SOLD

SOLD

SOLD THIS MONTH IN WEST JORDAN

Looks like the market is doing well for one of our sellers they have closed and are getting ready to purchase there new home this week.

Would you like to see your house SOLD call 801 450-7165 and let us show you how we can SELL your house!!

Fixed Rate Averages Drop Lower

Fixed Rate Averages Drop Lower

Despite Economic Improvements

Fixed mortgage rates slipped further down, maintaining their near-record low averages despite evidence of an improving economy, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

“The Fed stated that it expects economic growth to remain moderate and then pick up gradually. In addition, it noted that labor market conditions have improved in recent months and it anticipates the unemployment rate will decline gradually,” said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac.
Nothaft also mentioned the FHFA house price index, which showed a 0.3 percent monthly increase for February, and the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city indexes, which showed 12 out of 20 metropolitan areas saw monthly gains.

5 signs that it's a good time to sell

5 signs that it's a good time to sell

Why desperate homeowners could find relief this year

By Dian Hymer, Monday, April 23, 2012.

Inman News®

Traditionally, most homes have sold during the spring months. In the current volatile housing market, the time of year is not the most reliable predictor of the best time to sell. Click on the link to read more...

Low-ball Offers a Thing of the Past?

Low-ball Offers a Thing of the Past?
Realty agents say low-ball offers on homes for sale, typically those that are 25% or more below list price, are disappearing in high-demand markets. click on the link to read more...

Tell us what you really think !

Tell us what you really think !

'Want to pick a fight in a roomful of real estate agents? Ask them whether they think open houses are worthwhile.' That's how reporter Mary Umberger kicked off a two-part series for Inman News examining the pros and cons of the time-honored technique of marketing homes for sale.

Today, Inman News is doing just that -- asking agents and brokers whether they hold open houses themselves, how they promote them, what they get out of them, and what they think of the National Association of Realtors' upcoming Nationwide Open House Weekend (click button below to take our survey).

Some agents Umberger talked to said open houses have a low conversion rate -- many who tromp through the featured homes turn out to be curious neighbors. There are better places for agents to focus their marketing efforts, they said, like the Internet and social media.

click here to see more: Where buyers get information about homes for sale

More Builders Offer

More Builders Offer
                 'Home Within a Home'

 

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, April 19, 2012

As the number of people living in a household expands, builders are responding and tweaking home designs to meet the growing needs of multigenerational households.
In recent years, the number of grown children moving back with their parents and the number of elderly parents moving-in with their adult children is increasing, causing more households to re-evaluate their use of space at home. Analysts say the number of multigenerational households will likely rise even more in the coming years, particularly among ethnic groups like Asians and Hispanics who are more likely to live with extended family.
More builders are debuting floorplans for single-family homes that include “semi-independent suites with separate entries, bathrooms, and kitchenettes,” the Associated Press reports. “Some suites even include their own laundry areas and outdoor patios for additional privacy, though they maintain a connection to the main house through an inside door. “
For example, homebuilder Lennar Corp. has started offering 700-square-foot suites contained in some of its 3,400-square-foot floorplan homes in Las Vegas. Homebuilder Standard Pacific Homes also has rolled out more “casitas,” which are attached to the main house but also offer more independent living.
Source: “The Family That Stays Together,” The Associated Press (April 16, 2012

Prices Up, Inventories Down

Prices Up, Inventories Down
Existing-home sales last month were down slightly but they remain at about a 4.6 million level, as they have since January, so if that level holds for the remainder of the year we could see a strong 2012, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said at a press conference in Washington today.

The relatively strong performance this first quarter stems from the improving economy, Yun said. But it also has to do with the pent-up demand that’s been building for the last several years. At some point, people doubling up or living with parents will start forming households, as they always do when the population increases, and many of these households will buy. Yun thinks we’re seeing signs of this now.
Along with the relatively high level of sales, inventories are down, which helps on prices, and that’s reflected in the numbers. The national median home price is up more than 2 percent from last year.
It’s possible larger homes are being sold (normal for this time of year), so that could account for some of the price increase. But also distressed sales as a percentage of the market are starting to decline. So, that could be having an impact on prices, too.
All in all, despite the slight dip in volume, the picture looks relatively good going into the spring buying season.

