Utah County Market Update....

So you may be wondering what the market is doing now that you have noticed that Utah is #7 in foreclosures in the country. We have a larger number of short sales than most states.

Statistics are from the WFRMLS as of the 2nd quarter of 2009;

Single family average sales price: $240,973 -10.73% Change from 2008.

Days on market: 92 21.05% Change from 2008.

Number of homes sold: 1176 17.60% Change from 2008.

New listings: 3250 -20.91% Change from 2008.

Average % of new listings sold: 42.52% 40.02% Change from 2008.

New average asking price: $273,067 -14.32% Change from 2008.

The average single family sales price has dropped from the 2nd quarter of 2008 by 10.73%. Contributing to this, is the high number of short sales we have in this state and the number of bank owned homes. To compete with the short sales, sellers are having to reduce their sales prices.

The days on market has gone up by 21.05%. This contributing factor to this can be, the short sales take 90+ days to negotiate with bank. There are multiple offers on most short sales. If a home is well priced (price below market value) they will have multiple offers on them. This is true of bank owned homes and short sales.

The average number of single family homes sold went up by 17.60% from 2008. This shows possible signs of the market bottoming.

The average number of listings went down by 20.91%. This shows the inventory is going down. The factors in this may be that sellers are holding on for the market to return and the number of homes selling going up.

The average % of new listings sold went up by 41.02%. The sellers and banks are more aggressively marketing their homes for sale by choosing sales prices that are below the average or are at current market value.

The average asking price wend down by 14.32%. Sellers and banks are using current comparable and are aggressively marketing their homes for sale. The number of bank owned and short sales on the market can contribute to this as well.

Please feel free to give me a call, email or text me if you have any questions.

$8,000 Tax Credit Clock Is Ticking!!

Run do not walk to your closest real estate agent! The deadline for buying a house and getting the $8,000 tax credit is coming! It will be here before you know it!

When is the deadline?

The Deadline is November 30, 2009. You must close on your house by November 30th to get the tax credit. That would mean you would have to have a house under contract by October 31st., as it takes 30 days to close a loan.

Do I qualify?

You cannot have owned a house within the last 3 years.

What are the stipulations?

You need to live in the house for 3 years otherwise you will have to pay the $8,000 back.

There are other grant programs available that you can take advantage of in purchasing a home with little to no money down. Yes, $0 down payment loans and programs do exist. It's not as hard to buy a home as you may think.

What makes a home stand out?

What does make a home stand out from the rest? When you are looking at homes and you just walked through your 10th home. They have the tendency to blend together, but their is usually one that will stand out. These are the qualities they will typically have.:

Plain neutrally light colored walls, such as white & beige.

Neutrally colored carpet, such as beige.

A Clean house- If you are in a pinch, throw everything in to a garbage bag & put it in the garage till you can get to it, after the showing.

Fresh Paint or Carpet- if you can, at least paint, it's cheap & it makes a difference.

Few large furnishings- Place in to storage all of your big furniture, it makes a room feel larger.

Cut the Clutter- Clean counter tops, with nothing on them. Rooms you can walk around in.

Beautiful decor- Yes, staging your home does work.

Great curb appeal- Beautify your yard.

Minimize your wall hangings- Keep it mostly decoration.

Take down the family photo wall & paint it.- It makes it hard for a new family to see them selves there.

Homey Smells- Anything baking, & vanilla. I recommend baking some cookies before you leave.

Leave and let the agent walk the client through the house. It's hard to address any issues the buyer might have when the owner within ear shot. It also reminds the client they are in your house not "their" house.

If you are going to remodel your home spend your money the the places you will make the most money. The kitchen, & the master bed & bath.

Add things like tile, hardwood floors, granite counter tops, update old hardware it will make your house look newer, black or stainless steel appliances.

Keep in mind you are trying to encourage the mental moving van to arrive. You need to make space for their stuff, as they mentally decorate, and think about how the couch will fit in your living room.

Buying a House? Did You Know?

Are you buying a home?

Did you know that you do not have to pay your Real Estate agent and they work for you, and represent you. The seller pays for your agent. How? As a realtor I belong to the multiple listing service and as such have an agreement with my "MLS" to pay the other agent a specified percentage specified on the MLS.

Did you know that if you sign a buyer broker agreement with an agent that you are "with" that agent until the buyer broker agreement expires. You may not enter in to another agreement with another agent.

Did you know that you should look at homes with your agent. Going at it "solo" is not recommend. There are agents who will give you a list an have you do all of your own foot work. Making the appointments, looking at homes. Your agent typically dose this for you. All you need to do is tell you agent which homes you would like to see. Plan a day, or an afternoon, to look at the homes you would like to see.

Did you know houses begin to blend one in to the other after you have seen so many. You start to loose track after 10 houses, sometimes after 5. This is my recommendation, limit it to 10 houses at a time, if time allows. Next, give houses nick names this will help you remember the house. Keep a note book and pen with you, make notes on the print out about the houses. Throw away the print outs of the houses that don't work, it will confuse you.

Did you know your agent can be a huge value to you. Your agent can recommend an amount to offer to the sellers, they can make suggestions. They have experience and are a well spring of knowledge take advantage of it. Ask questions, have your agent make comments, and tell you what they think. They will do the "dirty work". They will negotiate on your behalf, let them be the bad guy.

Did you know their is no such thing as a bad offer. You never know till you try. They only say "no" to the agent.

Did you know you need to get pre-qualified as a buyer. This helps you to know how much house you can afford. If you have any credit issues they can help you there too.

Did you know that there are grant programs still available. You can qualify for any number of these programs and get up to $15,000 towards the purchase of your next home.

If you would like more information please feel free to call or email me.