Buying a Home in Salt Lake City, UT

The following is a very brief excerpt from an article in the Deseret News titled "St. George metro area growth ranks 2nd in U.S." by Deborah Bulkeley and Nancy Perkins Published: Thursday, March 27, 2008 12:29 a.m. MDT.

Although the article speaks mostly about Saint George (an area I don't service, but do send referrals to) it also mentions Salt Lake and some of the surrounding counties which I do cover: 

"The Provo-Orem metro area, which ranks eighth nationally in growth since 2000, ranks 34th in its one-year growth of 2.6 percent. And the Ogden-Clearfield metro area ranked 26th with 2.9 percent growth.

Utah's largest metro area - Salt Lake - grew by 2 percent, reaching an estimated population of 1.1 million. And the Logan metro area grew by 2.2 percent."

Essentially, we appear to have experienced collective growth in the 2-3% range (population).

People still flock to Utah because of the environment, the jobs, the lifestyle, the mountains, and yes, even today, the affordable housing. (Compared to other Western Metropolitain areas.)

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

It will be interesting to see if the slowdown during the Fall (which causes numbers in the Winter to be lower) was as dramatic as it seemed.

I'm curious if Spring and Summer might actually do very well due to many hesitant and fence-sitting Buyers who are now confidently purchasing homes again.

If this is true, it could lead to inflated numbers over the Spring and Summer and as the pool of Buyers slows again to what would be a more "normal" rate in the Fall and Winter, those numbers could look bad next year, where in reality they would only appear to be bad due to the higher than average number of Buyers who are now ready to buy because they didn't purchase over the Fall and Winter...

Only time will tell!

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

As you can see from the graph below which analyzes the average number of days on the market it took for a listed home to sell, you can see that this is one statistic that has actually followed a pretty smooth pattern over the past 6 months.

Days on the market peaked in February at just over 60 days and then appears to have fallen slightly in March. This is all good news. Nationally, 60 days on the market is a really good figure.

I suspect that this number will slightly improve over the next few months as Spring and Summer historically do MUCH better than Fall and Winter.  (And I personally am busier right now than I was at this time last year... imagine that!)

Salt Lake County Data from WFRMLS Statistics as of 10:30pm 3/28/2007

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Take a look at this graph that shows Average List Prices and Average SOLD Prices in Salt Lake County over the past 6 months and tell me you don't see the same thing that I do:

Salt Lake appears to have gone through a minor slump during 4th quarter 2007 and the beginning of 1st quarter 2008. Things appear to be almost exactly where they were 6 months ago.

It would appear that the real estate market in Salt Lake County has handled the necessary correction well and will go back to a small but sustainable appreciation rate.

The GOOD part in all of this is that the market was able to slow itself considerably and correct itself much better than many other markets around the country.

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

I came across this while reading an article today about financing and the state of the real estate market. I thought I would check it out (since it's free, right?) and see how accurate it could guess my credit score.

Well, I have to say, it was pretty accurate! Obviously this isn't a substitute for the real thing, but if you are a Buyer, you could use this to give a pretty close to accurate estimate to an agent or a lender when they ask you how your credit is.

If you know your score, click through, give it a shot and tell me if you think this thing is pretty close or not.

It takes about 2-3 minutes total to get an estimated credit score.

One caveat: This will only be as accurate as the data you put into it, so be completely honest.

Here's the link: 

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/creditreport/main.asp

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Hiring a real estate agent to help you with your home purchase is a smart idea.  Making sure that agent represents you and only you in your home purchase is even smarter.

If you are thinking about moving to the Salt Lake City area, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers.

We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "The Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

States are graded in 4 key areas:

1. Money Management
2. People (Attracting strong professionals to the state)
3. Infrastructure (Roads, Bridges, Buildings, etc.)
   and
4. Information (Using technology to communicate and interact with the residents).

Here is a copy of the Utah "Report Card"

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/states_card.aspx?abrv=UT 

If you are thinking about moving to Utah, independently graded one of the top 3 states in the nation, make sure you get an Agent on YOUR side! 

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

BizJournals.com ran a story that proclaimed Salt Lake City "the runner-up in the low-stress derby. It enjoys America's smallest unemployment rate, 2.6 percent, as well as light traffic, healthy citizens and low crime rates."

Living here, I have to say that I enjoy it. They left out all the cool things you can do here like skiing, mountain biking, hiking, etc. etc. It's also pretty easy to relax when you can get to most of the things you want and need to do on a regular basis in 10 minutes or less. (Or 30 minutes or less for other activities).

At any rate, if you are thinking about buying a home in the next 60-90 days in the nation's 2nd least stressful metropolitan area, make sure you have an agent on your side!

