At The Lange Group, we are dedicated to meeting your needs in the Deer Valley and Park City, Utah real estate market. Whether you are buying or selling a home or looking for an investment property or vacation getaway, we have the skills and experience to make your transaction as smooth and successful as possible.

At The Lange Group, we view our sales results as a reflection of our dedication and commitment to providing the best service possible while working with each of our clients. Success, we believe, is not in the number of deals we close, but in the way we deal with our clients. Because our success truly is your success, you can expect your real estate transaction with us to be a positive one.

Please feel free to browse our Web site to learn more about properties and homes available in the Park City and Deer Valley areas. We welcome any questions or comments you may have and look forward to working with you to make the most of your Park City real estate experience.

Please use our interactive map below to learn more about the Park City, Utah real estate market. Simply roll over a Deer Valley or Park City community that interests you and you will be given some brief stats on the area.

Fence Sitters, Early Birds And Why It’s A Buyers Market

All Real Estate markets are local. The media has been paying particular attention to the worst markets in the country, leading much of America to believe the doom and gloom is everywhere. Sure, markets like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Detroit have horrible depreciation in property values. But in markets like Los Angeles and New York City the opposite is true and the media has been curiously absent in reporting the news. According to an article on Forbes.com titled, “America’s top 5 Best and Worst Housing Markets” from February 25, 2009, “In Los Angeles, if you bought in 2000, paid your mortgage on time and are still in your home, you've seen a 71.5% price appreciation. There's something to be said for that kind of responsible, long-term investor.”

In several markets across the country, similar stories can be told. So where do Park City and Deer Valley, Utah fit into this puzzle? When will it be the right time to buy? What are the economic signals to watch for? When can you be certain you’re making a good investment? When will we know we’ve “Hit The Bottom” of the market?

Let’s quote some experts on investing. Warren Buffet has said, “When others are greedy, be fearful, when others are fearful, be greedy.” Have we ever seen the market more fearful? Talk about people sitting on the fence! The whole country seems to be fence sitting!

In the book called Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, the following observation was made:

“A buyer’s market should be just that – a buyer’s market. It’s not a fence sitting, waiting, loitering, delaying, dawdling, postponing, vacillating, hesitating, wavering, faltering, pausing, foot shuffling market. It’s a buyer’s market. By its very name it means buyers should be doing one thing and one thing only – buying. So where are the buyers, and why aren’t they buying?

The great irony of a buyer’s market is that even though the opportunity to buy is high, buyer urgency tends to hit an all-time low. The media becomes the excited purveyor of negative news and uninformed advice, and buyers buy it all. Actually it feels like the only thing they are buying.

Their reluctance is ironic since not so long ago buyers were incredibly excited about buying – and it was a seller’s market. Prices were escalating and it was perhaps one of the most difficult times to buy value and yet people were buying like there was no tomorrow. Buyers were afraid of losing out by not buying, even though the advantage was all to the seller.”

“Real Trends” a Realtor newsletter which tracks markets across America noted several encouraging stats in the last month. In their February 3rd issue they stated,

Thanks to much higher sales in places like California, the December average of home sales in 56 markets across the country rose 9.73 percent from November and 11.36 percent above December 2007 sales, according to the Associated Press-RE/MAX Monthly Housing Report Year.

Year-over-year sales increases in California were up 75 percent in the Los Angeles metro area and up 44 percent in San Diego. Other sharp increases were recorded in Las Vegas, up 82 percent, Phoenix, up 69 percent, and Miami, up 69 percent.

The report had some other good news - inventories are beginning to recede. The average number of homes for sale on the market was down 7.69 percent from November and down 3.93 percent from a year ago. Many analysts believe than reduced inventories may signal the beginning of the end for the current down cycle in housing.

REAL Trends comment: We have been saying for months that once affordability returns to markets there is ample evidence that both first time homebuyers and investors will return. The report from RE/MAX/Associated Press is one more piece of data that confirms this.

In “Real Trends” newsletter from February 6th issue they stated,

Despite the bad news across much of the country, 21 of 161 markets are not feeling the pinch of declining home values. Home values in the Pittsburgh MSA were flat (-0.1 percent) in 2008. In the Fayetteville, N.C. MSA, home values increased 6.9 percent in 2008. The Yakima, Wash., MSA was not far behind, with home values increasing 6.2 percent during the year. Other areas in New York State, the Midwest and the South continue to experience steady or increasing home values.

Also in “Real Trends” newsletter from February 6th issue, they presented a much broader view of the market,

Foreclosures Slow Dramatically
January foreclosure filings decreased 10 percent in January 2009, according to RealtyTrac. Foreclosures were reported on 274,399 U.S. properties during the month, a 10 percent decrease from the previous month but still up 18 percent from January 2008. The report also shows one in every 466 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in January.

"The extensive foreclosure efforts on the part of lenders and government agencies appear to have impacted the January numbers-particularly the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on all foreclosure sales that was extended through the end of January along with Florida's voluntary 45-day freeze on all new foreclosure actions and scheduling of foreclosure sales that was announced at the beginning of December," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "January REOs, which represent completed foreclosure sales to the foreclosing lender, were down 15 percent nationwide from the previous month. And in Florida overall foreclosure activity was down 20 percent from the previous month."

In the Real Trends update from February 17th, Wasatch County, which contains Heber and Midway (neighboring Park City’s Summit County) Wasatch was named as one of the fastest growing mid-sized counties in the country.

Real Trends E-Mail Update - Dated Feb 17, 2009

10 fastest growing mid-sized counties
Looking to find a new niche? Consider these mid-sized counties, identified as the fastest growing in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Lincoln County, SD
Lyon County, Nev.
Jackson County, Ga.
Dallas County, Iowa
Broomfield County, Colo.
Effingham County, Ga.
Wasatch County, Utah
Nye County, Nev.
Tooele County, Utah
King George County, Va.

So where does that news position Park City and Deer Valley, Utah?

Obviously as months go by and statistics accumulate we see the national real estate market is “bouncing around the bottom”. Interest rates remain at near historic lows. Foreclosed properties are being purchased (often with multiple offers) steadily clearing out the lower end of available bank-owned properties. Housing starts remain incredibly low, meaning the new product that is currently, or still on the market, will be purchased relatively quickly when the economy returns.

Park City’s market continues to be the best “Bang for the Buck” when compared to other resorts of the Rocky Mountains. Compare like-kind homes and condominiums with Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole and Sun Valley and you will see we represent incredible value. And, we have the “Greatest Snow on Earth” coupled with very easy accessibility through Salt Lakes International Airport making us the envy of all the other resorts! Nothing drives housing like a stable economy and job growth. Utah’s economy is growing at a rate of almost 5%, which is almost 4 times the national average. Job growth is up almost 2%. Utah also takes the top spot in the nation for housing price appreciation (#1 as of 3/8/08 at 9.27%) Where Money Magazine ranked it 20th on its list of 100 markets for growth over the next two years!

Now may be the very best time to invest in property in Park City and Deer Valley. Talk to us for even more up-to-the-minute statistics and reasons why NOW may be your greatest opportunity!