From the Park Record:
Deer Valley employees have been tight lipped this week, but now they can brag all they want. Deer Valley has been named the best ski area in North America by the readers of SKI Magazine for the third year in a row. Staffers celebrated quietly earlier this week but were asked to keep the news under wraps until the formal announcement was released. According to Deer Valley President Bob Wheaton, the resort topped five categories including Guest Services, Slope Grooming, On-mountain Food and Dining. As always, Wheaton deferred all of the credit for the honor to his staff. “I am very pleased and proud of the staff that earned this award,” he said. Each year, SKI Magazine sends 20,000 ballots to its readers and also collects votes online. According to Wheaton, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada earned the No. 2 spot and Colorado’s Vail took third. In the 20-plus years that SKI has been conducting the poll, only Vail has matched Deer Valley’s hat trick.
Credit Market Makes Economists Nervous
Interest rates are low and home prices are down, but banks continue to be stingy with loans.
At the height of the housing boom, seven out of 10 mortgages were approved. At the end of 2008, only five out of 10 got the green light. During the boom years, homebuyers could qualify for the cheapest rates with a credit score of 660. Today, they need 740 or better.
“Banks are going to be in a defensive posture for several years. Most borrowers can’t meet their criteria,” says Christopher Whalen, managing director at research firm Institutional Risk Analytics.
Consumers cut back borrowing by $21.6 billion from June to July, the biggest drop since the Federal Reserve began keeping records in 1943. That made some analysts nervous.
The reduction in borrowing could slow the economic recovery, says David Olson, president of Access Mortgage Research & Consulting.
“If they cut back, it would be catastrophic,” Olson says. “We could have a second downturn.”
Source: The Associated Press, Stevenson Jacobs (09/17/2009)
Things to Consider...
Related posts:
- Interesting article from Barron’s…10 Best Places for Second Homes
- A post-Sundance update
- Sliding into 2009, and awaiting Promontory hearings
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Tags: deer valley, deer valley real estate, empire pass, park city, park city real estate, park city realty, park city wire, parkcitywire, promontory, promontory real estate, talisker, talisker club, tuhaye, upper deer valley
