Utah Real Estate Advice and Updates

Most are worried about housing payments | Inman News

 

More than half of Americans are worried about not having enough money to pay their mortgage or rent, according to a survey from the Washington Post released today.

A third of respondents were "very concerned" about their ability to make housing payments, while a fifth were "somewhat concerned," adding up to 53 percent of respondents. This contrasts to the results of similar surveys the newspaper conducted in February 2009 and December 2008.

In the 2008 survey, 37 percent of respondents said they were at least "somewhat concerned" about making their housing payments. By February 2009, that figure had risen to 46 percent.

via www.inman.com

This is pretty disturbing. We have had so many foreclosures already, you think that the non payers would start being weeded out and that trend would go down. In addition, thousands of Americans have modified their loans, had principal reduced, or just refinanced their home loans with all time low interest rates.

This attitude reflects that we will likely see an increase in foreclosure activity in the near future. This poses a problem for owners of Draper Utah Homes and Sandy Ut Real Estate as well as real estate values and futures everywhere else. 

Predictions on Housing Market and Mortgage Rates | Real Estate News

The Mortgage bankers association is predicting that home sales will still be slow next year, although improved over this year, but then will see significant growth in 2012. They’re also predicting that mortgage rates are only going up from here, and that they are going to rise to about 6% two years from now. Still a fairly good rate in historic terms.

What this means is that if you’re planning on buying Homes in Richmond Virginia, Palm Beach Gardens FL, or Redmond Washington Real Estate, and buying with a mortgage loan, this winter will likely be the best time to buy in terms of affordability.

If you plan on paying cash, home prices will probably be down in most areas next year, so you’ll probably save money then, as the monthly payment amount makes no difference.

Home sales will rise modestly next year but won’t really take off until 2012, economists with the Mortgage Bankers Association predict in their latest forecast. Existing-home sales, which are expected to be about 8 percent lower this year than last, are expected to grow by less than 2 percent next year before increasing by 16 percent in 2012.

New-home sales, which will probably drop 13 percent this year from last, are expected to bottom out in the third quarter of this year and grow by 20 percent in 2011 and 40 percent in 2012.

That, along with price stabilization and an uptick in sales of high-end properties, should drive purchase mortgage originations up 30 percent in 2011, the MBA said.

Mortgage rates are probably headed up, but may still be below 6 percent in two years, the forecast said. MBA economists expect fixed-rate mortgages to average about 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of this year, increasing to 5.1 percent by the end of 2011 and reaching 5.7 percent in 2012.

via MBA sees double-digit sales growth in 2012 | Inman News.

via mlshousesandcondos.com

From my studies of following the home sales and inventory trends for Utah Real Estate, these stats look about right to me.

Housing Boom Leaves Salt Lake Real Estate In Decline

The housing boom was remarkable for real estate agents, and some home owners. Whathappened was home values escalated andn the people who sold at the right time made money effortlessly. But, those boom days are long gone, and the reality of the Real Estate in Salt Lake Utah market is one of decline. Neary everyone now might have wished that the housing boom never happened.

If market conditions remained steady and constant, where would home sales and prices be? If they increased by exactly 2% each year, this is where annual home sales in Salt Lake City would be. If this were the case, we would have had about 4,750 single family home sales this year. This is two times the original home sales we'll see that are probably aroudn 2,400.

The real estate market in Salt Lake has been going up and down. Because of economic recovery and home buyer's tax credit, it is still considered feeble than the average rates. For buyers, this is a an oppotunity to take advantage of the low prices. This is the best time to deal with properties for investors, but they have to be careful for competition is growing. For sellers, it is best to be patient because this is still the buyer’s market.

Compared with home price averages from 1998-2001, if Salt Lake home prices increased by exactly 3% every year, they would still be too high. The yellow and red lines show what “average” home values would be, while the blue and green lines represent the median values. Under this model, average home prices in 2007 were about 28% too high. This year they are still nearly 12% above the turn of the century adjusted for inflation levels.

The SLC Real Estate market has come down a long ways over the past three years, but with the way things are looking, it looks like SLC Homes will see further price declines over the next year.

Is Now the Right Time to Sell My Home?

At this point, Logan Real Estate is worth less than it has been at any other time in the last 4 years because there are fewer buyers and more Logan homes for sale. 

If there are too many homes for sale, the rate of selling is relatively slower than expected, and homes might not sell at all.  This trend results to home prices going down because there is more real estate inventory than potential buyers, which makes this period not a good time to market your home.

Hence, this is not a good time to try to sell your home because the market conditions are not in its competent state.

However, the real estate inventory might be at all time high, but lowering of home prices ensue delay of home sales.  These market conditions might get worse next year and right now Northern Utah is experiencing this upshot.  They observed a big decline in home sales.  Compared with 2009, last quarter home sales in Cache County were down by 38%.  So, the price you can get for your home now will be more than what you will be able to get next year with the current real estate trend. 

But sooner or later, the prices will start rising again and the levels of inventory will level out when real estate inventory goes down.  Hopefully, this will happen after 10 months if and only if something drastic sways the real estate market.

You’re probably better off selling now than you will be next year.  But if you really need to sell, now is not a good time to sell if you want to get as much money as possible out of your home. 

Fall Home Maintenance Tips

Here are a few items you should attend to this season.

1. Trim back nonflowering bushes: These plants are headed into their dormant stage, and that means you can get in one last trim before cold weather.

2. Mums the word: Chrysanthemums are a great way to keep your frontstep colorful and inviting. Find your favorite color at your local plant nursery!

3. Fall cleaning: Clean-up isn't just for Spring anymore. Fall is prime time to pick up and put away gardening tools, summer toys, and pool supplies. Take advantage of the beautiful and temperate weather by tidying up your yard.

via realtytimes.com

Here in Utah, the weather is drastically changing. With weather changes, means time for some winterizing work, that is if you want your home to maintain its value.

Here are some tips from an article I read that offer some good reminders to home maintenance issues we usually forget about.