Park City is a member of the Western Mountain Resort Alliance which gathers quarterly to discuss and share real estate information in the ski towns of Vail, Steamboat, Sun Valley, Whistler, Big Sky, Jackson Hole and Lake Tahoe. The most recent meeting provided some interesting real estate activity information for the ski towns of the west.

 

Inventory levels in all of the resort areas providing data fell versus last year (and 2011 had shown a similar decrease in inventory levels). Similarly, all of the resorts reported an increase in the number of sales (with the exception of Park City which reported the same number of sales in the first 2 quarters of 2012 as in 2011). Changes in prices varied among the resorts, but Park City, Vail and Lake Tahoe all reported relatively small changes when compared to 2011.

 

The resort areas of Park City, UT, Vail, CO and Lake Tahoe, CA appear quite similar statistically. The real estate markets in each of these resort areas are much larger in terms of available inventory, sales, and number of active agents than the other resorts that participate in the WMRA. The average sales price in each of these three resort towns for homes and condominiums showed little variance between 2011 and 2012 (less than 2%).

 

Statistically the resorts are showing signs of price stability and the decreasing inventories are making it tougher for buyers to find what they want which should in time lead to increasing prices. Many of the real estate markets in California are showing signs of improvement and the fact that all of these resorts see many visitors and second homeowners from California should also lead to increasing demand.

 

While some people may try and make decisions based on resort real estate values, comparing the different resorts and their real estate values doesn’t make much sense. Each resort has its pros and cons and these vary for the individual purchasing or selling in each area. But seeing the similar trends in pricing and sales currently may signal a bottom of the market.

 

For more information specific to the Park City, UT area and local Park City real estate values contact a professional with the YouInParkCity.com Group at (888)968-4672 or send us an email at info@YouInParkCity.com.