January 31, 2009

What is the Real Estate Trend in My Neighborhood?

Posted to Ogden, Steve Randall

As promised, we wanted to compare our local real estate market with the national trends recently outlined by NAR and reported in newspapers and websites across the country. One thing I have learned is that real estate is always local and even in a city, there are neighborhoods that will appreciate and there are neighborhoods that will be in decline. There are many areas of the country where real estate is holding its own. Utah is one of those areas that still has it’s troubles but not as great as many areas of the country.

In Davis County (Fruit Heights, Kaysville, and Layton), we have run the market numbers this year as they compared with last year’s numbers at this same time.

  • Average Home Prices in 2007 were $255,104; Average Home Prices 2008 was $250,448; down 1.83%
  • The number of months to sell housing inventory has increased from 8.1 months in 2007 to 14.3 months (not a good sign for Sellers) in 2008.
  • The average days it takes to sell a home has increased from 50 days in 2007 to 100 days in 2008

The fact that the unit homes sales number is down from previous years is still a concern but home prices are holding steady and homes are selling when priced a current market value. With over 14 months of unsold inventory the market is pressing housing prices downward.

In Weber County (Ogden, North Ogden, and Harrisville) we see some exciting strength.

  • The average home prices in 2007 were $185,333 and at the end of 2008 they had risen to $188,411, a modest increase of 1.66%.
  • The number of months to sell the housing inventory however has increased from 7.6 months to 17.8 months.
  • The average days it takes to sell a home has increased from 62 days in 2007 to 93 days in 2008.

Northern Utah growth is strong because of a growing population and relatively low jobless rate of 4.3% compared with the national average of 7.2%.

It is still a buyer’s market and sellers must be aggressive in their pricing strategy to attract the current buyer markets. For buyers who are waiting on the sideline, this is the year to purchase that first home and even invest in the first investment property. Davis and Weber County remain excellent places to own real estate. Northern Utah Real Estate Market Update

For more information on appreciation rates in the Northern Utah for the past five years please refer to this recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune. If you would like a free report of how your neighborhood is doing please contact me directly.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 30, 2009

Your Listing Just Expired, Now What Do You Do?

Posted to Steve Randall

Nothing is more frustrating than to place your home on the market, hire a Realtor to market the home, spend the time and effort to keep your home ready for showings, leave your home during those showing times, and still not have an acceptable offer. In such situations it is hard for the Seller not to feel discouraged and ready to give up! There is always a lack of confidence in the salesperson, a lack of faith in the process, and the Seller is left to wonder why their house didn’t sell. The final question is what does the Seller do next?

Almost without exception, if the Seller’s house has been placed on the MLS, the Seller will get calls from other Realtors wanting to market the home. This is not a bad thing because in every industry there are some associates who are very professional and some who are less professional. We all know that there are people who can give a great haircut and others who don’t do so well. Before you make the decision to re-list, take the home off the market, or sell it on your own, the Seller needs to ask themselves a series of questions.

If a home doesn’t sell it is for three reasons:

  • Marketing

  • Condition

  • Price

The Seller needs to carefully examine each of these areas to be sure that they understand why the home didn’t sell. Let’s talk about marketing first.

Marketing is the prime responsibility of the Realtor. Before you re-list, examine the marketing plan of the Realtor to make sure that the home is properly exposed. The greater the exposure of the home on the Internet, the greater the chances of finding a qualified buyer in a reasonable time frame. Since most buyers start their search for a home on the Internet (estimated 87%), first review the Internet marketing plan of the Realtor. For example, I not only list the home on the MLS, the company website, and my personal website, I also feature that listing on Realtor.com, the most used real estate website in the world. What that means is that anyone looking for a home in your area will see your home even if they are not searching for it specifically. This results in thousands of extra hits on your home. I always do a very professional virtual tour so that anyone can tour your home at anytime of the day or night. More pictures means more hits on the Internet. We also syndicate our listings meaning that they are distributed to all the popular real estate websites including Google, Yahoo, AOL, Trulia, Military.com, Frontdoor.com, Zillow.com, RELO® Home Search and many, many more. In addition, I always use free sites such as Craig’s List and KSL.com. We also track each listing to see where the greatest numbers of hits are coming from to make sure that marketing money is spent effectively. Of course, we do flyers, open houses (virtual and in house), showing desk, have 24 hour recorded information, and call collector services to make sure that each lead is contacted and followed through with. If you would like a free consultation on our marketing plan then just click here. I also have a highly qualified assistant that helps me execute the plan and is available when I might be in the field.

The Condition of the home lies with the Seller. The most popular homes for buyers are new construction homes because of their condition. Renovated and upgraded homes come next. Every home needs to be in the best condition it can be in to obtain its highest values. Staging a home can create a positive first impression. Homes with less clutter, orderly, and clean will give a higher impression of value. If there are appliances or parts of the home that need to be repaired, cleaned or painted, work on those areas before you re-list. We have a free DVD on How to Prepare Your Home for Sale that is very helpful to Sellers. Sellers should make sure their homes are available to be shown with few restrictions so that agents and buyers can tour the home when they have the time to do so.

