Park City's Real Estate market today

A question we are all asking constantly - what is the market like in Park City today? 

Should I sell now? Should I buy now? 

Well, as I have said before, my crystal ball isn't working! However, we can look at some really interesting indicators to make some educated choices.

Today we have the lowest inventory since 2007, approx 820 single family and condo listings in Park City including Park City Proper and Park City Extended. These areas include Deer Valley, Park City, Snyderville Basin ( Silver Springs, Canyons etc) Trailside, Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook, Summit Park, Glenwild and Promontory and everything in between.

In 2010 there were approx 2600 properties on the market in those same areas.  This change has created a shift from a Buyer's market to a Balanced market.  We are not in a Seller's market where homes are flying off the market at highly increased prices, but we definitely have seen a shift.

Stats courtesy of Rick Klein, Wells Fargo Mortgage. For full stats package, email me at heather@parkcityhousehunters.com

Foreclosures have slowed, short sales are much fewer which is causing the regular inventory to sell. We are just not seeing the screaming deals like we have in the past few years. What does this all mean to you?

In my opinion if you are looking to buy, it doesn't pay to gamble. Rates are lower than we will probably ever see again, home prices have not jumped - it is a win-win.
Call me for more information about any home or condo in Park City.
Heather Feldman
435-731-0803
heather@parkcityhousehunters.com
SEARCH THE PARK CITY MLS

When is a Short Sale a good deal ?

When is a short sale a good deal?

Short sales can snag a great property for a buyer at a screaming deal…sometimes.

Short sales can take months and months before the bank accepts an offer, it can be one of the most frustrating purchases you can make, and it isn’t always your best deal. If you would like more detailed information about Short Sales, read on…

Buyers make the mistake of assuming because it is a short sale it is automatically their best deal.  Sometimes they’re right.  Many times the seller owes such large amounts to the bank and the bank(s) price the home based on what they are willing to take, not what the current market dictates.   

So, in a nutshell here is how the typical short sale works:

• Seller decides/needs to sell, they owe more on the home than they can sell it for. Maybe they bought at the top, maybe they borrowed against the home – either way their loan is too high. 
•  The seller goes through an arduous process to get the bank to agree to allow a short sale
• Bank agrees to a short sale, home is placed on the market.
•   Some sellers continue to maintain the home, others do not
• Short sale homes are sometimes not available to show very easily, or are not listed with the local brokerage ( have to wonder about their motives – to sell it or squat until they are booted out?)

Pricing:

• Most banks won’t tell the Seller or the Agent what they feel an acceptable price is, and it is left up to the agent to list and price the property to sell.  
•  Some agents price the property to reflect market value, some go just below and some properties are priced like a K-Mart blue light special.
•  Banks will conduct a BPO – Broker Price Opinion of what the property pricing should be. This is based on closed sales within a given area. This number can depend on which properties the broker uses for comparison.  Did they use a good range of sold properties or just the distressed ones?

The process:

The short sale process can take months and months to complete. There is no standard processing time or procedure the banks follow.  Many times the bank will not even look at any offers for weeks and weeks. The Buyer’s agent has no ability to communicate with the bank – the listing agent often has spotty communications with the bank.  You place the offer and wait, and wait and wait. 

Many Buyers get anxious and become tired of waiting. They walk away and find another property. In Utah, earnest money is not required of the Buyer until acceptance by the bank, so it is easy to walk away.  The banks don’t always use logic when choosing the offer they like.  You could give them a full priced cash offer closing in 3 weeks and they might choose a lower financed offer closing in 5 weeks because it serves their purposes better – or maybe they are just too busy and approve the first one they grab off the pile on their desk! Plan on longer than you think it will take. Don’t give up your rental until you have bank acceptance and loan approval.  

Things to ask:

When you are working with an experienced buyer’s agent, they will do the research to find out if this property is viable. Here are some of the questions your agent should get answered for you prior to getting emotionally invested in a home:

•  Where is the bank in the short sale process
• Do they have any offers currently?
• Are they planning on submitting multiple offers
• Have they had past offers and how has the bank responded?
•  Is this home priced in a reasonable range to make it a good deal and worth the wait?

If the short sale process has just started, the bank is less likely to take a low ball offer and will be more likely to try and get the highest price possible.  If there are offers in currently that can make the possibility of your offer getting accepted lower. Sometimes the bank will work with the first offer until it dies or closes, then move on to the next.  If the seller is planning on submitting multiple offers you know you will have some competition to face and should offer accordingly. How the bank has responded to past offers can be an indicator of how long the process could take.  If the home is in a $700,000 neighborhood and is priced at $850,000, chances of getting a screaming deal price are slim and none – at least not right away.

