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 29, 2008
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.
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.
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
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
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
February Market Stats--you tell me how they look!
So here are the updated stats for Feb 08. No need for me to explain here, you can do that yourself. Overall, the market is still healthy. Listings are selling--if they are priced right. You can plan on your home camping for a year or more if your price is wrong. If you are priced in the correct zone, that baby is gone in 2 months.
Click on the image to expand it in a separate window. If you leave me a post, I'll send ya movie tickets.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Market is up, my devils are out
Why oh why can't my devils pull out a win? How do you barely beat Belmont, then lose to WVU? I didn't even know schools existed in WV (anyone moving to slc from West Virginia please ignore that comment and know I appreciate your referrals!). So it looks as if NC will conquer all again. I went out and bought a Longhorn hat just to spite Kansas. I don't even like the Longhorns...alas...
So, the market is apparently up. This is stolen from NAR's site;
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales rose 2.9% in February to a 5.03 million-unit annual rate amid a sharp decline in median home prices (down 8.2% versus a year ago), leading to a 3% drop in the inventory of homes for sale. This was significantly above consensus expectations of a 0.8% decline in existing-home sales and acted as a positive catalyst for investors interested in housing-related and consumer stocks, in our opinion. Yesterday's data on existing home sales were stronger than expected.
(Me again) You want to know what else is stronger than expected? WVU! Oh my poor dukies.
So, the market is apparently up. This is stolen from NAR's site;
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales rose 2.9% in February to a 5.03 million-unit annual rate amid a sharp decline in median home prices (down 8.2% versus a year ago), leading to a 3% drop in the inventory of homes for sale. This was significantly above consensus expectations of a 0.8% decline in existing-home sales and acted as a positive catalyst for investors interested in housing-related and consumer stocks, in our opinion. Yesterday's data on existing home sales were stronger than expected.
(Me again) You want to know what else is stronger than expected? WVU! Oh my poor dukies.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Prices finally coming down
Click on the image to expand it for viewing.After months and months of insane appreciation, I do believe housing will become affordable again. This is good news for everyone. Sellers might not be happy that their homes only appreciated 5% this year but, puh-leez, if anyone thinks 19% is healthy for our economy, let's go to lunch and I will convince you otherwise.
This graph is taken from our mls. The red line is home sales; which are at a 5 year low. the blue line is average home sale price; finally coming down. The green line is the killer. This is the number of homes for sale. As you can see, last year and at the start of this year, every other home in the valley was for sale. That is no longer the case. What does this mean? Stabilization, baby! The closer that green line is to the red line the better the market is for sellers. The further away they are, buyers reap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)