The Pricing of the Home is the Seller’s Choice. The Seller should be able to choose their price with the assistance of the Realtor. The Seller must have access to the current market data in order to properly price the home. In a buyer’s market, overpricing a home will push buyers away. The data available to appraisers is the best data to use to price a home. Realtors can supply a list of all homes sold in your neighborhood in recent days and months and prepare a CMA (Completive Market Analysis) to allow you to price your home so that it will sell. Buyer’s will not buy overpriced homes so Sellers need to be realistic in their pricing strategy. Please contact me for a free list of the last 10 homes to sell in your neighborhood.

Finally, every home will sell if these conditions are met. There are no exceptions so please don’t be discouraged that your home will not sell.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 29, 2009

Are Better Times Ahead? Homes Sales Take a Surprising Jump in December

Posted to Steve Randall

The National Association of REALTORS® released a report showing the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.74 million units sold in December. This increase contrasts with the 9.4% decrease in unit sales in November. Does this mean there is life in real estate again?

There has always been life in real estate if you know where to look… and especially if you are able to buy now! Sellers still face the fact that home sales overall are still down 3.5% when compared with last year. Inventories are still high, meaning supply exceeds demand, continuing a downward pressure on the listing prices.

This glimmer of hope is also fueled by the fact that inventories in some areas of the country were down when compared with last year’s numbers. Denver saw a 20.3% decrease in inventory, Phoenix a 1.3% decrease, and Las Vegas saw a slight increase in their housing inventory.

Tomorrow we will look at Utah and in particular Davis and Weber Counties to see how we fit into the national trends. Real Estate is always local and these local numbers will interest you more than the national statistics.

Despite declines in home prices, investors are still receiving rents higher than last year and many, if not most are enjoying a 6%-8% cash on cash return on their investment properties.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 24, 2009

Is it a Good Idea to Buy a Home Directly from the Owner?

Posted to Steve Randall

I recently received a request for information on a couple who wanted to buy a horse property - they had found a builder who was willing to sell a home to them that they were remodeling. The home was not yet fully remodeled and the builder showed the original purchase price plus the invoices done so far on the property. The builder was willing to sell for his costs on the property, plus the remodeling costs done thus far and let the couple do the rest of the work. Their question to be was is this a good deal?

The answer to the question is that you never buy a property from anyone unless you are informed and armed with Market Data! The buyer must have sold data and sold comparables so that you know where the market is at this time. This property was located in Kaysville and this is what we found as we did our research.

We searched the data for horse properties that sold in the last 90 days. The average price per s.f. with land (.5 acres to 1.53 acres) was $86.69.

From the sold listings for “rambler style” houses sold in the last 90 days, the average price per s.f. was $76.40 with lots of about .25 acres in size. There was one house on Ewe Turn, just east of the home these buyers were looking at that sold for $182.38 per s.f.. This buyer had no agent representation and was willing to pay this price because of the condition of the house, amenities, 1.95 acres of land, and location. The price paid was more than twice the actual market value from other comparables. You have to make your own decision on whether the buyer did the right thing.

From the tax data on the Davis County Records, the County value for the land and buildings was $297,500 or $103.37 per s.f.

The price the seller is asking the Buyers to purchase this property at is $340K and it is not yet completed. At that price the value per square foot is $118.14. To calculate the true cost of the purchase, the Buyers would need to add the amount of money and time to finish the house which would bring their price per s.f. even higher.

A buyer must have market data and understand the terms “Price”, “Value” and “Market Value.”

Price is what the sellers would like to receive for their property. It can be high, low, or accurate as determined by sold comparables. In most cases, it is high! To determine a list price, many sellers will take what they paid for the property, add what they spent on improvements and consider that to be the list price. It is important to understand that price and value have no relationship, never had, and never will. For example, if I buy stock at $100 per share and the value goes to $70… all I can sell my stock for is $70. The same principles apply to homes. I may buy at house at a cost of $200,000 but if the market drops I may only be able to sell it for $175,000. My actual costs and my value are not the same and as a buyer you must be able to understand that you only buy on market value, not costs.

The second term is “Value.” This is the price set by a buyer (or a few buyers) for a home. A property may have a special swimming pool, heliport, or oil in the ground! For whatever reason, these few buyers would pay a higher price for this property. The home that sold for $182.38 per square foot is an example of “value” purchasing. This buyer was not represented by an agent and likely paid cash because this property would not appraise for a loan at this price per square foot.

“Market Value” is what many buyers (and lenders) would pay for this property. It is based on the sale of at least three or four similar homes in the area. If you are borrowing money to buy a property, this is where you want to make your offer. Again, it is important to buy the property at market value or it may take you years to recover from buying at “price” or “value” amounts.