Things to avoid:

·         Click the links below to see some of the Short Sale pitfalls to avoid:

Nolo Legal - short sale fraud scams 

 AOL - Short Sale flopping

5 common buyer short sale mistakes 

SEARCH THE PARK CITY MLS

Park City Utah median sales price up

Park City, Utah –The highlight for the first quarter of 2012, as reported by the Park City Board of REALTORS®, is that the median sales price for vacant land and condos, in all areas, has gone up. The median sold price for condos went from $335,000 in the first quarter of 2011 to $401,628 for quarter one in 2012.

This is great news for any Park City homeowner.

A year ago, we continued to see downward pressure on prices which seems to have flattened.  “Prices throughout our market seem to have stabilized, and in certain segments prices have started to increase.  We saw this trend start in 2011 with single family homes, and we are now seeing it in condo and vacant land sales,” says Mark Seltenrich, statistician for the Park City Board of REALTORS®.  He adds, “In certain parts of the market, and in certain areas, some pent up demand is being demonstrated and even among buyers there is little talk of prices continuing to fall.”

Click here to read the entire article

For information on any Park City, Utah home, condo or investment property, contact me at
heather@parkcityhousehunters.com

The Best Place to live in Park City Utah

Visitors come to Park City, fall in love and want to start a great life here.  Just like I and many others did!
The tough part is how to choose which area is best for you and your family.

What should you do? Drive around? Ask some locals? Sure, both of those are great starting points, but really your Park City Realtor should be a main source for information.

If your Realtor is good, they make it their business to know the ins and outs, the plusses and minuses of each area. Jeremy Ranch is not the same as Silver Springs or Prospector etc.  I don't just look at comps and stats, in most cases we have friends in each area, I have worked with the HOA's, I may even live in the area you are interested in.

My job is to figure out what is important to you. How important is  it to have easy access to the I-80 fwy? What do you and your family like to do in your free time? Are your kids young enough to play at a park, and if so, how close do you want to be to it? Do you want to walk to shops and restaurants? Do you like a neighborhood feel or solitude? View or mountain feel?

I don't sit you down with a questionairre, although that might be a good option! We sit down and talk, we spend time together to really figure out what works for you. The area that is best for one buyer may not work at all for another - even if the answers are the same.

In the next few blogs I will go over some of the local neighborhoods and why they may work for you.

For all Real Estate in Park City, call me at 435-731-0803
Heather Feldman
SEARCH THE PARK CITY MLS

Selling your Home? A few things NOT to do!

So, you're thinking about putting your home on the market. Good Idea!

A few things you don't want to do:


Don’t allow Deferred Maintenance ruin your chances of selling.

Ever hear the term “Deferred Maintenance”? What exactly does that mean anyway?

Deferred Maintenance is a nice way of referring to household maintenance that has not been kept up on or done. As a buyer walks through your home, they are falling in love with the floorplan, with how their family will live in this home and starting to imagine their furniture in there, right? Maybe. They also are walking through noticing all the repairs needed to your home and getting a sour taste in their mouth wondering what needs attention that they can’t see.

What to do? Have a friend walk your home and look for cosmetic items with a buyer’s eye for items that look dirty or worn- paint, carpet, dirty vents, crumbling grout etc. They will see things you have walked past for years. If you really want to make sure deferred maintenance does not become an issue once your home is for sale, get an inspection and fix whatever comes up on the inspection. You won’t catch every single item, but you have a good chance of the sale not falling out because of the condition of your home.

The next big one:

Disclose everything!!! Even if you think it is inconsequential.

Your agent should impress upon you the importance of disclosing everything. If they try to tell you that basement flooding or the car sliding down the driveway into the dining room isn't worth disclosing, RUN!

Case in point – had a home under contract recently. It was my buyer’s dream home. The seller filled out the required seller’s disclosure form, which indicated no known problems with the home in a number of categories. During the inspection a sizable water intrusion was discovered. Water stains on the baseboards and eventually mold was found near the source of the intrusion.

My buyer ‘s first reaction was to wonder what else they were hiding. What else was wrong with this home that the seller was not telling us about? The seller suddenly remembered an occasion where water came in through the window during a heavy rain season. Amazing how that works! The water intrusion is discovered and miraculously they remember it. Cynical? Maybe, or maybe just a reasonable reaction to an unfortunate situation. Not an insurmountable situation, just one that leaves the buyer uneasy.

