By Todd Anderson
Dec 16, 2010
The Real Estate market in Park City, Utah has not been immune to the value changes that the rest of the country has seen. Early on in the National housing and credit collapse many agents in Park City claimed that our area was insulated and we would not be affected by the changes the rest of the country was experiencing. An in depth analysis of our market now shows that market changes in Park City mirror the national averages. Prices have retreated to the 2005-2006 levels in many areas while falling well below that in the outlying areas of the city. The change has occurred in residential entry level condominiums and every market segment right through multi-million dollar luxury ski villas.
Changes can be seen not only in sales prices, but also in the mindset of the Buyers. Park City is a destination ski resort area offering arguably one of the county's best vacation and second home experiences. The things that made Park City desirable before the economic change have not changed, but the Buyers now have a different perspective on real estate here. Buyers still want to own in Park City and the emotion behind the decision to buy here has not changed. The focus that drives which Park City home a Buyer purchases has changed and the emotional drive toward a particular home is gone. In past years Buyers fell in love with a home, now the buyers can be just as focused on the deal as they are a particular home. Park City real estate buyers now often have a somewhat indifferent attitude to the home or condominium they are purchasing; as long as they are getting a deal, they love the home.
Prospective property owners are writing offers on multiple homes with the intent of purchasing whichever property presents the best bargain. Park City real estate Buyers are still focused within a particular area, property type, and price range, but the message to Sellers is "I like your home best, but I'll substitute it with the home down road or in the next subdivision if I believe it represents is a better value".
Tags: bargain, Buyer, condominium, deal, home, Luxury, Park City, purchase, seller, Ski, Utah
Posted in buyers, Park City Real Estate Notes, sellers |
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By Todd Anderson
Feb 21, 2010
As a real estate professional in Park City, Utah the most common question I hear after "How is the market?" is probably "What's the best deal in town?"
There are so many factors that go into what a deal is that the question is nearly impossible to answer without asking at least 20 more questions. I generally respond by trying to find out how the prospective Buyer will use the home. With nearly 1500 Single Family Homes and Condominiums available in the Greater Park City area, there are many deals.
Often times as we look at a deal, we are looking back and making a comparison to what things were a few years ago. With this as the criteria, there are a ton of great real estate deals in Park City. Unfortunately, they may also have been a deal back then when someone bought the property. We just don't have a crystal ball, and don't know what the future will be in terms of value.
The recent influx of bank owned and distressed sales bring many questions about the "deals" in our market. When we make comparisons between the asking price of the bank owned properties and a nearby home or condominium, a very close look needs to be taken in terms of deferred maintenance and what it will take to make this property a true equivalent of the other nearby properties. The risk factor in what may have been covered up (water damage is very common) and what you won't learn about a home due to banks' "as is" and ‘non-occupant" addendums. Distressed sales throw another variable into the picture: Can the home truly be purchased for the advertised price, and if so, how long will it take?
Best Buys can take on many different forms in Park City and will be very different for every buyer. A best buy may be the $4 million ski-in/ski-out home that needs $1 million in renovations or it may be the new studio condominium at the base of The Canyons that is auctioned off with an asking price of under $150,000. Sometimes the Best Buy is the home that hasn't been for sale that you've been watching for years that can finally be yours. In the end, it should be the place that is best for you the Buyer, the perfect home or weekend get-away that you will use to its fullest making memories and enjoying the Park City lifestyle.
Financing can also play a part of a Park City real estate Best Buy, not only what you can get from a conventional source, but Seller financing options and lease options can make a property a deal.
Let us help you in your search for your Park City Best Buy. Contact a real estate professional with YouInParkCity.com .
Tags: best buy, condominium, deal, distressed, financing, home, lifestyle, Park City real estate, sale, seller, Utah
Posted in buyers, Park City Real Estate Notes |
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By Todd Anderson
Oct 02, 2009
Buy It for All the Right Reasons
I recently had someone walk into the office asking questions based on what seems to be the most common theme right now: "What is the best deal in town?" This gentleman then went on to tell me he'd be flying in from Texas to use the home or condominium and reiterated that he was looking for a bargain.
I probed for some more background: Do you think you will be using it more in the summer or winter? Are you a skier, golfer, hiker, biker, fisherman, horseman, shopper? Will your family be coming with you? How many bedrooms would you like? Will you be renting it when you aren't using it yourself? Do you picture this as a retreat of sorts or an access point to recreation? Do you envision possibly living in the home full time at some point in the future? How familiar are you with the Park City area? Have you vacationed here in the past?
