Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Record High of Vacant Homes for Sale

Daily Real Estate News
April 29, 2008

The number of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.The Census Bureau reported that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes or 2.28 million properties, not including rentals, were vacant and for sale. It was the highest quarterly number as far back to 1956 when records of such vacancies were first kept.The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among home owners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South.Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (04/28/08)

Leave a post with a classy joke... get movie tickets.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Utah Real Estate Good, Nation Slumping

Well maybe I spoke too soon... Utah is doing really well. The rest of the nation, however, is getting a kick between the legs. This is from NAR:

Existing-Home Sales Slip in March

Existing-home sales edged down in March, remaining within a narrow range of sales activity that has persisted since last September, NAR says. Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, were down 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million units in March from a level of 5.03 million in February, and remain 19.3 percent below the 6.11 million-unit pace in March 2007. A rise in condo sales in March was offset by a drop in single-family sales. Regionally, sales rose in the Northeast and West but fell in the Midwest and South.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $200,700 in March, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when the median was $217,400. Because the slowdown in sales from a year ago is greater in high-cost areas, there is a downward pull to the national median with relatively higher sales activity in low-cost markets.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Market is healthy, Jazz are rolling!

So here is our market update for March. In a nut shell, things are looking good. Oddly enough, prices seem to be coming down to $100.00 a foot in new construction. I didn't expect to see that but that is what seems to be happening. Riverton, South Jordan, and Herriman, due to such a crazy amount of inventory, are now starting to sell again. Prices have DEPRECIATED out there quite a bit because everyone and their mom built a spec home. Sandy and Cottonwood Heights have slowed down, but still no depreciation. It's pretty flat right now. The homes that are selling are being priced way below the competition.

During the boom, there were over 10,000 homes for sale. Then came the crash--still 10,000 homes for sale but only about 20% being absorbed. During the over correction phase prices came flying down and sellers stopped putting their homes on the market. We went down to 6500 homes for sale in Feb of this year. Now, we are currently at 7700, with about 780 selling a month. Not too bad. Not too bad.

Prices seem to be stabilizing. One thing that is changing is time on market. It is taking alot longer for homes to sell.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Cottonwood Heights cracks CNN top 100!

Straight from the pig's mouth:

Known as the "city between the canyons," Cottonwood Heights used to be the overnight stopping point for lumber wagons traveling to and from Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Today, ski bunnies can enjoy the state's premier ski resorts at each canyon. Residents are also just 20 miles from downtown Salt Lake City; good access to the freeways makes the commute easy. But plenty of folks work right in town - after Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights is home to the largest number of class A office buildings in the state. Major companies such as Overstock.com, Jet Blue, Mrs. Fields and Kern River Gas Transmission Company all have offices here.

Follow the link to CNN money's site.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL4916270.html