| Foreclosure & Short Sale Auctions |
zoomUTAH.com is creating a way for you to participate in foreclosure and short sale auctions online. Most real estate auctions happen at the court steps or in a private auction setting. These traditional methods are very expensive to all parties involved which severely limits these opportunities to a select few. We are in the process of rolling out a new program that would open the door to more Buyers.
We are in the final stages of completing the program and we would like your feedback to see if access to online auctions would be of interest to you. Please help us by completing a quick 5 question survey to help us gauge your interest.
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| The Time is Now |
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I attended a breakfast the other morning that was hosted by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. I attended the breakfast to hear about the current economic conditions and a forecast of Utah's Real Estate market. I was given the privilege of hearing from two well-known and respected local Utahns. The first was James Wood who comes from the Bureau of Economic and Business Research and David Eccles School of Business. The second speaker was none other than our very own U.S. Congressmen, Rob Bishop; both highly regarded in the Utah community. I walked away with two messages.
- The economy is not very good right now.
- Housing markets will bottom in 2009 and the recession will end in 2010.
The first message is something we all know. The second is a key to what we are all trying to figure out. Everyone is looking for that bottom before they purchase a home. Well folks, per our esteemed economist, we have reached the bottom, or very near it. He is predicting (from all the crazy indicators he watches) that the housing market will stabilize and even show improvement in 2010. This means that every person that either wants/needs to purchase a home should do it in 2009. This will help ensure that you get the absolute best deal possible for your new home.
The interest rates are great right now, so I recommend not waiting too long. You never know when the interest rates could rise back into the 6% range. If you are waiting for the home prices to fall that extra little bit, you might miss the great interest rates during your wait. If the rate even rises a half percent, (which we've seen happen in January - see mortgage rate graph below) you may actually end up paying more in total for a home with a lower purchase price than a higher price with a better interest rate. In my opinion, interest rates typically are more important to the terms of a real estate transaction than the home price.
If you'd like to start looking for homes, call me now. I have access to the best software to help find and manage the buying process, and nobody has more availability than I do.
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| Major Enhancements to zoomUTAH.com |
We have launched some new features on zoomUTAH.com that I wanted to let you know about. These enhancements have been requested many times by our members and we are excited to announce they are available to you!
1. School District & School Filters: Ability to search by School District, Elementary, Middle and High Schools. If you want to purchase a home in a specific school district or even a specific school, you can now filter your search results by these criteria. You can view these changes on the "Map View" page after you do your initial search from the home page.
2. Days on Market: Ability to search by Days on Market. If you want to see what listings are new on the market you now have the option to only search listings that have been on the market less than 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month.
3. Nearby Listings: When you view the details of a particular listing, it will show you the 10 closest active listings on the market near the home you are viewing. This is a great way to see what other homes are selling for in the area and get a feel for the pricing and condition of the homes.
4. Map View Mouse Zoom: When you are on the Map View page on zoomUTAH.com, you can use your mouse wheel (if applicable) to zoom in or out of the map.
5. Terrain View: Also on the Map View there is a new button called Terrain. This is useful for knowing the general physical landscape of an area of interest.
We would love to hear from you in regards to these enhancements. What do you think?
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| Mortgage Market Update |
We are helping many current members refinance and many newcomers purchase homes. The bond market has performed relatively well in the last month (barring last week's retrenchment). The most frustration has hit me on the days where the stock and bond markets have tanked in tandem. In a normal market, stocks rise on good news (& rumors) while bonds fall as money comes out to fuel stock gains. The opposite is normally true as well. Stocks tank, and as investors cash out they put the money into the "safe haven" of the bond market. All of this is evidence that we are living through a "perfect storm" in our Nation's financial markets.
We have had numerous times this month, where mortgage backed securities have traded significantly higher but our rates did not reflect the market's gains. The investors that mortgage professionals place your loans with are slammed with an increase in volume during the past several weeks. Remember, the investors have shrunk in number and have reduced staff in an effort to slash costs. So while the increase in activity is certainly a good thing, it may be too much, too soon for investors to handle. Their solution to slowing down the volume has been to increase pricing (rates). They are maxed out in capacity and making a higher margin...Supply and Demand reiterated. Their profits are increased while making the workload more manageable. As an mortgage professional, this can be very frustrating as we watch the actual markets improve from time to time...but this improvement is not reflected in some Investor's rate sheets. Depending on the Investor, we also have to consider possibly locking a loan with a longer lock as underwriting times have lengthened.
Smart borrowers are taking action right now. Here's the Truth...Yes, the Fed has been buying Mortgage Bonds, but if you look at what they are purchasing, they are buying a lot of FNMA 30-yr 5.5% and 5.0% Bonds...which won't have much of an impact on present interest rates. Why? First, see the Fed's purchases for yourself by hitting this link: Direct Link to View Fed Mortgage Bond Buying.
