More and more signs seem to indicate that the housing market is continuing to strengthen, both locally in Utah real estate and nationally.  The Associated Press reports that, "Sales of new U.S. homes jumped last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000, the highest level since a homebuyer’s tax credit boosted sales in April 2010... Home prices are rising, builders are more confident and are breaking ground on more homes and sales of previously occupied homes have increased in the past year."

Source: Salt Lake Tribune, October 24th, 2012

Alpine ski race wins usually come by the hundredths of a second.

Ted Ligety won the opening World Cup race of the 2012-13 season Sunday on the famous Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, Austria, by a crazy 2.75 seconds.

It was, as he put it afterward, a “once-in-a-career margin.”

It was also a demonstration of, as U.S. head coach Sasha Rearick put it, Ligety’s “complete ability and confidence in himself.”

Even on the best days, there is nothing inherently fair about alpine racing. And conditions Sunday were, in a word, godawful. “It was a tough day for everybody,” Ligety said, adding, “I just fought and maybe took more risk than it was worth – than was maybe smart.”

That’s just modesty talking — the guy from Park City, Utah, who posed for photos after the

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Deer Valley Resort #2

With 21 lifts, 100 ski runs, six bowls and 2,026 acres of terrain, Deer Valley Resort set the standard among luxury ski areas when it opened in 1981, coining the now familiar phrase, “The Deer Valley Difference.” Leading the pack in improvements for the 2012/2013 season, Deer Valley Resort committed to $8 million in upgraded amenities designed to further enhance the skier experience at the resort ranked #2 in North America among SKI Magazine readers.

Park City Mountain Resort #6

Established in 1963 as the mining town’s first ski area, Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) has gained a much-deserved reputation for being the most family-friendly resort around, and SKI Magazine’s readers have moved the resort from a respectable spot at…

PRESS RELEASE - October 10, 2012. The release of the statistics for the 3rd Quarter of 2012 real estate numbers have been highly anticipated as we all seem to agree that the overall real estate market in Park City and Deer Valley has been moving along quite well, but wondering if pricing has gone up or down? Has the inventory shrunk as much as we think it has? And where might we be headed? If you are a buyer today, what will you see in the marketplace?

In reviewing the large amount of statistics for the 3rd Quarter of 2012 we have noticed a decline in inventory, largely due to the increase of sales. In fact, when looking at the Greater Park City area, pended sales were slow to start in January but then have been quite high from February on to September. 

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Median home prices for existing single-family homes rose 10.2% in the year ending August. This is one more (and impressive!) indication that the housing market is recovering. The chart above shows the prices in constant dollar terms, and they are up 8.4% in the past year. The chart also suggests that housing prices in real terms have found solid support at levels reached earlier this year. Mark Perry has charts and data for median home prices for new single-family homes: "The median sales price for new homes surged by almost 17% from a year earlier to $256,900 in August, the highest median price since March 2007."

The housing market news is getting to be pretty impressive.

The Utah real estate market continues to show signs of strength, with continuing reduced inventory and prices continuing to go up.  Salt Lake City home sales saw a 10% increase in sale prices over the same period in 2011.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, "The median price of all homes and condominiums sold in August increased to $204,950, up 10 percent compared with a median sales price of $185,700 a year ago."

Source: Salt Lake Tribune, September 28, 2012

A strengthened housing market is lifting property values and helping Americans repair their balance sheets, a trend that could spur the economy by making households more willing to spend.

The value of Americans' real-estate holdings jumped about $400 billion, or 2.1%, to $19.1 trillion, in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve said Thursday, the highest level since the final three months of 2008. The increase follows a similar leap in the first quarter and raises the amount of equity that owners have in their homes to a high since the third quarter of 2008.

View Interactive

Since the recession, sliding property prices have made Americans feel less wealthy and less willing to spend on everything from home renovations and

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By AMY HOAK a reporter in Chicago for MarketWatch.

Good pictures are a crucial marketing tool for a home sale.

Just ask Clarissa and Mark Padilla, who were able to get a contract on their Sherman Oaks, Calif., condo unit in less than two weeks—and at the price they wanted.

Ms. Padilla attributes the quick sale to the professional photography used to market the home, which lured about 25 people to an open house the first weekend the house went on sale. VHT Inc.Professional photographs, using the right angles and staging, show off a kitchen's best features

"When we saw the photos, we fell in love with our place all over again," she says. "The colors were so bright, and it made it look fresh and very spacious. It's only 950 square

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 Looking for a winter getaway for your ski-obsessed teen? A beach retreat with a toddler friendly pool? A safari lodge for that once-in-a-lifetime vacation? The ultimate ski-vacation? Read below to see the TOP-10 of the United States "Best Hotels for Families" as chosen by Travel + Leisure readers in the annual World's Best Awards survey 2012. The nine regional winners are profiled here; complete listings and poll methodology can be found at travelandleisure.com.

United States

1. St. Regis Deer Valley Park City, Utah - 96.84

Talk about top-notch service: a former Buckingham Palace steward runs the butler program at this 181-room hotel overiooking Deer Hollow run. Another standout? Olympic freestyler Shannon Bahrke, the new ski ambassador, is your guide…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2012

Park City, Utah –The Park City Board of REALTORS® 2012 Second Quarter statistics, show the highest number of sales and pended sales in the Greater Park City Area since 2007. The total number of sales for Q2 was 486 with a total sales volume of $347,392,785 and median price of $427,450 - topping last year’s Q2 numbers with 451 units sold, $320,740,133 in total dollar volume and a median price of $412,500.

Sales Numbers and Inventory Sales numbers have bumped along since the end of 2008 and first half of 2009. The highlight of the second quarter of 2012 is the increase in the number of sales and pended sales-which is the highest we have seen since the fourth quarter of 2007. Additionally, the second quarter

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