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

McMansions are here, would you like a side of fries with that?

Builders build them and buyers buy them, but what is the allure?

A McMansion neighborhood is a development with super-sized homes on dollar-menu lots. These are usually built by a single builder and would be considered "tract" homes by anyone who owns a "real" mansion. These are not to be confused with "estates" regardless of what the nice rock entry to the community might say.

I have clients who have lived in peace in nice neighborhoods: either quaint, turn of the century era bungalow communities (no... the OTHER century...) or neighborhoods where homes were spaced out on one-third to full-acre lots surrounded by mature trees, wildlife and a slow pace.  Now, developers are being allowed to tear down homes, trees, and other amenities to create the McMansion neighborhood in and around these areas that were previously desirable specifically because they LACKED what the McMansion developments bring to town.

Who is to blame?

I honestly cannot blame the developers, even though they are the ones building the McMansions. Builders LOVE to build McMansions (they are even building Mc Mini Mansion neighborhoods) because they can build more homes on less land which equals more profit.

The blame surely must fall with the governmental agencies that are allowing the developers to put these developments in these desirable areas. Governments ignore the negative impact on those who previously occupied the areas because a McMansion community in a desirable area brings higher tax dollars (and more of them due to the same reasoning above).

Don't get me wrong. I'm not making a claim that the Government is taking land from anybody to do this. They are only "enabling" the developers by approving the McMansion subdivision paradigm.

Speaking of "enablers" there should be equal blame placed on those who purchase these homes since if people would outright refuse to buy these homes, developers might stop building them.

Still, can you really blame them for buying less than what they really want because the price seems so good?

Isn't that what you get at the McBurgerHouse as well?

Ba-dop-bop-bop-bah... 

If you are thinking about buying a home in the Salt Lake area, make sure you get an agent on YOUR side.

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The following news story (Don't know when it aired, sorry) discusses whether or not having your ducts cleaned is a scam or not.

I have always wondered this myself and it is nice to know that there ARE companies out there that CAN actually clean your ducts pretty thoroughly. (Did they say 300 mile per hour winds?)

Here are tips I picked up from the story:

• If you pay for air duct cleaning and they show up with a Shop Vac, send them home.
• Read the fine print ("Whole House" doesn't always mean "Whole House")

Has anybody had their ducts cleaned?

Did you feel scammed?

3:38

If you are thinking about buying a home in the Salt Lake area, make sure you get an agent on YOUR side.

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy...

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Deseret News has reported that "Owners of the SunCrest development have defaulted on $58 million in development loans, and residents there are worried the developer could try to sell its remaining assets and leave the state."

Owners fear that amenities that the developers promised would be built (clubhouse, etc.) will never be built.

The promised clubhouse (from the suncrest.com website):

How would you feel if you had bought into such a development as many as 5 years ago, constantly being told the improvements were "just around the corner" and now hearing news like this?

Can anything be done to save the community?

Read the news article here: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695259163,00.html

If you are thinking about buying a home in the Salt Lake area, make sure you get an agent on YOUR side.

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy... 

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Which of the following are GOOD reasons to buy a home now?

• Tax Advantages
• More Inventory
• Lower Prices
• Lower Appreciation
• Low Rates (Historically Speaking)
• Lower payments now, even if prices drop (assuming interest rates continue to rise)
• Sellers/Builders offering more incentives/more willing to negotiate
• More loan programs (Did I just say that?) - Will more and more products be taken from the marketplace over the next few years?
  
• Rising Rents
• You plan on settling down for many years
  
• Get the 30 year (or 15 year) clock running...
• More foreclosures = More opportunity for a bargain (Is this true?)
• Waiting until you "know" the market has improved means you have waited too long
• Are there others?

OK, now to be fair, I would also like you to post reasons why buying a home now would be a BAD idea. I know, most of you are in the business of selling real estate, BUT, you are among the best of the best, so I'm sure you can provide some counterpoints to the arguments for...

If you are thinking about buying a home in the Salt Lake area in the near future, make sure you get an agent on YOUR side.

Homebuyer Representation, Inc. is the only Real Estate Brokerage representing Buyers ONLY in Salt Lake City and the Surrounding Area. We do not list any homes. We never represent Sellers. We work for BUYERS ONLY on the Buyer's side of the transaction.

We work to get BUYERS the Best Price and Terms when they Buy... 

We're "Real Estate Agents on the Buyer's Side" TM

If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a $250,000-$500,000 home in the Salt Lake area in the next 60-90 days, call us at (801) 969-8989 or contact us via the link on this page.

©2008 Homebuyer Representation, Inc. All Rights Reserved