In this case, if the seller had not allowed this water intrusion become Deferred Maintenance ( they did not remedy the situation as they could have) and disclosed the water intrusion and what they did to remedy it, this sale may have been saved. Now, the buyer must start over in their search for a home and the seller starts over looking for a new buyer. Hopefully they will amend their seller’s disclosure to lawfully show the issues at hand and maybe even fix them prior to the next buyer discovering them.

As a seasoned Realtor, we see deferred maintenance all the time. It doesn’t necessarily kill every sale, but it can put a seed of doubt in a buyer’s mind. How refreshing  it is to list a home where it is evident the owner has taken care of it and in a timely manner. Sure makes our job easier, and the sale of the home a stronger possibility. In Park City we find buyers from out of the area will respond better to a home that needs less attention. It is usually too difficult to have repairs and remodeling done from a long distance.

The Moral of this story:

Maintain your home, get all items fixed prior to listing and DISCLOSE!

Looking for a ski property or investment property?

Call me for more information about Park City, Utah.

Heather Feldman 435-731-0803

Is your Realtor doing a good job with your listing?

Touchy subject, I know.

How do you know if your Realtor is doing a good job with your property?

If it sells have they done a good job? If it doesn't sell are they doing a poor job?

Here are some guidelines to follow when evaluating whether your agent is worth holding on to, or when choosing an agent:


1. Do they answer their phone and email? Not just when you call, but for potential buyers and other agents. I cannot tell you how many times I call on a property to show it or ask questions for a potential buyer and never get any communication back. Test your agent. Have your friends and associates call just to see what happens. If your agent is not calling/emailing back within a reasonable time frame, this is a red flag. Many times buyers and agents will move on to the next property and not even bother to show it.



2. Is your property listed in the appropriate MLS? How unfortunate for the seller that wants to help out a friend with their real estate career and lists their property in the wrong area. In Park City, we have our own MLS that covers the Wasatch back - Park City, Midway, Heber ,Oakley and surrounding areas. Many times a home will be listed with a Salt Lake agent who is not a member of our MLS, so when the agents that work and sell up here pull properties to show, that one won't show up, and most likely won’t be shown.



3. Is your property being marketed in the most effective way for your area? Each area has a proven method for marketing that works. Some areas it is the newspaper, other areas it is a local magazine or radio program. For many resort areas the internet is the most effective tool available. Find out not just the circulation of the marketing tool, but the results of the marketing tool. When looking for a buyer in a resort market like Park City, they aren't usually reading our local paper or listening to KPCW, our local radio station. They begin their search on the internet, they ask their friends for a referral to a local Realtor. Then they start their search.



4. Has your agent helped you prepare your home for sale? Prior to listing, your agent should conduct a walkthrough with you and help with suggestions for decluttering, staging and a list of items to fix. Your agent should tell you how important these things are in the sales process. If a home appears dirty or unkempt, buyers will subconsciously look for deferred maintenance and wonder how the seller could possibly keep up with maintenance when they can’t even keep up with the daily clutter. I offer my sellers a no charge 1 hour consultation with a home staging expert to really give them the edge on the competition.



5. Pricing. Even if you and your agent do everything possible to stage and prepare your home for showing, price will determine whether you get activity and offers. In today’s market price is everything. Every agent should know the maximum activity will come in the first few weeks of listing the property. Having said that, is your agent sharing the feedback with you? Are you acting on it?





6. The key to helping the seller make the right choices is feedback. Feedback comes in two forms - agent feedback from showings, and market feedback in terms of how the homes with which you are competing are responding. Are other similar properties selling and yours is not? Examine why - most of the time it will come down to price.

We know that the majority of the time the buyer that purchases your home will be represented by a Realtor other than the listing agent. So if there are no showings by agents, then they are not all on vacation. They are showing other homes that their buyers think offer the most value. Overpriced properties will only be shown to demonstrate to buyers why another home is a good deal, and they will sit unsold.



So ask your Realtor for a market update. Use this information wisely. Your agent can send you a detailed report where you can look at each and every property that has sold. Were they really better than yours or just marketed better and priced right?



For all of your Park City, Utah Real Estate needs call me today.

Heather Feldman

435-731-0803

Rental demand on the rise

I love being right!
I have been preaching this for years. I  watched it happen in the last down cycle and here it comes again. In light of the recent recession and unprecedented number of foreclosures, rentals are in high demand. I think we all know what happens to prices once something is in demand...prices rise. It only makes sense...people have to live somewhere. If they can't buy, they rent.

