| Welcome to eNewsletter |
Welcome to our monthly eNewsletter - coming to you each month with the latest happenings in the Utah real estate market.
We are local real estate professionals. In this increasingly complex market, it is our duty to keep you informed with current industry issues and market conditions. If you have any real estate needs, call or email us anytime.
Regards,
zoomUTAH.com
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| $6,000 Home Run Grant - Update |
I'm guessing that most of you heard about the state grant that was recently offered called the Home Run Grant. The state of Utah was offering $6,000 to every person that bought a home that had never been lived in. It was meant to jump start the slow real estate market and at the same time help to sell the new construction homes that had been sitting for a long time. They offered just over 1600 grants, and all of them were used with in a few months.
I am telling you all this, because there is speculation (right now, it's just a rumor) that the state might be working to get more funding and bring the Home Run Grant back soon. If this happens, I suspect the grant will once again, run dry very quickly. There is also a possibility that it will include both new construction and EXISTING homes. If you are considering purchasing a home in the next couple of months, now is a perfect time to start looking. By the time you are able to find yourself the home of your dreams, it is likely the grant will be renewed. If it doesn't end up happening then you can still take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. Let's also not forget about the fantastic interest rates that are available to buyers.
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| Zoom Real Estate Listing Strategy |
There are two critical steps to consider in selecting a Realtor to sell your home. The first step is the marketing of the home for sale. The second step is the coordination of all of the details involved once a Buyer is found.
First let's talk about the marketing of your home. Although non-Internet based avenues for marketing your home are still important, to attract buyers in the 21st Century your home must have strong web site distribution as its primary component. Were you aware that 98% of home buyers use the Internet to search for a new home? Thirty-eight million home buyers search the Internet each month for real estate information. One in three Buyers will find the home they ultimately purchase on the Internet. Taking those facts into consideration why would you select a Zoom Real Estate Realtor to market your home? Because Zoom Real Estate is Utah's #1 brokerage for listing distribution! Zoom Real Estate has an aggressive strategy for attracting home Buyers to our listings. By distributing your listing information, along with photographs, to a wide array of premier consumer web sites, we make sure that we maximize every opportunity to attract qualified Buyers to the table.
Following is a sample list of national and local channel partners: Trulia, Zillow, Google Base, Yahoo, AOL, FrontDoor, HotPads, HomeFinder, KUTV, KSL, Craigslist, etc.
Some of our additional key Zoom Real Estate agency services include:
- Placing your home on a number of the major multiple listing services including the Wasatch Front MLS, Realtor.com, UtahRealEstate.com, and more. This exposes your home to thousands of Wasatch Front Real Estate agents working with potential Buyers.
- Zoom Realtors, using detailed current market facts prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) as an accurate guide for pricing your property.
- Digital photos are taken for professional flyers, ads, buyer guides, and publishing for tours on the Internet.
- Immediate and frequent follow-on email announcements for the sale of your home.
- Attractive response-oriented color advertising, targeted announcements in our zoomutah.com prospects data base, etc.
The second step is the coordination of all the follow-on details involved once a Buyer has been found until your home is sold. This begins with negotiating the selected offer. Zoom Realtors, because of their experience and background, are adept at negotiating the best price and terms for you.
Zoom Real Estate has developed a unique, extremely efficient, computerized transaction management program which distributes and communicates all escrow documents to the parties involved in the escrow process.
Zoom Realtors are committed to after-sale follow-up. We will always be available to assist in any way long after the sale is finalized.
If you are looking to sell your home, and would like a progressive Realtor on your side, give me a call today for a personalized listing presentation that will knock your socks off.
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| It's a Balancing Act! Part 2 |
In last months news letter I wrote an article called The Balancing Act. In the article I talked about how we got so out of balance with home prices and income. I promised a check list of what to look for when buying an investment home. These items should help keep your house in the guide lines of profitability regardless of the market. Choosing the right home in any market is extremely important. These are tried and proved ways of preserving your equity and to keep a check and balance approach to your investment. Remember a balancing act is in order or you may find yourself losing balance and falling off the tight rope. Here is a list to look for and ideas to be cautious of. Be aware that some of these criteria are ok if you get a good enough deal so you can adjust your price when you go to sell.
- Personally I like a corner lot because often times they are larger, but I've had many clients that would not even look at a corner lot. The reasons are that some buyers do not want that large sidewalk to shovel in the winter, and the traffic on the side of the home. Privacy can be somewhat of an issue. Stay away from busy streets.
- Get with a Real Estate agent and find out what areas are selling the fastest and go where prices have stayed the steadiest. You may be better buying a smaller house in an area that is higher priced than go to an area that is priced low. Less desirable area will always bottom out faster than the more desirable. The farther out from the cities will also sell for less. Have your agent help you determine usable square foot price. That will save you a lot of grief when an appraisal is done.
- Get with an agent that has done investment properties personally and who understands what it takes to remodel a home. They can give you tips and referrals that can save you a lot of money.
- Experience is the best teacher. Don't get in the experimenting mode unless you can risk losing money. Go for help and advice. People love to give advice and tell you their experiences. Ask questions and research till you start getting the same answers from several sources. Home Depot, Lowes and like hardware stores have books and information that are invaluable. The good old library is a great resource. Looking through design books and magazines can help in a multitude of ways. The right colors for your home are mandatory for good resale. Magazines and books are great for staging and color. The nice thing about viewing a picture of a completed room is that the guess work is taken out. Stay neutral but don't be afraid to accentuate focal points.
- Main floor masters bedrooms are the best bet. Upstairs masters rule out a lot of older people. If you are doing a remodel put a master bedroom on the main and on another level if possible. That way you have the best of all worlds. Always do master baths and make closets as large as possible.
- Don't get emotional or attached to the home before you close.