So why is the Fed buying these Bonds? Well if you think about it, it's very smart of the Fed...and maybe even a little sneaky...because 5.5% Bonds actually represent outstanding mortgages with rates of 6 - 6.50%, which are precisely the loans being refinanced at today's great interest rates.
With rates at present low levels, many of the mortgages in these FNMA 5.5% pools being bought up by the Fed will be refinanced and paid, thus giving the Fed a quick recoup on some of their investment. And this is likely a big reason why the Fed said they could continue this purchasing program beyond June, if necessary. Bottom line, the Fed buying these higher rate coupons will not necessarily help rates to move lower, as their actions do not impact the loans being originated at today's low rates.
Sometimes I talk to clients who are in a situation where it makes sense to refinance right now, and save $250 per month for example. But when they hear the media throwing around teases of lower rates ahead, they decide to hold off on making the decision to save the $250 per month right now, in the hopes of gaining another $30 per month in additional savings with a lower rate than where we stand presently. Now clearly, rates could turn higher, and this window of opportunity could pass them by entirely.
The clincher is this:
Even if those clients ultimately are correct in timing the market, and eventually grab that lower rate and save another $30 per month - think of what they have lost by waiting. While they delayed, they lost the savings they could have gained by taking action sooner - or in the example used, $250 - for every single month they waited. So even if they got lucky and obtained the rate they were looking for, it could take years to make up what they lost by waiting.
We are fortunate to be working on a high volume of loans. We are not pressured to make a lot of money on individual loans and often help our buyers lock at lower rates than other companies can afford to do. I look at all the zoomUTAH members (or readers) as family. I appreciate the friendships and relationships that form between a mortgage professional and borrowers as I work to help you obtain your mortgage goals.
Call us today at 801-266-2466 to get a personalized mortgage quote.
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| zoomUTAH helped 965 families buy, sell, or refinance in January. |
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| ALERT! Mortgage Rates on the Rise |
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Mortgage rates increased this month from the high 4's to the mid-to-high 5's. Rates fluctuate daily, so call us today to enroll in our FREE "Mortgages Under Management" program. If rates fall to your target rate and you are enrolled in this program, we guarantee you get the rate! Call us today to enroll at 801-266-2466.
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| Recent Market Trends |
Active Listing Inventory
This report shows you how many active listings were on the market at the end of each month. Inventory is slowly getting absorbed which means we are headed for a more stable market.
| Month |
Month End
Listings |
| August |
34,275 |
| September |
33,695 |
| October |
33,069 |
| November |
32,241 |
| December |
31,845 |
| January |
30,969 |
Monthly Sales
This report shows you the last 3 months price per square foot averages on sold homes as well as the average days on market for their respective counties.
| Month |
Avg $ Per Square Ft |
Avg Days on Market |
| Salt Lake County |
| November |
$107 |
73 |
| December |
$104 |
77 |
| January |
$102 |
84 |
| Utah County |
| November |
$93 |
95 |
| December |
$88 |
92 |
| January |
$86 |
87 |
| Davis County |
| November |
$90 |
84 |
| December |
$89 |
79 |
| January |
$86 |
100 |
Home Sales By Quarter
This report shows you the home sales in 2008 by quarter.
| Quarter |
Avg Sold Price |
Total # of Homes Sold |
Total # of Homes Listed |
| Salt Lake County |
| 1st/2008 |
$268,200 |
2,340 |
8,215 |
| 2nd/2008 |
$274,300 |
3,238 |
8,143 |
| 3rd/2008 |
$266,700 |
3,098 |
7,697 |
| 4th/2008 |
$261,700 |
2,114 |
5,411 |
| Utah County |
| 1st/2008 |
$245,900 |
923 |
3,947 |
| 2nd/2008 |
$250,400 |
1,233 |
4,115 |
| 3rd/2008 |
$250,000 |
1,365 |
3,323 |
| 4th/2008 |
$246,400 |
946 |
2,695 |
| Davis County |
| 1st/2008 |
$249,800 |
784 |
2,280 |
| 2nd/2008 |
$248,100 |
985 |
2,148 |
| 3rd/2008 |
$238,200 |
919 |
2,116 |
| 4th/2008 |
$231,200 |
677 |
1,597 |
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| Mortgage Rate Watch |
Today's Rates
| FHA/VA 30 Year Fixed |
5.500% APR |
| Conv. 30 Year Fixed |
5.500% APR |
| 15 Year Fixed |
5.125% APR |
Rate Trends (Last 3 Months)
To get a personalized mortgage
quote call us at 801-266-2466.
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| February Featured Listing |
Syracuse, UT
$274,900 - New Price!
Incredible Quality and Value!
100% completed like new home in great area. 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, fully landscaped and fenced with huge trex deck. Hot tub is new and is negotiable! Built in home theater sound system, lots of storage. Priced to move!
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Sponsored By:
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