know there will come a time when resort real estate cannot be purchased for today's prices and interest rates are not this low and we as agents will be hearing "I should have bought back then." If you're in the market for resort real estate don't let this be you.


Each week brings us closer to the opening week of ski season. Deer Valley opens in about 6 weeks so continue the leg workouts, the core body workouts and start focusing on aerobics. See you on the mountain this winter!

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Fall Colors and Snow

By Dennis Hanlon
Oct 12, 2011

Well the much-anticipated snow storm arrived on schedule last week and snowed off and on here for several days. Sunday morning it finally started to clear up so I drove up in the local mountains to take some very pretty pictures of snow-capped mountains blending in with the fall colors. It really is a magical time of year. But as the ground is still quite warm, all the snow down low has melted off. I do suspect that the higher elevations' north-facing slopes now have snow for the remainder of the year.



Last week's paper published the story that the Hotel Park City had signed an agreement with Marriott Hotels to be part of their flagship hotel chain. Well, this was a bit premature, as while the Hotel Park City is moving that direction and is close to signing, the deal has not been inked yet. From what I hear it is extremely likely this will happen and I think it will be a good benefit for condo owners at Hotel Park City as Marriott brings lots of name recognition and useful insights.

The big news this week is that the readers of Ski Magazine voted Deer Valley as the #1 Ski Resort in North America for the 5th season in a row. What makes this most remarkable is that no resort has received the #1 ranking 5 times, let alone in 5 consecutive years. Park City Mountain Resort received recognition as the #1 Family Resort and #6 overall. This is a tribute to not only our wonderful resorts, but also to the town of Park City, and all of the shop, restaurant and resort employees who strive to make every visitor feel welcome.

In other local news going on, grading for the Canyons Resort Golf Course is actually under way! Finally, after what seems to be an eternity of infighting, the various landowners have settled their differences and course construction has started. This will be extremely good news for Canyons Resort and owners of condos at Canyons Resort as this should make it a stand alone resort in Park City.

In other Canyons news in last week's post I had talked about the proposed lift connecting Canyons and Solitude Resort. This has been and continues to be a hot topic of conversation around town and interestingly enough in last Wednesday's paper there was a very well-written letter from a local skier in support of the lift. While he brought up many very good points I'm afraid that the majority of Parkites are either still against the proposal or at best skeptical. This debate reminds me of a debate that went on here in the late 1980s concerning the idea that Park City had of putting in a lift connecting Main Street  Park City to the resort. This lift as envisioned would cross Park Avenue (one of the main entrances into town) and unload right in the commercial district. At the time, I remember being quite surprised at how vocal and widespread the opposition to this was. Well, the lift did go in, the ski run crosses Park Avenue as does the lift and it accesses hotels and restaurants in downtown Park City. Since this has gone in I've heard no opposition, just kudos for what a good idea it was. Will this be the same result as the Canyons' proposal to hook up with Solitude? Who knows, but I will certainly keep you posted as to how it's going.

Other than that it's a pretty slow time of the year and everyone is just enjoying a bit of relaxation before winter madness starts. Wolf Creek Resort in southeastern Colorado received over 3 feet of snow and is the first resort in the US to open. I have seen several videos posted on the web of people skiing Alta so it's not far away. Continue working out and I look forward to seeing you skiing this winter.

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It Was Only a Matter of Time

By Dennis Hanlon
Oct 04, 2011

After quite possibly the most beautiful September on record, it appears this will all come to an end as the first significant winter storm is forecast for later this week. Heavy rains starting Wednesday, turning to snow Thursday with the snow level lowering to around 6,000 feet; well below Park City which is at 7,000'. While everyone will be sad to see these warm, beautiful cloudless days come to an end, it's also exciting to see the snow come as it is a preview to  the upcoming ski season. Come back next week for photos of snow-covered mountains combined with fall foliage, usually quite spectacular.

