The headline number for Empire Pass in early 2026 is $14.5 million, up 12% year over year on the back of the Deer Valley expansion. That figure is accurate. It is also, for anyone actually shopping inside the gate, close to useless. The same ZIP code contains a 2-bedroom Shooting Star condo that traded near $850,000 and a Red Cloud estate that closed at $23,497,845. The spread is not a rounding error. It is the market telling you that "Empire Pass" is twenty markets stacked on one mountain, and the variables that separate them are almost invisible on a listing summary.
Two of those variables do most of the work: the ski-access designation attached to the specific unit in the Park City MLS, and whether a Talisker Club membership rides with the deed or has to be bought separately at a deposit that stepped from $150,000 to $200,000 in July 2023. Everything else — square footage, finish level, architect — is secondary. That is the argument of this post.
One address, twenty submarkets
Empire Pass spans roughly 1,600 acres between elevations of 8,900 and 9,500 feet along Empire Club Drive and Marsac Avenue, and it contains 20 named residential communities. Park City MLS records show 842 closed transactions across those communities from 2004 through early 2026, totaling more than $3 billion in cumulative volume. Post-2020 price-per-square-foot gains ran +76.3% at Silver Strike Lodge, +71.6% at Nakoma, +66.6% at Red Cloud, +59.0% at One Empire Pass, and +51.9% at Flagstaff, all measured through early 2026.
Here is what the "one median" hides at the community level:
| Sub-community | Median sold price | Product type | Unit-level ski access on MLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting Star | $1,544,700 | Condo, 2–3 BR | Project-level |
| Arrowleaf | $2,000,000 | Condo | Project-level; some Ski to Door |
| Flagstaff | $2,316,000 | Condo | Mixed |
| Ironwood | $2,595,000 | Townhome | Some Ski to Door |
| Montage Deer Valley | $3,600,000 | Condo-hotel | Project-level |
| Empire Residences | $3,635,000 | Condo | Ski to Door on 21 of 23 records |
| Residences at the Tower | $4,400,000 | Condo | Ski to Door required |
| Moonshadow | $14,592,500 | Estate | Ski Shuttle only on all 7 records |
| Bannerwood | $19,450,000 (one MLS sale) | Custom estate | Ski to Door |
| Red Cloud | Up to $23,497,845 | Estate | Ski to Door on 8 of 10 records |
Medians from Park City MLS closed sales through early 2026. Read down that ski-access column before you read the price column. It is doing more explanatory work than the beds and baths.
Ski to Door is not a marketing phrase, it is a line item
The Park City MLS uses layered ski-access designations. "Ski Into/Out of Project" describes the building. "Ski to Door" and "Ski Out of Door" describe the actual unit. The difference between the two is the difference between a five-minute walk in ski boots and stepping off your own patio onto the Silver Buck run. On resale, it shows up in price.
Empire Residences carries Ski to Door on 21 of 23 MLS records, the highest unit-level rate of any condo building at Empire Pass, and closed sales there ranged from $1,190,000 to $8,700,000 with a median of $3,635,000 through early 2026. One resale illustrates the compounding: Unit 103, a 2-bedroom at 1,169 square feet, sold for $1,190,000 in January 2021 and resold for $2,470,000 in April 2023.
Moonshadow is the case that proves the rule from the opposite direction. All 7 MLS records at Moonshadow, six closed and one pending through early 2026, carry only Ski Shuttle and Ski Club and Shuttle designations. No project-level or unit-level ski-in/ski-out features appear anywhere in the dataset. Median sold price is still $14,592,500, because the estates are large and private, but a buyer who assumes "Empire Pass" equals "ski from the door" will discover during due diligence that this particular enclave does not. That is the kind of surprise the MLS field exists to prevent, and it is worth pulling before an offer, not after.
The Talisker carry buyers do not see on the listing
Most Empire Pass condominium purchases either include a Talisker Club membership or offer one as a paid add-on. Some do not offer it at all, and once a property is sold without a full membership attached, adding one later is not a routine transaction. That distinction is worth confirming in writing before removing contingencies.