The answer to the question is that a buyer must have accurate information before making any purchase. That is the main function of a buyer’s agent and any time a purchase is made without that information the buyer is at risk… and maybe the seller to, however the greater risk is with the buyer.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 16, 2009

Street Appeal—Making Great First Impressions

Posted to Steve Randall

In Northern Ogden on Willard Peak Drive we have a listing that just draws buyers and renters to it because of its street appeal. Street appeal is hard to define but when you look at a house it has it or it doesn’t. The nice thing about street appeal is that if a house doesn’t have it, it can be created. Pictures don’t always show the whole story but this house draws more showings because of the additional rock work on the front and its triple garage which is unusual for this area. We have had so many showings on this property and it has been under contract three different times only to have buyer’s back away because of financing and other buyer related issues. Those who have driven by this house remember its street appeal.

Even with all the traffic and the great street appeal, the house has one default that keeps it from selling! It has one unfinished bedroom which will make it a three bedroom 2 bath home. As a result, the owner is adding the third bedroom and my predictions are that this home will again be under contract or rented within a 30-day period from when the bedroom is complete. This home has 1,458 s.f., a very nice family room and fireplace, fenced backyard, close to major traffic and transit routes, and an open, spacious floor plan. List price is $172,000 and this home rents for $1,200 per month.

If you would like to view a virtual tour of this home please click here. For more information or to arrange a showing, please click here.

This Seller is doing all he can to make his home attractive and affordable. Don’t hesitate to see this home.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 16, 2009

Connecting Miles & Miles of Trails for Bikers, Hikers, and Equestrians

Posted to Northern Utah Recreation & Attractions, Steve Randall

One of the recent City Council topics in Kaysville was a proposed trail to connect Farmington and Kaysville. Residents of the Monte Bella Subdivision hope that the Council will extend the path of that trial through their subdivision and give them easy access to this great new amenity. As new development occurs along the trail, the easement for the trail needs to be defined so that projects can begin construction. More details of the meeting can be found in the City Council Minutes. The Shoreline trails run along the east range of the Wasatch Mountains and is well known for horseback riding and mountain biking. The newly completed Legacy Highway trail is great for runners, road bikers, joggers, and those who walk who just want to exercise in the beauty of that trail.

Kaysville Listing Spot Light: Finding new Patio Homes in Kaysville for sale is not always easy. Our friends at Keller Williams have a home priced at $189,000 that is in a good location and good condition. We feature this home because it is newly listed and could be a good starter home or great investment property. It has 3 bedrooms all on one floor with 1 ¾ baths and 1380 s.f.. One of the nice amenities is that it is close to the freeway and also close to some great road bike riding terrain. If you would like a list of homes similar to this that have recently sold to verify the asking price please send us an e-mail. We hope to represent the buyer in any transaction with this home.

Posted By: Steve Randall





January 09, 2009

Come and Snowmobile Utah!

Posted to Northern Utah Recreation & Attractions, Steve Randall

One of the great things about living in Northern Utah in January is the opportunity of not only skiing on some of the best snow in the world, but there is also opportunity for snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. Many residents located in the rural areas of northern Utah use the same flat land fields their crops grow on in the summer as places to snowmobile in the winter. The more venturous prefer mountain snowmobile locations that can be reached in as little as a half hour to an hour and a half from our Ogden, Utah office. Over the holidays, many were out on the newly laid powder in the High Uintah Mountains or roaming the miles of groomed trails maintained by the State of Utah.

One of the great places to snowmobile Utah is in the Smith & Morehouse area just east of Kamas and Oakley. There are great snow bowls to climb and race through as well as several cabin communities like Pine Mountains where access to cabins is limited in the winter months to snowmobiles. Pine Mountains grooms trails to make sure it is easier for residents to reach their cabins. The miles of groomed trails are good for family snowmobile activities and they have a wide open area where one can test how fast they can get their machine to go! It is not uncommon to see fathers pulling their children on sleds around the roads of the community.

One of the great places to get started with snowmobiling is at Weller Recreation in Kamas (435.783.4781). They not only sell the sleds (snowmobiles) but have all the winter gear to purchase as well. Members of the various communities in the area have used them for years and many can verify that Weller’s service is hard to match. There have been several times when Weller has rescued residents when machines have broken down along the trail.

Owners in the Pine Mountains area buy properties there because of the year-round activities they are able to participate in. Activities include road biking in the spring, summer, and fall, where one can plan various rides for miles into Heber City, Park City, and then back. Boating, fishing, tubing, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing venues are all very close. Cabins and homes in the Kama area come in various sizes, shapes, and ages with prices ranging from $179,000 for 1,066 s.f. 2 bedroom, 1 bath cabin to plush 5,000 s.f., 5 bedroom, 5.5 bathroom cabin with year around access. Most cabins in the Pine Mountain area would sell from $275,000 to $750,000. Asking price for 1/2 lots to build on would be $65,000 to $75,000.

For those who love to get away and live in a winter wonderland or enjoy the summer outdoor sports, Northern Utah and especially the Kamas Valley area are hard to beat! To search for properties in Summit County go to WelchAgency.com and click on Search Properties for Free, and then enter Summit County.

Posted By: Steve Randall