Archive for August, 2009

Salt Lake City homes and condos: Great Interest rates, Tax Credits for first time home buyers, Great Deals and Many Salt Lake City homes to choose from!

Friday, August 28th, 2009

So far this year, 85% of the clients I have worked with, have been Buyers.

 

All of them learned the market and then found the home or condo that they were looking for in the area that they wanted to live.  A couple of the Salt Lake homes and condos were unique properties that are hard to come by.

 

All of the clients got a fair deal on the home they chose.  A few of the clients got a great deal and went into their new Salt Lake home or condo with instant equity.  One client in particular went in with 20% equity if you compare the purchase price to appraisal.  Those deals aren’t easy to come by, especially on a dream home like this client bought.

 

All of the clients got an amazing interest rate.  Rates have been between 4.5% and 5.5% for most of the year.

 

All of the first time home buyers are getting a tax credit of $8,000.

 

History shows that the price of Salt Lake real estate goes up and down.  We’ve been going down for over 2 years now and eventually it will go back up.

 

History also shows that interest rates go up and down and right now they are very low.

 

One last thing I want to mention.  I was in a seminar last week and one of the big Utah home builders announced that they are going from 19 housing subdivisions in Utah to 40  by the first quarter of 2010.  They also said they are downsizing their homes, which makes sense.  I asked them who their economist is and they weren’t forthcoming with that information, but it made me think.

 

If you plan on spending the next 5 to 7 years in Salt Lake, you might want to start thinking about buying Salt Lake City real estate while it’s still a Buyer’s market and rates are low. 

 

If you already own a home, the gap in price between the home you own and the home you dream about is smaller than it was a couple years ago.

 

If you need help with the purchase of a Salt Lake City home, condo or duplex, please contact me.  I’ve been a Salt Lake City realtor for over 10 years and the majority of my clients are Buyers of homes and condos in Salt Lake.

 Kevin Coyle

Associate Broker, MBA

SLCHomes Real Estate

Mobile: 801-243-0699

Office: 801-466-8977

Kevin@SLCHomeBuyer.com

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Posted in Salt Lake City condos, Salt Lake City homes, Salt Lake City real estate, Salt Lake County homes and condos, Utah Homes | No Comments »

Salt Lake City homes and condos: Find out what areas have the most short sales in Salt Lake County

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

I was searching for homes today on the Wasatch Front Regional MLS for one of the Buyers I’m working with and noticed a neighborhood that had an extremely high percentage of short sales.  41% of the homes in that neighborhood are short sales.

 

It made me stop and wonder about how many short sales are in other areas of Salt Lake County.  Here are the results of that search which includes Salt Lake County homes and condos in all price ranges.

                                               

City                                                       % short sales of Active listings

Salt Lake Aves/Cap Hill                                           3.9%

Salt Lake Central City/South Salt Lake                  10.6%

Salt Lake East City/Mill Creek                                  5.3%

Salt Lake Rose Park/Glendale                                  24.4%

Holladay/Cottonwood Heights                               10.6%

Murray                                                                         9.8%

Midvale/West Sandy                                                 15.6%

East Sandy                                                                  14.5%

Draper                                                                          23.5%             

West Valley City/Kearns/Magna                             27.4%

West Jordan/South Jordan/Copperton                   24.8%

Riverton/Herriman/Bluffdale                                     31.1%

 

Salt Lake County                                                       18.6%

 

*All data taken from Wasatch Front regional Multiple Listing Service on 8/26/09 on Salt Lake County homes & condos.

 

One thing that intrigued me was the closer you get to downtown Salt Lake City, the fewer short sales there are overall.  Yes, I live downtown, but that’s not why I was so intrigued. 

 

I have a theory.  During our last housing boom in Salt Lake County, 2005-2007, the areas that the majority of the residential new construction homes and condos were built were further away from downtown Salt Lake where the vacant land exists which is on the South and West side of Salt Lake County.

 

By early 2005, the cost of new construction in Salt Lake County was much greater than the cost to buy an existing home of comparable size and location.  This was due to the escalating cost of land, building supplies and a tight labor market.  Also during this time, money was easy to borrow regardless of your credit score so there were plenty of people who could buy.