RealtyTrac: Short Sales Up 33%

RealtyTrac: Short Sales Up 33%

January, Outpace REO Sales in 12 States

With the number of short sales increasing and even outnumbering REO sales in certain states, experts are speculating short sales might become key to preventing an even greater swelling of foreclosed properties on the market.

Existing Home Sales

Existing Home Sales  Fall In March For 2nd Straight Month, Prices Rise  
Existing-home sales fell to 4.48 million (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in March from an upwardly revised February rate of 4.60 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday. Economists had forecast the March sales pace would be 4.62 million. At the same time, the median price of a new home rose to $163,800, its highest level since last November’s $164,000 and up 2.5 percent since March 2011, the first year-year increase in prices since December 2010.

US home-buying season finally signaling a recovery

US home-buying season finally signaling a recovery
(04-15) 07:01 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Five years after the U.S. housing bust sent sales and prices plunging, the spring home-buying season is pointing to a long-awaited recovery.
Reduced prices, record-low mortgage rates, higher rents and an improving job market appear to be emboldening many would-be buyers. Open houses are drawing crowds. A wave of foreclosures is leading investors to grab bargain-priced homes.
And many people seem to have concluded that prices won't drop much further. In some areas, prices have begun to tick up.
Interviews with more than two dozen potential buyers, sellers, brokers, Realtors and economists suggest that confidence is up and that sales will move slowly but steadily higher.
'The biggest challenge that we've had over the past four years is fear — fear that the economy is collapsing, that property values are collapsing, that the world is coming to an end,' says Mark Prather, a broker at ERA Buy America Real Estate in La Palma, Calif. 'The fear factor is all but gone.'

The Best Cities To Buy A Home Right Now

The Best Cities To Buy A Home Right Now

6. Salt Lake City UT

Median List Price: $195,000 (up 5.5% y-o-y) Inventory Level: 6,743

homes (down 31% y-o-y) Median Days On Market: 90 days (down 13% y-o-y)

Price Drop From Peak:19.4% Unemployment Rate: 5.9%

Buying a home is not a decision to be taken lightly. Personal finance gurus warn against purchasing unless you plan to keep it for a minimum of five years and, since the housing bubble burst, many say it’s best to buy only if it fits your lifestyle – not your investing portfolio.

For first-time home buyers shopping for a permanent, full-time residence, it’s advice to heed. But say you do simply want a place to park some of your hard-earned money, perhaps a fixer-upper you could occupy for a few years or maybe a house you believe you could rent out right away and easily oversee?

Tips for Freshening Up Exteriors

Tips for Freshening Up Exteriors

6 Painting Tips for Freshening Up Exteriors

Springtime is the best time to give a home a fresh coat of paint, according to the Paint Quality Institute.
“By painting in moderate weather, you’ll likely get a longer-lasting paint job,” says Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert for the Paint Quality Institute. Zimmer says that exterior painting is best to do when temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but not when it gets too hot. “Very hot days can cause the paint to dry too quickly and impair good paint film formation,” she notes.
Some more tips for exterior painting from Zimmer:

As Home Rents Head Higher

As Home Rents Head Higher

Owning Regains Its Appeal

BY DAWN WOTAPKA AND NICK TIMIRAOS

Climbing rents for apartments are combining with a continued decline in home prices to push once-reluctant home buyers into finally taking the plunge, say economists and real-estate agents, helping what appears to be a good start to the housing industry's all-important spring selling season.

How Much Home Can I Afford?

How Much Home Can I Afford?

Is The Absolute Wrong Question

If your home search starts with the question 'How much home can I afford? you're doing it wrong. Your focus is misplaced.

Whether you're a first-time home buyer or an experienced investor; whether you live in high-cost areas such New York City or Los Angeles, or affordable areas such as Columbus, Ohio or Blacksburg, Virginia; whether your receiving a gift of downpayment, or you saved on your own, your main question as a home buyer should not be tied to the listed price of a home. read more:

Real Estate Taxes

Think you're paying too much in real estate taxes? 

 Real Estate Taxes

You might be right.

According to an industry trade group, more than 60 percent of U.S. homes are currently over-assessed as a result of falling home valuations and inaccurate county records.

Over-assessment creates a bigger annual tax bill than for which you should otherwise be responsible.

RealtyTrac Reports Foreclosure Filings Down

RealtyTrac Reports Foreclosure Filings Down

Foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions – were reported on 572,928 properties during the 2012 first quarter, down 2 percent from the previous quarter and down 16 percent from the first quarter of 2011, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market report released Thursday.