Almost all of the responses were at best vague and ended with "I'm just looking for a good deal". I went on to try and explain that there are great values in just about every neighborhood within Park City. Pricing has retreated back to pre 2005 levels and inventories are high, there is no contesting the fact that we are in a Buyers market.
"So what is the best deal in town under $1.5M?" the gentleman asked as he grabbed flyers ranging from a fractional interest condominium to a slope-side home to a horse ranch with 20+ acres and everything in between -asking "what about this area?" for each flyer.
During the flyer barrage he mentioned a home he'd seen yesterday and that he was working with another REALTOR® and planning to write an offer - what did I think of X as an offer price (about 35% off the asking price for what most that have been in the home would consider a very well priced Park City home already)? I offered the same advice that I give to my own clients.
Take some time and figure out how you will use the Park City or Deer Valley property you wish to purchase. Will it become home, a family vacation get-away, an income producing property, an investment flip or whatever? There are strong values and even some outright "steals" in our market, but many of the values should not be measured by a pure monetary value. What value can you put on the memories, lifestyle and pure enjoyment that owning Park City can bring?
While the end result of your purchase in Park City may well prove to be a good investment financially when you decide to sell, the rewards you receive while you own here are truly the right reason to buy Park City real estate.
Tags: Buyer, condominium, deal, Deer Valley, home, lifestyle, market, Park City real estate, property, realtor, value
Posted in buyers, Park City Golfing, Park City Real Estate Notes, Park City Skiing |
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By Todd Anderson
May 13, 2008
Short sale and foreclosure property always seem to catch people's attention. The idea of really getting a "steal" on property peaks investor and home-buyer interest. While a short sale can be a great deal, there are a few things to consider before you go searching for that "steal".
First we should define a short sale. A short sale is a sale of property in which the sale price is less than the value of the loans against the property. Short sales can be initiated by the seller (property owner), but must be approved by the parties with loans which are using the property as collateral. The purpose of the short sale is to try and sell the home before it is foreclosed upon (lenders tend to lose more money in a foreclosure sale than a short sale).
The parties on the selling side are losing money in the deal. The seller is losing whatever equity they had in the property (unless they got in with some type of "exotic" loan with no money down or cash out at the original loan origination (in this event the seller may not be losing real money, but is still damaging their credit)). The lien-holders are losing whatever money that was their original loan less the sale price. Secondary lien-holders stand to lose nearly all of their loan amounts. All of these parties have to agree to take their losses. None of them wants the loss and few of them want to admit they made a bad loan. The loss that a 1st mortgage holder is willing to accept is generally about 20%-40% (they usually stand to lose as much as 60% in a foreclosure). Second or junior lien-holders also have to approve the sale. If in anyone's judgment the sale price is too low, they can refuse or send a counter-offer back to the Buyer.
Timing may be the most confusing and frustrating issues that short sales present. Unlike a normal offer and acceptance type of negotiation, once the offer has been accepted by the seller, the contract must be approved by all parties holding liens on the property. These parties do not respond in a timely manner. There is often quite a bit of bureaucratic "red tape" to get through in approving a short sale and just finding the correct representatives that can approve the sale can be very frustrating. And while this process may take months (this is not an exaggeration) for the "third parties" to get approval back to the buyer, they will then ask for a closing within days.
This timing issue means that as a Buyer, you need to keep from getting emotionally attached to the property and have no need to move quickly into owning the property. On the other hand, the Buyer needs to be able to move very quickly through their due diligence, evaluations and approvals as the third parties may ask for the sale to close within 10 days of their approval (in a "normal" sale this would be a 25-30 day process).
Another curve that is thrown into the short sale is that the seller can (and will) keep marketing the home while the Buyer's offer is awaiting approval in hopes of another or better offers. So it may be months before you find out that your offer was bettered by someone else and you should have been trying to find something else instead.
Buying a home can be very stressful and buying a home in a short sale situation is even more stressful. That being said, there are some short sale properties available in the Park City area (though not nearly as many as in areas where the housing market is "depressed") and they may represent a good value for the Buyer. If you want to know more about the short sale process and whether it is an option that works for your Park City real estate needs, contact us at http://www.youinparkcity.com/
Tags: buyers, deal, foreclosure, home-buyer, investor, Park City, property, Real Estate, short sale, Utah
Posted in buyers, Park City Real Estate Notes |
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Jenny Clark