- Always do an inspection and give yourself enough time in your Due Diligence to get all the facts about the home.
- Always budget in your house payment a reserve of money to keep things fixed up. Don't wait until you sell your home to get things in order when you could have been enjoying them all along.
Nothing is ever a 100% but these are excellent rules of thumb to follow for a good investment.
After many years of real estate sales experience, you won't go wrong following this advice. I am here to help at any time, so please don't hesitate contacting me!
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| zoomUTAH is on Twitter! |
Check out our Twitter page for breaking Utah Real Estate news, happenings at zoomUTAH.com, and special offers to our members!
Connect with us through Twitter!
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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 has been slowly getting absorbed which means we are headed for a more stable market. Over the next few months we wouldn't be surprised to see listings go up however, which is usually the case in spring and summer.
| Month |
Month End
Listings |
| January |
30,969 |
| February |
30,816 |
| March |
31,009 |
| April |
31,205 |
| May |
32,301 |
| June |
31,282 |
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 |
| April |
$100 |
82 |
| May |
$102 |
85 |
| June |
$105 |
81 |
| Utah County |
| April |
$84 |
84 |
| May |
$83 |
104 |
| June |
$84 |
91 |
| Davis County |
| April |
$88 |
88 |
| May |
$89 |
75 |
| June |
$89 |
80 |
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 |
| 3rd/2008 |
$266,700 |
3,098 |
7,697 |
| 4th/2008 |
$261,700 |
2,114 |
5,411 |
| 1st/2009 |
$262,300 |
1,745 |
6,250 |
| 2nd/2009 |
$273,213 |
2,483 |
6,401 |
| Utah County |
| 3rd/2008 |
$250,000 |
1,365 |
3,323 |
| 4th/2008 |
$246,400 |
946 |
2,695 |
| 1st/2009 |
$248,200 |
814 |
3,221 |
| 2nd/2009 |
$240,554 |
1,117 |
3,245 |
| Davis County |
| 3rd/2008 |
$238,200 |
919 |
2,116 |
| 4th/2008 |
$231,200 |
677 |
1,597 |
| 1st/2009 |
$236,500 |
586 |
1,780 |
| 2nd/2009 |
$233,140 |
781 |
1,853 |
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| Mortgage Rate Watch |
Today's Rates
| FHA/VA 30 Year Fixed |
5.500% * |
| Conv. 30 Year Fixed |
5.500% * |
| 15 Year Fixed |
5.250% ** |
*APR of 5.625%
**APR of 5.375%
Rate Trends (Last 3 Months)
To get a personalized mortgage
quote call us at 801-266-2466.
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Sponsored By:
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| Mortgage Market Update |
We have had a wild ride on the Rate Rollercoaster in the last month. Allow me to give you a quick little Bond lesson. It's fun to trump up your technical knowledge so you can speak to your family, friends and co-workers with terms that are easily explained. We, at zoomUTAH, are currently tracking Fannie Mae's 4.5% 30 year bond. This relates to the long term (30 year) mortgages that people are currently taking out through buying
or refinancing their home in the 5.25% to 5.5% range.
We began the month of June, essentially, at the same level we ended the month. In other words, mortgage rates are about the same now as they were at the beginning of the month. Within five trading days from the beginning of June, rates on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage had gone from 5.25% to 5.875%. Then five days later they returned to 5.25%. The stock and bond markets continue to be very volatile but there will come a time where rates will not return to previous, near term, lows. When was the last time you saw a rate of 4.87%...I don't think we're going back there again.
Our activity in mortgages and real estate sales has ramped up significantly in the last couple of months. We have helped many people purchase homes with little to no down payment. Yes, we closed some Home Run Grants that our clients used for down payment and our awesome Realtors encouraged sellers to pay all the closing costs. We locked the rates on some loans immediately before rates went up (with the help of some expensive forecasting software and professionals that understand how to read the indicators).
It's still the most affordable time in at least 30 years to buy a home, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Eventually, our economy will recover and the Fed will be pressured to raise interest rates to combat inflation. The $8000 tax credit is due to expire at the end of November this year. That's only 6 months away. It sounds like a long time but let's look at it this way...If you started now, it might take 2-3 months to find a home that meets your needs. In this market you need to get pre-approved for a mortgage before a Realtor will even take you out to look for a home. This can take up to a couple weeks if your debt to income ratio, down payment or asset base are minimal and a full analysis is needed. You could be delayed by homes going under contract by another buyer forcing you to look further. We are recommending a minimum of 30 days on a purchase contract to secure the loan and get it closed. So, if you start now, you're looking at about 4 and a half months. It's time to take action if you want the $8000 tax credit.
There are some new whisperings in the market. They are not final and some parameters need to be worked out but they come from reliable sources and it will create another Buying Frenzy. Do you remember the Making Home Affordable refinance initiative? Please refer to the zoomUTAH website and access the archived Newsletters. Go to the March issue where I wrote about it in detail. The Obama administration has realized that home values are continuing to slide in many areas of the country and he wants to do more to keep people out of foreclosure. Our Government is going to make it possible for us to refinance a Fannie or Freddie loan up to 125% of the current value of our home (remember, this relates only to the balance on your 1st mortgage). The previous limit was placed at 105%. The other whisper has to do with the $8000 tax credit. Our Government is working on a plan to provide a lending institution or channel by which a buyer can get an advance on the $8000. Buyers will be able to use it for a down payment, closing costs, furnishings or whatever they like. As soon as the buyer closes on their home, they apply for the credit and you pay off the advance from the lending institution. Pretty slick.
As always, we are here to help you make wise choices and to make your real estate transaction as smooth and professional as humanly possible. Contact us as we value the relationships that we have forged by being honest, helpful and always with the highest level of integrity.
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