Here in Park City, rentals are tough to find and not cheap. Especially if you are looking mid-ski season. Good Luck!
Check out this article from Inman News about just that - rental demand on the rise.

Inman News Rentals on the Rise

Are you ready to be a landord in Park City? Make some money on your investment and wait for the equity? Contact me at 435-731-0803 or heather@parkcityhousehunters.com

Octoberfest and beautiful fall color at Snowbird

Today was a fall color capturing day and some great fun at Snowbird's Octoberfest. Great fun - We toured the market place, ate some great bratwurst and enjoyed the gorgeous fall color.
See the short video below for the Alpenhorn concert at the top of the Tram. Very cool.

Octoberfest was busy today! The picture below was taken from the Chicadee lift.

Pic looking toward the Salt Lake valley from top of Snowbird.

The most exciting part of the day was not caught on film...when I went head over bull on the mechanical bull ride! I have heard a rumor that there is a video out there somewhere...

Beautiful valley on the way to Midway via Brighton.



Should you buy a rental property in Park City right now?

Rental properties can be a great source of income and can give you a family getaway

all in one – if you are educated and prepared.

The question to ask yourself is, do you want to buy a residential long term lease type of property or a vacation rental?

Residential long term rental:
Great way to go in the Park City Market. Typically, there are a few factors that create the rental market to skyrocket. Demand grows when buyers are priced out of the market. Rental demand also grows in times like we have now where the ability to get a loan is very challenging. You have many families out there that have experienced a short sale, a foreclosure or simply are self-employed and cannot get a loan. These people have to live somewhere! Right now we have rental requests coming across our Realtor e-blasts like crazy.

Vacation property rentals:
Ideal if you wish to use the property and enjoy all Park City has to offer and get some cash to boot! While the market can wax and wane, there are many properties here in Park City that can produce a nice income. The prices are nice and low right now, so there is the upside of possible appreciation as the market grows and changes.

A few things to think about when purchasing a rental property:


Price is key!

A bargain now will help you to better withstand fluctuations in rental income and property value over time so you can profit if and when you eventually sell. You need to develop a deep understanding of the area in which you are buying. You can keep making low-ball offers and wait for the deal you want, but great bargains generally get snapped up and often times have multiple offers, so you need to be able to act quickly once your target’s in sight. Be ready. Get pre-qualified and do your homework. Prices are low here in Park City right now.

Choose the right area

Rental properties don’t always make good neighbors, but there are a few tricks to making it work. Overall, it’s important to find a community where your rental property will have a good chance of being accepted, and the ritziest corner of town may not be it. In Park City, it all depends on what your rental goal is. Nightly rental? Long term? The answer to that question will determine which area in which you should purchase.


Many Park City neighborhoods don't allow nightly rentals, and they are too far from the slopes to be in demand. Old Town, and Deer Valley's areas are in demand for nightly rentals. Long term rental areas are numerous here, and each so different. Pinebrook and Jeremy Ranch are ideal for families and for those that commute to Salt Lake City. Trailside rents almost immediately because of the proximity to the elementary school. Park Meadows is a good alternative for those that love to be close to Main Street.

Regardless of what neighborhood you choose, you never want your property to be the worst-looking one on the street, or complaints and possibly citations may follow. If you choose a property which visibly needs maintenance, you should budget to correct these issues within the first year, and ideally prior to renting it at all. This helps to show the township or city officials that you’re one of the good landlords, committed to keeping your property up, and can make a huge difference in your experiences over the life of the property.

Look for a Property that is easy to Maintain

That historic Old Town Miner's Cottage home you’ve been ogling may feature charm and character, but you’ll have difficulty making changes to this home and repairs can be never ending. And if the property is a single family home, you must consider snow removal. Does it have heat tape? Areas where snow could build up and create ice dams? In the Mountains you have more to consider. A house which has simple, solid construction, where everything’s easy to access and uses relatively standard materials, is generally the easiest and most inexpensive to maintain.

Complicated landscaping may be expensive to maintain as well; I recommend properties with a simple, small lawn, nice manageable planting bed, and ideally a large rock garden or patio. Pay special attention to the driveway. A steep, long driveway will be expensive to plow and add to your cost of maintenance.

Special considerations in Park City to think about

Basements are the norm here in Park City, but some are built in areas that can flood in high snow years. What will you do if your sump pump malfunctions? Are you able to deal with a flooded basement?
Make sure the home you buy does not have plumbing pipes on exterior walls .Frozen pipes are a headache you don't need with nightly or long term renters.
Snow removal can be costly and is absolutely necessary. Make sure you figure this in your budget.