The current fee structure at One Empire Pass, which requires Talisker membership at purchase, gives the clearest snapshot of the carry:
- Talisker Club deposit at purchase: $200,000, up from $150,000 in July 2023
- 2025 Tower HOA: $43,406
- 2025 Talisker Club annual dues: $24,355
- 2025 Empire Pass Master HOA: $3,443
- Combined annual carry: approximately $70,000
Broker-published ranges for other Empire Pass buildings put initiation between $150,000 and $300,000+ with annual dues in the $15,000 to $25,000 range depending on membership type. Membership covers The Tower Club at Empire Pass, the Mark O'Meara-designed Tuhaye course, the Courchevel Bistro lounge on Main Street, and The Outpost. A new on-mountain warming amenity between Red Cloud and Montage is scheduled to open winter 2026, and a family-oriented Adventure Camp with paddleboarding, a climbing wall, and winter tubing is scheduled for summer 2026.
The practical implication: a $3.6 million median condo at Empire Residences carries a very different total cost of ownership than a $3.6 million comparable elsewhere in Deer Valley, once the membership deposit and annual dues are amortized. Buyers modeling yield off nightly rentals — permitted on 117 of 131 Arrowleaf records, 78 of 80 at Silver Strike Lodge, and 37 of 38 at One Empire Pass in the MLS dataset — need to run that carry against realistic occupancy, not against the listing price alone.
What the East Village opening actually did to Empire Pass pricing
The Deer Valley expansion added more than 2,300 acres of terrain, roughly 10 new chairlifts, and close to 100 new runs over the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, with the East Village Express Gondola opening in January 2026. The intuitive read is that new supply softens existing pricing. The data through early 2026 shows the opposite: Empire Pass medians rose 12% to $14.5 million, Upper Deer Valley rose 4% to $7.4 million, and Deer Crest held steady at $12 million.
The mechanism is compression, not dilution. Empire Pass has limited remaining homesites, the original resort neighborhoods are largely built out, and the expansion brings a new pool of buyers into the Deer Valley brand who then compare East Village pricing to established ski-in/ski-out inventory on the traditional side. When a new Four Seasons residence prices between $10 million and $14.5 million, an existing Empire Pass estate at a similar number starts to look like a comparable rather than a stretch. That is how the trailing side of a resort expansion typically prices.
Where the presale pipeline sits
Sommet Blanc, described by its developer as the last significant ski-in/ski-out parcel at Empire Pass, comprises three lodges with 49 residences and penthouses. MLS records show 39 pending presale contracts as of early 2026, no closed sales yet, units from 2,544 to 5,290 square feet, and Ski Into/Out of Project designations plus nightly rental permission on all 39 records. Anticipated delivery is 2026 to 2027. Buyers considering a presale contract there are underwriting a delivery-window market, not today's market, and the standard due diligence around developer construction schedules, deposit protection, and final HOA budgets applies.
Bannerwood, the six-lot custom enclave along Silver Strike Trail with a 33-foot height cap, has one MLS closed sale on record: a 10,561-square-foot, 6-bedroom estate at 80 Silver Strike Trail that sold in November 2021 for $19,450,000, cash, at full list, zero days on market. The rest of Bannerwood's trading history is believed to sit off-market, which is a useful reminder that public MLS data is a floor, not a ceiling, for what the top of Empire Pass has actually traded at.
FAQ
Does every Empire Pass property include a Talisker Club membership? No. Some purchases include a full membership, some offer it as a paid add-on at the current $200,000 deposit, and some cannot easily add one later. Confirm status in writing before removing contingencies.
Is "ski-in/ski-out" a defined term in the Park City MLS? The MLS distinguishes project-level access ("Ski Into/Out of Project") from unit-level access ("Ski to Door," "Ski Out of Door") and separately notes shuttle-only access. Verify at the specific unit, not the building.
Are nightly rentals allowed? Rental rules are set community by community. MLS data through early 2026 shows nightly rental permitted on the large majority of records at Arrowleaf, Silver Strike Lodge, One Empire Pass, and the Sommet Blanc presales, but each unit should be checked against current CC&Rs.
What is the 1% transfer fee? Empire Pass carries a 1% transfer fee at closing that funds community reinvestment and amenities. Budget for it alongside title, escrow, and the Talisker deposit where applicable.
The buyers who do well inside Empire Pass are the ones who treat "Empire Pass" as a starting question rather than an answer, then work down through building, unit, ski-access designation, and membership status before they price anything. If you are evaluating an Empire Pass condo, estate, or presale contract and want a read on how the specific unit sits within its submarket, Jensen and Company can walk you through the MLS record and the carry math before you write an offer. Find Your Luxury Home Today.
