Sundance: Park City Real Estate Hits New Peaks

Inside a Stein Eriksen residence.

While the Sundance Film Festival is poised to turn Park City into a high-powered Hollywood scene for the next two weeks, the tiny town of 7,500 is in the midst of its own real estate boom, one that may have every other U.S. ski resort town beat.

“It’s popping again. Things are better than even at the peak of the market for luxury sales,” says Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Benson of the area where Katherine Heigl, Michael Jordan, and former Good Morning America host Charles Gibson own homes. “Not only are we getting buyers from all over the world who are attracted by residences like The Montage and St. Regis, we’re also starting to get year-round buyers. Lots of tech people are moving here for their primary residence. And in the actual town of Sundance where every other home is Hollywood owned, prices are back up to the $5-$10 million region.”

Among the area's high-end listings: John Schnatter’s 6,800-square-foot condo at the St. Regis. Schnatter, a real estate collector and owner of Papa Johns, put his mountain-facing spread on the market for $17.9 million. Michelle Eastman and Brigid Flint of Sotheby's International Realty hold the listing. 

Mitt Romney purchased a slope-side mansion in Deer Valley in late 2013. Listed at $8.9 million, the 9,000-square-foot, super-sized log cabin included six bedrooms and eight bathrooms – a suitable size for the politician and his wife’s 25 grandchildren.

“The Romney sale is indicative of the kind of action we’re seeing again,” says Keller Williams agent Steve Blankenship, who cites the $125-million Park City Film Studios, which broke ground in October of 2013, as another huge future boon to the residential real estate market. “Having sound stages and a film school right here in town could definitely bring in even more movie industry people,” says Blankenship, adding to current homeowners like Paramount CEO Brad Grey and Modern Family producer Steve Levitan. 

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Not that every big-ticket listing is selling overnight. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg’s pine-and-granite house has been on the market since August 2012 with a $20.5 million price tag that hasn’t been reduced. “This isn’t a mainstream home,” says Benson. “It’s a unique property, but there will be a buyer, somewhere out there in the world, who just has to have it.”

Striking broader appeal, and debuting just in time for the Sundance scene, are the Stein Eriksen Residences, a set of 16 homes that will be priced from $2 - $7 million in Deer Valley. A model home will be open for the film festival. Built near the Stein Eriksen Lodge, which is frequented by Robert Redford and Ryan Reynolds, the homes give the rustic mountain look a contemporary upgrade, with clean lines, huge windows and modern décor.

The Colony at White Pines, however, offers the ultimate in high-end homes. The gated, heavily forested, community boasts some of the highest priced homes in the area, including one owned by Will Smith. “I think of these homes as mini ski-in/ski/out mini ranches,” says Erik Asarian of Keller Williams. “We currently have a home listing there for $24.6 million and overall it’s a hot market. Seven homes sold there in 2013, and we had 16 lot sales in the same year, up from eight lot sales in 2012 and six in 2011. This is the ultimate Industry hideaway. It’s our equivalent of beach front property in Malibu.”

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FormCap acquiring Cowley County prospect in Kansas

FormCap Corp. (OTCQB: FRMC) is making payments to Keta Oil & Gas and Kerr Energy toward the purchase of oil and gas exploration and development leases in Cowley County, Kansas. Formcap will pay Kerr and Keta $200 per acre for up to 2,400 acres of leases, at a cost not to exceed $480,000 (the purchase price) unless agreed otherwise by the company.

Formcap is evaluating a specific block of 875 acres (from the 2,400 acre total) of prospective oil leases to acquire from Kerr and Keta. The company will own 100% of the leases (80% net revenue to FormCap; 20% freehold royalty), and will be operator. FormCap will also have the option to purchase additional leases in Cowley County from Kerr and Keta under an Area of Mutual Interest, the terms of which are set forth in the agreement.

Per the agreement, FormCap is required to drill one well in each of the first two years of the lease term to maintain its interest in the leases, and will have the option to participate in the drilling of up to six exploration or development wells on lands currently owned by Keta and Kerr.

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Bob and Dolores Hope's Palm Springs Estate Gets a $16 Million Price Chop

The asking price of Bob and Dolores Hope's iconic Palm Springs estate has been dropped from $50 million to $34 million. The sprawling, 23,366-square-foot John Lautner-designed home originally came to market as a private listing in March of 2013 and was heralded as the desert's most expensive single-family home.   

