Utah, A Great Place To Be......

If you are not from Utah you may not know that this weekend is an official state holiday in Utah.

Pioneer Day is an official state holiday celebrated July 24th of every year. The day commemorates the Mormon pioneer’s passage into the Salt Lake Valley from Emigration Canyon in 1847.
The first statewide Pioneer Day celebration was held July 23-24, 1857. To learn more about the history of this holiday and the great state of Utah, you may visit the... following links:

http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/res…/utah_symbols/holiday.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Day_(Utah)

Best,

Are you ready for homeownership?

Properties are selling faster. Nationwide, properties were on the market for an average of 39 days in April.

 

 Short sales were on the market for the longest amount of time, at 120 days. Foreclosed properties stayed on the market for just 51 days, while nondistressed properties had the fastest sales at 37 days, according to the April 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report. About 45 percent of properties across the country were on the market for less than a month when sold. Only 13 percent were on the market for longer than six months. Source, RosaPace@Realtor.com

Starter Homes Are on the Way

Good news for first-time buyers: more starter homes are on the way. A recent analysis by BUILDER online shows the number of homebuilders offering entry-level housing rose 25 percent last year compared to the year prior. 

Homebuilders Say Major Uptick Coming: Steady job growth, low mortgage rates, and pent-up demand is prompting an increase in the demand for new single-family homes, and homebuilders say they're ready to build them.  Single-family starts will reach 64 percent of historically normal levels by the fourth quarter of this year and rise to 77 percent of normal by the end of 2017, NAHB reports.

By the end of 2017, the top 20 percent of the largest states will reach at least 102 percent of normal single-family production levels, compared to the bottom 20 percent, which likely will still remain below 65 percent, NAHB reports.

While the numbers are rising, the entry-level market is still a fraction of what it once was in 2010.
Still, “the re-entry of the entry-level buyer has begun, but this group’s next moves will be gradual,” says Metrostudy’s Brad Hunter about young buyers’ emergence into the housing market. “Income challenges remain, and there are still relatively few new house developments who target this group.”

NAHB forecasters predict that single-family production will see a 14 percent uptick this year to 812,000 units, and then rise another 19 percent to 964,000 units in 2017.

Source:  BUILDER (April 27, 2016)

Is It Better to Rent or Buy?

If you can rent a similar home for less than ...

$884
PER
MONTH   ... then renting is better

 The choice between buying a home and renting one is among the biggest financial decisions that many adults make. But the costs of buying are more varied and complicated than for renting, making it hard to tell which is a better deal. To help you answer this question, our calculator takes the most important costs associated with buying a house and computes the equivalent monthly rent.

How to Read the Charts Charts that are relatively flat indicate factors that are not particularly important to the outcome. Conversely, the factors that have steep slopes have a large impact.

Rates Move Lower

For the First Time in Weeks,
On the heels of last week's decision by the Fed to keep rates unchanged, mortgage rates dropped

slightly this week, after four straight weeks of increases.
“The Federal Reserve’s decision last week to maintain the current level of the Federal funds rate combined with the reduction in their forecast for growth triggered a 3-basis point drop in the 10-year Treasury yield,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As a consequence, the 30-year mortgage rate declined 2 basis points to 3.71 percent. However, comments this week by several members of the Fed, including the presidents of the Richmond, San Francisco, and Atlanta banks, indicated that a June rate hike is still on the table.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 24:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.71 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.73 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.69 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.96 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 2.99 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.97 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.89 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 2.93 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.92 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

You're 'Trendy' if You Live Here

The 10 Trendiest U.S. Cities That You Can Still Afford to Buy

Research team was on the hunt to find the next “hipster meccas” popping up across the country. It analyzed 500 of the largest municipalities nationwide to find those that offer a fun, young, culture-rich urban scene and are still largely affordable.

To pin down the 10 trendiest U.S. cities, the team took into account such factors as the increase in the population of 25- to 34-year-olds from 2013 to 2014; the number of cultural outlets (such as musical venues, independent movie theaters, and art galleries), yoga studios, and bike shops; and housing affordability, among other factors.

Considering those criteria, the 10 cities that emerged as the top 10 trendiest based on realtor.com®’s study are:

1. Salt Lake City

Median home price: $355,000

Sure, you know Silicon Valley, but do you know Silicon Slopes? In Salt Lake City, affordable real estate, an educated workforce, and a decent transit system have lured big tech companies such as Adobe and Electronic Arts, as well as a slew of startups. And along with them, armies of young techies eager to work hard and play harder. Besides all the outdoorsy things to do in the majestic Rocky Mountains, there are plenty of impressive entertainment options. The Sundance Film Festival in nearby Park City each winter, of course, brings in thousands of filmmakers, actors, and fans—and locals get special deals on tickets. Plenty of those filmmakers decided to put down roots here. In summer, the Twilight Concert Series assembles indie and hip-hop powerhouses such as MGMT, Empire of the Sun, The Nationals, and Ludacris for free! Read more The 10 Trendiest U.S. Cities

Source: “RosaPace@realtor.com® (March 7, 2016)

19 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Utah

Utah, nicknamed “Beehive State”, offers some of the most beautiful and spectacular sights and places

to visit!

Just browse through these awesome pictures and be amazed by it’s beauty. Fun fact: The name Utah derives from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the mountains. Bryce Canyon is home to the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. Hoodoos are unique rock formations created by uneven erosion and weathering, giving them a distinctive and unmissable appearance. At Bryce Canyon, you will also find woodland, wildlife and caves, making it a hiker’s paradise. At night, the lack of local light sources create the perfect location for stargazing with unparalleled starry skies. 19 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Utah