The other big news for the week here in Park City was an announcement by the Canyons Resort that they would like to connect the Canyons with Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon by chairlift. Not surprisingly, the overall reaction has been less than warm. In fact, downright chilly. I say not surprisingly because as long as I have been in Park City (since 1984) there have been various proposals to connect some or all seven of the local ski resorts together. This can be accomplished with about four chairlifts and would make the most incredible ski resort in North America, if not the world. While this is quite common in Europe, connecting ski resorts owned by different entities is virtually unheard-of in the U.S. I only know of one that has done this, and that is Snowbird and Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon here in Utah. The strongest and most vocal opponent to connecting the Canyons and Solitude is the Save Our Canyon organization. This is a group of backcountry skiers who strongly oppose any new development in either Little or Big Cottonwood Canyon and have been able to rally enough support to block any ski area expansion. I'm not sure that Talisker Corp, the owner of the Canyons Resort fully grasps the fight that they're going to have on this. In the 7 days since this announcement has come out, there have been two editorials and several letters in our local paper opposing the expansion and the Save Our Canyons organization has already posted this on their website and is garnering opposition. So this will be an interesting battle to see what happens, but I can assure you, it is unlikely that there will be a chairlift connecting the Canyons and Solitude for the next ski season. This will be a many year fight primarily because any proposed skiing and lifts crosses Forest Service land.

In real estate news, there was an article recapping last summer's visitor count here in Park City and while specific visitor numbers have not been tallied interviews with various hotel owners or management companies indicated that the summer was a mixed bag. Overall, visitor nights were up but not consistently throughout the summer and average daily rental rate was up only slightly if at all. For the upcoming ski season, the major holidays (Christmas, Sundance, President's week) are just about completely booked and I have heard the Deer Valley ski school is completely booked for Christmas. The trend for the last few years has been for winter visitors, other than for the major holidays, to book closer and closer to their actual trip. Generally waiting to see which resorts have the best snow, where they can get the best rates, etc. If this storm comes in this week as expected, we typically see a marked increase in phone reservations as early snowfalls usually makes national news and piques the interest of skiers.

So, winter is coming! Continue your workouts and I look forward to seeing you on the ski slopes this winter.

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Underwear Runners Strike Salt Lake

By Dennis Hanlon
Sep 29, 2011


This past Saturday the big protest in Salt Lake, was, as only Utah can have it, about 3,000 people stripping down to their underwear (nudity was not allowed of course) and running en masse to the State Capitol in a protest of Utah's overbearing morality laws. If this will actually have any effect on the Legislature and its opinions is doubtful but it certainly is humorous. Way to go, Utah: throw caution to the wind and take chances.

On a much more positive note, the fall colors are absolutely astounding. It seems that they're changing by the minute. The weather for the past week just doesn't get any better. Temps in the low 70s, bright blue skies, the maples are bright red and the aspens are just beginning to turn. I took a drive this past weekend up in the mountains and it was truly breathtaking. If you ever get a chance to come out and see the fall colors in the Rockies, forget New England: this is where you need to be. As I mentioned a moment ago, the aspens are just starting to turn so we've only got another 3 weeks of peak colors. Yes it's been a little late this year which I suspect it's due to the wet spring and summer.

In real estate news, there's nothing really exciting to report. Sales continue to be quiets strong for this time of the year. In looking at what's selling, its still all over the board from the very low condos in the $100,000 range to the multi-million dollar homes and condos. I have noticed that multiple offers are occurring more frequently on well-priced properties again in all price ranges. The stock market continues its dizzying roller-coaster ride but seems to be holding about where it was 3 years ago. It seems if it goes above this point it doesn't stay for long and comes back down, and the same is true if it drops below the 3-year average: doesn't stay long and comes back up. What this means for real estate: I haven't a clue. So far it doesn't seem to be having a strongly negative effect but I think this winter is going to be very telling.

Forecast is for storms to start rolling through next weekend and into the following week, so this may be the first significant sign of winter approaching. So continue the leg-strengthening exercises, get your core muscles strong, and I look forward to seeing you on the slopes this season.

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