Now the distinctive house, with its curved concrete lines, open courtyard and living room built to accommodate a boulder that juts into the room, will be listed on the Multiple Listing Service to attract a wider audience, according to The Desert Sun.    

STORY: Leonardo DiCaprio Sells Malibu Colony Spread for $17.35 Million 

Perched atop the Southridge neighborhood, the six-bedroom, 10-bathroom concrete, steel and glass house features indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, putting greens and murals by painter Garth Benton, who also created murals at the Getty Villa.

The home, which was used as a second residence by the Hopes, where they entertained frequently, was the largest residence ever designed and built by Lautner.

 Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith of Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs have the listing. 

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Baytex to acquire Aurora for $2.6 billion

Baytex Energy Corp., Calgary, has agreed to acquire Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd., Subiaco, Western Australia, for $2.6 billion, providing Baytex with 22,200 net contiguous acres in the Sugarkane field in the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas.

Aurora’s fourth-quarter 2013 gross production was 24,678 boe/d (82% liquids) of predominantly light, high-quality crude oil. The company forecasted this year’s average gross production at 29,000-32,000 boe/d, about a 43% increase from 2013.

Baytex said Sugarkane field has been largely delineated with infrastructure in place, facilitating low-risk future annual production growth. The company added that the assets have future reserves upside potential from well downspacing, improving completion techniques, and new development targets in additional zones.

Following the purchase, Baytex’s 2014 production is expected to reach 85,000 boe/d, comprised of 53% heavy oil, 34% light oil and liquids, and 13% natural gas.

The deal gives Baytex additional proved reserves of 106.7 million boe and proved plus probable reserves of 166.6 million boe.

Baytex in 2012 purchased 100% working interest in 46 sections of undeveloped oil sands leases in the Cold Lake region of northeastern Alberta for $120 million (OGJ Online, Oct. 4, 2012). Provincial authorities had conditionally approved the company’s 1,200 steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) pilot and a 10,000-b/d development that was expected to launch in 2013.

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Baytex to acquire Aurora Oil & Gas, strategic Eagle Ford acreage

Baytex Energy Corp., an oil and gas corporation based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has agreed to acquire Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. for $2.6 billion, providing Baytex with 22,200 net contiguous acres in the Sugarkane field of the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas. The total consideration to be paid by Baytex is $1.8 billion, plus assumed debt of $744 million, for a total transaction value of $2.6 billion. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

Aurora’s fourth-quarter 2013 gross production was 24,678 boe/d (82% liquids) of predominantly light, high-quality crude oil. The company forecasted this year’s average gross production at 29,000–32,000 boe/d, about a 43% increase from 2013.

The Sugarkane field has been largely delineated with infrastructure in place, facilitating low-risk future annual production growth. The company noted that the assets have future reserves upside potential from well downspacing, improving completion techniques, and new development targets in additional zones.

Following the purchase, Baytex’s 2014 production is expected to reach 85,000 boe/d, comprising 53% heavy oil, 34% light oil and liquids, and 13% natural gas. The deal gives Baytex additional proved reserves of 106.7 million boe and proved plus probable reserves of 166.6 million boe.

Regarding the acquisition, Baytex President and CEO James Bowzer said, “Baytex will acquire premier acreage in the core of the Eagle Ford, one of the leading shale oil plays in the US. The acquisition will provide our shareholders with exposure to low-risk, repeatable, high-return projects with leading capital efficiencies. This is a highly accretive transaction on a per share basis to reserves, production, and funds from operations. The Eagle Ford play provides not only exposure to light oil, but also to Gulf Coast crude oil markets with established transportation systems. A portion of the produced crude oil benefits from Louisiana Light Sweet based pricing, which currently trades at a premium to WTI.”

In 2012, Baytex purchased 100% working interest in 46 sections of undeveloped oil sands leases in the Cold Lake region of northeastern Alberta, Canada, for $120 million. Provincial authorities had conditionally approved the company’s 1,200 steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) pilot and a 10,000-b/d development that was expected to launch in 2013.

Baytex is engaged in the acquisition, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Williston Basin in the US.

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