 

The cost of existing homes in those areas quickly adjusted upward as a result of the increasing cost of new construction creating instant equity for those who bought before 2005.

 

But by 2007 there was 12 months of inventory in new construction, which is primarily located in the South and West part of Salt Lake County.  Then in August 2007 our banking crisis started which led to higher credit standards for home loans and fewer low down payment loan programs.

 

Two things I think happened here are there are many people who bought later in the boom and have now lost their job or had some other hardship.  If they bought with nothing down, and most did, they are upside down on their mortgage.  Short sale! 

 

The other thing I think happened is many people had their home value increase by $50,000 or more in less than a year and took some of their equity out to improve their home, buy toys or pay off other debts. Short sale! 

 

Eventually some of the short sales sell, some owner get loan modifications and some homes go into foreclosure. 

 

There are more theories that can be drawn from the varying percentage of short sales and if you look at smaller areas, some areas are higher and some are lower.

 

This something to consider when buying Salt Lake City homes and condos.

 

If you need help with the purchase of a Salt Lake City home, condo or duplex, please contact me.  I’ve been a Salt Lake City realtor for over 10 years and the majority of my clients are buyers of Salt Lake City homes and condos.

Thanks!

Kevin Coyle

Associate Broker, MBA

SLCHomes Real Estate

Mobile: 801-243-0699

Office: 801-466-8977

Kevin@SLCHomeBuyer.com

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Posted in Kevin Coyle, Salt Lake City condos, Salt Lake City homes, Salt Lake City real estate, Salt Lake County homes and condos, Short Sales, Utah Homes | No Comments »

Salt Lake City homes and condos: Are residential Short Sales harder to buy than non-short sale homes and condos in Salt Lake County?

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

It seems like every buyer I meet wants to know about short sales and for good reason, they are a big part of the inventory of homes and condos in Salt Lake.  Most people think short sales are a great deal and some short sales are, but most are a challenge to buy.

 

Over the last few months, short sales on homes and condos in Salt Lake County have been harder to buy than homes and condos that are not short sales.  The table below compares homes and condos in Salt Lake County that are listed on the Wasatch Front Multiple Listing Service.  It shows the number of homes and condos that are Active, Under Contract and Sold in the last 90 days and compares short sales vs. non-short sales.

 

                                                Short Sales                     Non-Short Sales

Listing Status              Volume / % vs. Actives        Vol / % vs. Actives

Active Listings for sale           1,410                                       6,238  

Under Contract                          254 / 18%                             1,408 / 23%

Sold in the last 90 days             329 / 23%                             2,868 / 46%

*Data taken from Wasatch Front regional Multiple Listing Service on 8/18/09 for Salt Lake County homes and condos.

 

As you can see, a much lower percentage of short sales have been successfully sold over the last few months.  There are many reasons for this.

 

One is the length of time that the buyer must wait to buy most short sales.  The Buyer makes an offer to the Seller, a deal is struck and it is submitted to the bank.  A “short sale addendum” is used in the negotiation between Buyer and Seller which gives the lender third party approval.  This is used because the lender and mortgage insurance company have to agree to take a loss.  This is where the process typically slows down.  It can take weeks, months, and sometimes it never happens.  And it can get more complicated if there is a second mortgage.

 

So the Buyer is waiting for a response from the lender.  During this time there is the risk that other offers will be made on the property because it’s a long process. 

 

Some Buyer’s have a time frame in which they hope to move into their new home due to a lease expiring, a new job starting or some other reason.  With a short sale, it’s hard to know how soon you’ll be able to accomplish your move.

 

Finding a home you like is a challenge on its own.  Short sales frequently add to this challenge.  This is something to consider when buying Salt Lake City homes and condos.

 

If you need help with the purchase of a Salt Lake City home, condo or duplex, please contact me.  I’m an experienced Salt Lake City realtor and the majority of my clients are buyers of Salt Lake City homes and condos.

 

Kevin Coyle

Associate Broker, MBA

SLCHomes Real Estate

Mobile: 801-243-0699

Office: 801-466-8977

Kevin@SLCHomeBuyer.com

 

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Posted in Salt Lake City condos, Salt Lake City homes, Salt Lake City real estate, Salt Lake County homes and condos, Short Sales | No Comments »