5 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Home for 2023

Whether you begin your post-holiday home “reset” the day after Christmas or later into 2023, going through your home with a critical eye as we enter into a new year is a great way to prepare yourself and your home for the year ahead.

Today we’re diving into five tasks that you can do around your home to simplify and reset after the holiday season.

1. Declutter

Start by going through each room of your home and getting rid of any clutter or items that you no longer need or use. Start by doing a sweep of your home, keeping an eye out for expired products (such as beauty products or medications), excess of the same kinds of items, things that you haven’t used or use less than once a year, etc.

An easy way to make faster decisions when you’re decluttering is to make four piles of items. – trash, donations, give-away (to friends or family), and keep. Then once you’re done, you know exactly what to do with each category!

When you reduce the overall number of items in your home, you not only reduce the stress that can come along with too much clutter, but you also make it much simpler to clean your home on a daily basis.

2. Deep Clean

Speaking of cleaning, be sure to give your home a thorough cleaning at the beginning of the year. We’re talking baseboards, dusty corners, scrubbing toilets, wiping down cabinets, etc. Leave no surface untouched!

By doing a deep clean, your home will feel fresh for the new year, but also will be much easier to maintain a clean-feeling home with regular vacuuming, wiping counters, etc.

3. Transition Decor

New year, new home decor! After the holidays, there is something refreshing about taking down the seasonal decor and replacing it with either your year-round decorations or a more general winter theme. Regardless of what kind of decorations you choose to put up in place of holiday trimmings, use this time to evaluate where you may want to change or update your home’s decor. This could include adding new throw pillows, curtains, or artwork, or repainting a room in a fresh, new color.

4. Take Stock

After traveling, or hosting for the holidays is the perfect time to take stock in your home. This means taking a look at your linens – for example – to assess your towels and sheets. Do you have enough? Is it time to replace anything?

If you take the time to make these decisions before you’re in a towel or sheet emergency, you’ll be prepared for anything in your home over the next twelve months.

5. Set Goals

A new year isn’t just about resolutions for yourself personally or professionally. It’s also a great opportunity to set goals and make plans for your home as well. Are you wanting to make any renovations to your home? Maybe you want to add a deck or redo your kitchen. Whether big ticket changes or budget-friendly DIY projects, the start of a new year is a good time to plan for these.

As you’re making plans, don’t forget to start thinking about budgeting for your home projects as well. When you consider your budget in advance, those projects can feel more intentional and fun rather than stressful.

Regardless of price point, our team is united in their efforts to support the client, support each other, and get the job done in the best way possible. Paula Higman Real Estate is a unique team of talented and diverse individuals with a passion for success and client satisfaction.

Contact Paula Higman today and let us take this journey with you to marketing and selling your home for the best value, to the biggest luxury real estate market out there.


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January 2023 –

After two of the most volatile years in real estate, triggered by

the global pandemic that was COVID-19, sales numbers are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Sales prices are not.

The past two years caused huge swings in market reports as the mandated isolation to

prevent the spread of the virus forced offices to close, employees to quarantine, and

stock in online conferencing services to skyrocket. Those trends are all reversing directions,

and the Park City real estate market is reflecting those changes as the market returns to a

more “normal” seasonal pattern.

Listing inventory is rising – In December ‘21 only 539 residential properties and lots were for sale. By December ‘22, that number rose to 1,263 (but was still 37% below the Dec-2019 figure of 2,011)
Prices are starting to level off – Within Park City limits, sale prices jumped 35% during 2021. In 2022 they continued to increase, but at half that annual rate.
Mortgage interest rates are trending downward – In late October, the average 30-year fixed rate was 7.08%.
By the end of December, it had dropped to 6.48% and was headed down more. Buyers are becoming more hesitant to make instant offers above the asking price and sellers are reacting by lowering those asking prices albeit at a slower pace. In Q3, 763 listings had at least one price reduction. In Q4, that number was 375. Price reductions in Q3 averaged 6.4% versus 5.7% in Q4.

Sale prices for single-family homes in the primary market area of Summit and Wasatch Counties

as reported by the Park City Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service for the year

ending December 31 showed moderate increases in both averages (Up 2%) and median (Up 3%).

For the year earlier, those increases were 28% and 24% respectively.

The rate of sales (number of units sold) dropped 29% for single-family homes and 27% for

condominiums from the year prior. Fears that the country might be headed into a recession,

reinforced by a continuing push by the Fed to raise interest rates and stop inflation, and other

negative indicators (gas prices), slowed sales across the region. However, an assisting driver of lower

sales numbers continued to be the lack of inventory – agents cannot sell what owners will not offer

for sale.

Park City neighborhoods vary widely in price comparison and the Q4-year-over-year results continued

that pattern.

For Single Family homes, all but one of the major areas that make up the greater Park City market

showed drops in units sold through the 4th quarter of 2022 versus 2021. The exceptions were in

Silver Creek Village where a boom in new construction pushed sales totals 200% higher than in 2021,

and in the South Jordanelle area where the new Benloch Ranch development accounted for 68 of the

85 sales in the $1 to $2 million range. Interest is growing in anticipation of the Mayflower Mountain

resort project opening for the 2024-25 ski season. Sales in the Jordanelle area increased 78% over

the previous year, albeit at a lower median price point of $1.6 million, down from $2.3 million the

year prior.

Condo sales across the entire market range followed a pattern similar to single-family homes. Total

sales volume declined in all areas primarily due to a lack of inventory to sell. Within Park City

limits, condo sales volume was down 44% but median sale prices rose 15% to $1.5 million.

In the Snyderville Basin, total sales volume climbed 32% because average and median prices both

rose by nearly 50%.

The inventory of vacant land listings dropped from 902 in mid-2019 (before Covid hit) to 275 in

spring 2021 (just before vaccines became available). That number has increased steadily through

the end of 2022 when we had 525 listings. Some buyers who bought vacant lots in years past

with the intention of building in Park City found years later that the cost of construction (materials

and labor – both in short supply because of Covid)) had increased so much that they delayed

construction hoping for costs to return to normal. Some are putting those lots back on the market.

At the same time, the increased demand for housing has spurred developers to break ground on

projects that were delayed by the pandemic as well. The combination of those two trends is reflected

in the number of new-construction listings which increased by 240% from 2019 to 2022.

Comparing the 12 months ending December 31, 2022, to the same period in 2021:

New residential listings (single-family and condo) year-to-date are showing signs of recovery after a lengthy period of decline. For the twelve months ending December 2022, total new residential listings were 2,997, down just 80 from the same period the year before.
The market is cooling off after an overheated two years of sales. PCMLS members signed 2,140 purchase contracts in 2022, 43% fewer than the previous year (3,765)
With New Listings running slightly higher than Pending contracts, available inventory started to increase. Only 265 residential properties were active at the end of 2021. That number boomed to 738 as of December 31, an increase of 178% year over year.

Overall, how did the local market fare? Here is our take on the total year-long results reported on a

rolling year-over-year basis for the period ending December 31, 2022. (Note: only areas with 10 or

more sales are considered in the tally and reporting.)

Tuesday, January 31, 2023