For just March alone, foreclosure filings were reported on 198,853 properties, the lowest monthly total since July 2007. read more click on the link above...

The Best Cities For Raising A Family

The Best Cities For Raising A Family
Click on the link and see where you city ranks

No. 3 Provo, Utah Rankings (of 100 largest metros):

Median Income: 33
Cost of Living Index: 10
Housing Affordability: 54
Commuting: 34
Pct. Owning Homes: 59 (65%)

Crime: 1
Education: 11

Housing is relatively expensive, but the overall cost of living isn’t. And no major metro has a lower crime rate.

 

Credit Scores Rising,LTVs Dropping on New Mortgage

Credit Scores Rising,LTVs Dropping on New Mortgage

Mortgage lenders remain cautious in terms of credit quality, Credit Scores Rising, LTVs Dropping on New Mortgages:

Your Daily Dose from DSNews.com: Report down payments, and valuations, as evidenced by the findings outlined in the new Origination Insight Report generated by Ellie Mae.

The company found that the average credit score for loans approved by lenders and closed is steadily rising, while acceptable loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are declining.
Ellie Mae’s report series tracks the current lending environment for refinance and purchase mortgages and provides metrics on the kinds of loans getting done and on the challenges consumers and lenders are facing. The company intends to issue the report monthly.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Experts Expect to See Broad Improvements, Home Price

Experts Expect to See Broad Improvements, Home Price
With signs of improvement in the housing sector already emerging, participants expect to see housing starts nearly double by 2014 and project home prices will begin to rise in 2013.
The average home price, which has declined somewhere between 1.8 percent and 4.1 percent over each of the past three years, according to FHFA data, is expected to stabilize in 2012, followed by a 2 percent increase in 2013, and a 3.5 percent increase in 2014.
Single-family housing starts are expected to rise from 428,600 starts in 2011 to 500,000 in 2012, and jump to 800,000 in 2014.
The unemployment rate is expected to continue falling, with the rate dropping to 8 percent by the end of 2012, 7.5 percent by the end of 2013, and 6.9 percent by the end of 2014.
GDP is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2012 and grow to 3.2 percent in 2014.
But, with the improving economy is inflation and higher interest rates. These rising rates will increase costs for investors, and those surveyed do not expect substantial increases in real estate capitalization rates for institutional-quality investments (NCREIF cap rates), which are expected to remain steady at 6 percent in 2012 and 2013 and then rise slightly to 6.2 percent in 2014.

Federal Reserve Issues Policy Statement on Foreclo

Federal Reserve Issues Policy Statement on Foreclosures

If you are looking to buy a home this year with these interest rates and low price you may want to read what the new plan could be on Foreclosures. Mortgage Lenders becoming Landlords.

Kitchens Sell a House

Kitchens Sell a House
If your thinking about selling this will give you a good insight as to what buyers are looking for in a home. Have any questions or want to find out what your house is worth, give is a call we will provide you with a FREE market analyse. 801 450-7165

Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Cred

Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit
 Good news for buyers and seller, time to start looking and purchasing your dream house and take advantage of the low interest rates.

The Salt Lake Market Edge - April 2012

The Salt Lake Market Edge - April 2012
The National Association of Realtors is predicting existing-home sales will jump 7 to 10 percent in 2012 to the highest level in five years, based on an "uneven but higher sales...

10 Home Staging Tips to Make Your Listing Look like a Model Home

10 Home Staging Tips to Make Your Listing Look like a Model Home
On March 19, 2012, in Staging Tips, by Blog Contributor

Share|

By Julea Joseph, Reinventing Space
[Reposted with permission from Reinventing Space blog.]
What is it about model homes that make them so appealing? Is it the freshness of all new; is it the sassy paint colors, the perfectly placed furniture, art and accessories or the beautiful groomed backyard that makes you want to plop right down on that comfy club chair?
Well…. Yes to all the above.
From blue print to drawer pulls, that model home is meticulously planned by builders and skilled professionals to make it beautiful.
Models homes are lovely because they have the latest and the greatest, are fresh and new, and are meticulously detailed. Psychology–more than decorating–is applied to make them look so fabulous.
So how can you make your next listing as appealing as a model home? Here are 10 ways.