Park City Market Facts

Convenient Access
Not only is it a snap to get around in Park City with our free, kid-friendly bus system, but getting here in the first place is also incredibly easy. The Salt Lake City International Airport is only 30 miles away by major freeway, and boasts over 450 scheduled departures per day to over 100 non-stop destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. What’s more, in 2008 the Salt Lake International Airport ranked first in the nation for on-time departures and arrivals and had the fewest number of flight cancellations. Compare this convenient access to that of most other major resorts in the country, which require lengthy drives or costly commuter flights to remote regional airports.

It’s so easy to access Park City that you could catch a morning flight from almost anywhere in the country and be skiing on our slopes by the afternoon. In fact, the Park City Quick Start program allows visitors to convert airline boarding passes for free same-day lift tickets at Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort or The Canyons Resort. Check out this site for details: http://www.parkcityinfo.com/quickstart/

Strong & Competitive Market Values
While Park City’s real estate market does follow the same general trends as most Rocky Mountain resort destinations, this area offers some unique factors that keep our market stronger and steadier than most of our neighbors. The Park City area is earlier in its development cycle, thus offering a better value than many other top tier resorts. In most resort communities, developable land is all but built out, driving prices to nearly impossible heights. While our developable land is becoming scarce, Park City still offers new construction projects.

What’s more, the Park City area offers incredible variety—both in terms of price and product type. The diversity of real estate offerings ranges from multi-million dollar luxury estates to more affordable options. So much variety only serves to keep our real estate values competitive.

A Proven Commitment to Quality of Life
Park City residents are deeply committed to preserving the open space that provides scenic vistas, wildlife habitat, an extensive trail network and rural charm. In fact, we’re so committed, that locals have bonded themselves twice in the city limits and once in the county to the total tune of $40 million, for the sole purpose of purchasing and forever
preserving land as open space. Buying into Park City means you’re buying into an area with an increasing supply of protected open space and a decreasing supply of developable land.

Park City’s commitment to quality of life is further echoed in its significant strides in sustainable living practices. Park City Municipal Corporation is leading the charge with biodiesel public transit, a community carbon footprint counter, wind and solar power exploration and a progressive green building program. Major community businesses are also looking ahead with long-term sustainability measures. All three area ski resorts implement eco-friendly practices and Park City Mountain Resort was recently honored for offsetting 100% of its power consumption with the prestigious Silver Eagle Award for Energy Conservation.

More Options for Skiing
When you choose Park City for a vacation destination or your new home base, you have a lot of choices. Choices for dining, choices for shopping, choices for real estate and…choices for skiing. Right within the Park City community are three of the continent’s top-ranked mountain resorts. In 2008, the readers of SKI magazine ranked Deer Valley Resort #1, Park City Mountain Resort #5 and The Canyons Resort #13 out of over 750 resorts in North America.

Add to these choices Park City’s own White Pine Nordic Ski Center, which offers over 20 kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails. And, within an easy hour’s drive of Park City are seven other major alpine ski and snowboard resorts and four cross-country ski centers.

A Year-Round Recreation Haven
Playtime doesn’t stop when the snow melts. All year long, Park City residents can be found hiking, running, horseback riding and biking on our literally hundreds of miles of trails. In fact, our trail network is one of the most comprehensive, non-motorized trail systems in the country, and one of the best examples of collaboration between government, citizens, businesses and non-profits. Learn more at http://www.mountaintrails.org.

The Park City area is home to six golf courses, with more proposed; tennis courts and swimming pools; a complete city park and an indoor field house. Only a few minutes outside of town, the Jordanelle Reservoir beckons for sailing, canoeing and motor boating, and the mountain rivers feeding it offer blue ribbon fly-fishing.

A Multi-Faceted Market
The Park City community actually comprises two markets in one. Of course, the area’s myriad resort and recreation offerings make Park City an ideal second home market. From historic district condominiums to slopeside estates, much of Park City’s real estate is owned by second home residents.

However, to a much larger degree than many other resort communities, Park City also has a strong and steady primary home market. This year-round community is populated with a devoted and diverse group of local residents who give the town its colorful and unique character. These local residents comprise an entirely separate real estate market of primary, single-family homes. Because our market has two strong foundations, it is less susceptible to the influences that can weaken less balanced markets.

A Dynamic Metro Market
The greater Salt Lake Valley is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. This healthy population growth combined with one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the nation combine to create an agile and evolving economy. It is not only possible, but also easy to reside in the dream community of Park City and still be only a half-hour from the dynamic career opportunities of the Salt Lake Valley. You can have it all: a thriving career in a bustling metropolis and an inclusive small town community with numerous recreation options.

Increased Visibility Through Advertising
Tourism is big business in Utah and the state government is now leading the charge on this important source of revenue. After decades of extremely limited advertising compared with neighboring states, in the past few years, Utah’s State Government has significantly upped its annual marketing budget from less than $1 million to a whopping $11 million for promoting tourism. This increased spending translates to more visitor traffic and more bookings for nightly rentals. As one of the state’s most important year-round tourist destinations, Park City reaps the benefits of this ongoing and comprehensive advertising campaign.

What’s more, Park City’s three ski areas, the local Chamber of Commerce, Ski Utah and multiple large scale development projects produce their own advertising, creating a huge visibility for this area and keeping Park City on the map.

The Olympic Bounce
Of course, Park City was a renowned winter adventure destination well before the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. But, being beamed onto televisions all over the world made Park City a household name. And, it cemented our reputation as the premier, authentic American ski destination. Today, Park City continues to enjoy increased awareness and tourism traffic into our marketplace because of ongoing recognition from the Winter Olympics.

An Ideal Climate
While our mountains receive hundreds of inches of dry, powdery snow during the winter months, temperatures in Park City are surprisingly mild. Compared with many other western resort destinations, the winter months here are downright pleasant, especially considering this area is blessed with over 300 days of sunshine every year.

For many Park City locals and visitors, the summertime climate is even more enticing than the winter one. With average summer temperatures in the high 70’s or low 80’s, and low humidity, Park City’s summer months are green and idyllic. In fact, the climate in Park City is enviable year-round, from bright, crisp fall mornings, to warm, lazy spring afternoons. In Park City, the old adage holds true: most locals say they came for the winters, but stayed for the summers.

Compelling Demographics
Half of all second homes in America are owned by Baby Boomers. As the 75 million ‘Boomers reach retirement age, they are looking for more than a savvy investment property.

Primarily, this generation is looking to create a place for gathering with family and friends. The men and women of this generation have worked hard their entire lives, have become successful and are now looking to reward themselves with the opportunity to reconnect with their loved ones. Park City, with its convenient access, multiple choices for skiing and recreation, and enjoyable climate is becoming an increasingly popular choice for Baby Boomers to purchase real estate.

Park City is “In”
There’s more to do in Park City than ski, and the world is taking notice. From a new spate of high-end boutiques, diverse art galleries and elegant spas, to a vibrant array of world-class restaurants and a dynamic nightlife scene, Park City is a hipster boomtown. From the globally-renowned Sundance Film Festival in January, to big name musical acts performing in the open air during the summer, Park City is the new place to see and be seen.

A Fundamental Stability
Park City’s real estate market will continue to enjoy growth and stability long into the future, because of the fundamental reasoning behind the above-listed factors. The essential draws of the Park City community will continue to override the emotional, ephemeral factors that are influencing so many aspects of our current economy.