Utah is among the best states in the nation! We enjoy low unemployment, large influx of new residents, and plenty of available housing! This is a great time to buy or sell in Utah!
* Inventory is excellent, offering many choices in many price ranges. Buyers can truly choose the perfect home!
* The housing market is experiencing price stabilization so buyers are getting better value for their money!
* It is estimated that over 41,000 people will be moving to Utah this year!
* Mortgage programs are plentiful for qualified buyers!
* FHA lending programs are available to more people, even in the Jumbo Loan market!
* Interest rates are historically low!
The market is growing and housing is needed! Buyers and sellers can find the market favorable right now!
This positive information was provided by a great mortgage officer:
Stevan Davis
Axiom Financial
801-836-5678
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Waiting to buy might not be in your best interest!
Buyers: We’re in a buyer’s market! But history shows this market won’t last forever and some early implications are showing that it may be changing sooner than you think. Here’s why you may want to act now, before the market begins to adjust:
Fact #1: Affordability is increasing
Fact #2: Interest rates remain attractive
Fact #3: Many sellers are motivated
Fact #4: There are a lot of homes to choose from
Fact #5: Historically speaking, Utah real estate is a strong, long term investment
Why You May Not Want to Make the Mistake of Waiting:
Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for Utah real estate to “bottom out,” but doing so could cost you plenty in terms of higher housing prices and interest rates. Locally, Salt Lake City, according to an April 29 Forbes article entitled “Recession Proof Cities,” seems to be holding its own as well. The article notes, “A November 2007 report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors projected that Salt Lake City would be one of the few large cities in the country not to suffer a decline in gross metropolitan product from the mortgage crisis.” Furthermore, Lake City’s unemployment is among the lowest among the country’s 50 largest cities and it continues to create job growth in spite of national economic indicators.
What The Experts Are Predicting:
The National Association of Realtors is projecting that home sales will trend up this year. According to the national real estate organization’s April 8, 2008 market update report entitled “Existing Home Sales to Stabilize Before Upturn in Second Half of 2008,” “Little change is expected in existing home sales over the next few months, before improving notably during the second half of the year.” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said the market will come into clear focus this summer, noting “Existing home sales could start to show a sustained increase within a few weeks, unless there are some additional economic problems or excessive inflationary pressure."
Early Implications Show That the Market May Be Changing:
While the stars remain aligned for buyers, in recent weeks there have been some noteworthy developments that could mean positive growth for real estate and a shift towards a more normalized, balanced market. According to an April 25, 2008 Realty Times article entitled, “Real Estate Outlook: Index Says Positive Growth Underway,” there are several implications that show real estate growth may be on the horizon:
• Applications for mortgages to buy houses were up again, for the second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's national survey. Applications for FHA loans to buy houses jumped by 3.5% and conventional purchase applications rose 2.1%.
• The federal government reported that house prices nationwide stopped their slide between January and February – and actually increased by six tenths of one percent.
• Interest rates remain well under 6%, according to the Mortgage Bankers, with 30-year fixed rate loans last week averaging 5.74% and 15-year loans at 5.27%. The Federal Reserve is likely to knock another quarter percent off short term rates next week.
• Freddie Mac announced plans to pump up to 15 billion dollars into the "jumbo conforming" loan market.
A Good Market:
The bottom line is that this is a very good market for buyers but it won’t last forever. And while it is hard to predict when the market will officially “bottom out,” the only way you may do so is when it has begun to rise again. We are starting to see homes sell, largely in part thanks to a drop in home prices, attractive interest rates and a large number of homes from which to choose. All of these factors are changing consumers’ outlook on real estate.
Fact #1: Affordability is increasing
Fact #2: Interest rates remain attractive
Fact #3: Many sellers are motivated
Fact #4: There are a lot of homes to choose from
Fact #5: Historically speaking, Utah real estate is a strong, long term investment
Why You May Not Want to Make the Mistake of Waiting:
Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for Utah real estate to “bottom out,” but doing so could cost you plenty in terms of higher housing prices and interest rates. Locally, Salt Lake City, according to an April 29 Forbes article entitled “Recession Proof Cities,” seems to be holding its own as well. The article notes, “A November 2007 report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors projected that Salt Lake City would be one of the few large cities in the country not to suffer a decline in gross metropolitan product from the mortgage crisis.” Furthermore, Lake City’s unemployment is among the lowest among the country’s 50 largest cities and it continues to create job growth in spite of national economic indicators.
What The Experts Are Predicting:
The National Association of Realtors is projecting that home sales will trend up this year. According to the national real estate organization’s April 8, 2008 market update report entitled “Existing Home Sales to Stabilize Before Upturn in Second Half of 2008,” “Little change is expected in existing home sales over the next few months, before improving notably during the second half of the year.” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said the market will come into clear focus this summer, noting “Existing home sales could start to show a sustained increase within a few weeks, unless there are some additional economic problems or excessive inflationary pressure."
Early Implications Show That the Market May Be Changing:
While the stars remain aligned for buyers, in recent weeks there have been some noteworthy developments that could mean positive growth for real estate and a shift towards a more normalized, balanced market. According to an April 25, 2008 Realty Times article entitled, “Real Estate Outlook: Index Says Positive Growth Underway,” there are several implications that show real estate growth may be on the horizon:
• Applications for mortgages to buy houses were up again, for the second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's national survey. Applications for FHA loans to buy houses jumped by 3.5% and conventional purchase applications rose 2.1%.
• The federal government reported that house prices nationwide stopped their slide between January and February – and actually increased by six tenths of one percent.
• Interest rates remain well under 6%, according to the Mortgage Bankers, with 30-year fixed rate loans last week averaging 5.74% and 15-year loans at 5.27%. The Federal Reserve is likely to knock another quarter percent off short term rates next week.
• Freddie Mac announced plans to pump up to 15 billion dollars into the "jumbo conforming" loan market.
A Good Market:
The bottom line is that this is a very good market for buyers but it won’t last forever. And while it is hard to predict when the market will officially “bottom out,” the only way you may do so is when it has begun to rise again. We are starting to see homes sell, largely in part thanks to a drop in home prices, attractive interest rates and a large number of homes from which to choose. All of these factors are changing consumers’ outlook on real estate.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Crisis is over!
I don't think we were officially in a "crisis"! Yes, home sales have gone down, mortgage lending is tight, foreclosures are high, but it all is part of the cycle. There is some encouraging news. I found this article written for the Wall Street Journal and I agree with it completely.
I have included some quotes from the writer.
"The Housing Crisis Is Over"
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
Wall Street Journal Online
May 6, 2008
"For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor...
The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers...
Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst...
Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs...
Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually...
Inventories will drop even faster to a seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market...
More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure...
A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy...
Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now."
I have included some quotes from the writer.
"The Housing Crisis Is Over"
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
Wall Street Journal Online
May 6, 2008
"For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor...
The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers...
Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst...
Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs...
Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually...
Inventories will drop even faster to a seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market...
More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure...
A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy...
Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now."
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