Look out for safety issues

An excellent value for the money, a licensed home inspector can help to identify potential safety and maintenance issues and even provide ballpark estimates for correcting these. I always recommend to my buyers to have a property inspected, especially an investment property.

Radon, lead paint, asbestos and mold are four primary concerns, as they pose significant health risks and can be expensive problems, requiring specialists to remediate. Pay close attention to walkways - negligence can be costly. Heat or remove snow and ice daily to prevent accidents.

As a landlord, there are certain things you need to pay special attention to in order to prevent potential lawsuits. Some of these include:

Exterior stairways without handrails or where ice/snow/rain may cause a slip hazard

Steep steps

CO and smoke detectors (fire hazard)

Obstructed doorways or exits (fire hazard)

Broken windows/glass

Cracks or unevenness in sidewalks, driveways, or walkways (trip hazard)

Open electrical circuits, outlets or wires (electrocution hazard)

Unsecured hot tubs (drowning hazard)

Lack of GFI outlets near kitchen/bathroom water facilities (electrocution hazard)


As a rental property owner, you have an increased risk of lawsuits overall, so safety is a primary concern, but accidents still happen. Owners often choose to limit their personal liability risk by establishing each property as its own LLC. It is advisable to consult a lawyer to ensure that your other assets will be protected in the event of a lawsuit.



Who will manage this property?

Unless you are an expert at marketing, pricing and maintaining your rental property, you need a good property manager.

What would you do if your nightly renter calls late one night because he lost his key? How about the heat or water not working in a snowstorm? You need a property manager that has a staff of professionals they can call on that they trust to get the problem fixed.

One unfortunate landlord I know attempted to hold down a busy job in another part of the country while trying to manage his nightly rental property here in Park City's Old Town. He invested a chunk of money to fix up his properties, and everything seemed fine until pipe froze and burst, flooding his lower floor. It could have been prevented if he was here and was aware of the below freezing night we had. His renters were out of luck – he had to scramble to find them other accommodations and then try to fix problem. He didn’t have much luck with the local contractors he reached out to, and the rest of his winter skiers were out on their ears until he could get this problem fixed.

There are a million more things to consider, especially if you have never had a rental property before in a resort town. Call me to discuss your options and which properties

would fit your needs and make some cash!

heather@parkcityhousehunters.com

Use a Buyer's Agent? Why would you NOT use a Buyer's agent?

Why not use a Buyer's Agent? Would you use the other guy's attorney in a court proceeding? I think not!

I know, I harp on this now and again, but I just can't wrap my mind around it. Why are people afraid of enlisting the help of a Buyer's Agent? Let's look at a list of some of the duties we deliver to you, the Buyer:

As Agents for the buyer, the Buyer's agent and the Broker have fiduciary duties to the buyer that include loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure and reasonable care.

Hmmm, sounds like a win-win for a Buyer, right? Well, then explain why some Buyers, when looking to buy a home will only work with the Seller's agent? They drive around and call off of the signs, and yes, some of those calls have come to me, and they think they are doing what is in their best interest.

That Seller's agent represents the Seller. Their job is to look out for their Seller, not you the unrepresented Buyer. Now, that does not mean they will be dishonest, it just means they are working to benefit their client, not you. That seller will still pay the agreed upon commission, they will just be paying it all to their agent instead of splitting it with your agent. You know, the seller pays both the Buyer's and the Seller's agent.

Oh, I get it - Buyers think they can get a better deal by working with the Seller's agent. Sometimes that is true. If the seller's agent and their broker both agree to take a lesser commission, then in theory the Buyer could get a better price. How much are you really saving? 2%? You might have been able to save that and more by having an agent look out for you and your interests. Do you think that Seller's agent is going to work hard to provide you all of the comps and educate you on the area and what this home should really sell for? Maybe. Maybe not. Remember, they aren't representing you.

What about limited or dual agency? Sure, it happens. But, know that it is limited. The agent has fiduciary duties to both the Seller and Buyer. The agent cannot provide both Buyer and Seller undivided loyalty, full confidentiality and full disclosure . For example - being limited or dual, the agent may not disclose to either party any information likely to weaken the bargaining position of the other - like the highest price the buyer will offer, or the lowest price seller will take. It' s kind of like going to court and having the other attorney represent you too. Can't imagine doing that! Yet, with the largest purchase most people will make, they trust that the other agent will do them right.

In Park City Utah, I am your Buyer's Agent
Heather Feldman
heather@parkcityhousehunters.com
435-731-0803