You can still get money to buy in the Southern Utah Real Estate market!

One of the biggest false assumptions that I hear on a day to day basis, is people do not think they can get a loan to buy a house. The fact is you can. Sure, it isn't the same as it was in 04',05',06', when the application had one question: "Are you mostly alive?".

That being said I have a good friend who is a local lender, in a rock solid bank, (they are not going under ever!, let alone anytime soon), that tells me he can finance people under the following criteria:

Conventional 30 Year loan.
5% down
verifiable income, debts and assets
FICO score 680 plus.

That is not too bad! Even as a realtor, I see the value of people having money to buy a house. It actually makes the market far less volitle and appreciation much more constant and building slowly over time. Additionally, it keeps prices down, which means people who actually are born and raised here can still live here without having a to go away for 10 years and get phd so they can see be some off-site webinar consultant.

While it is important to be aware of what is going on in the national arena, I kind of like this little video clip that the Home Builders of Utah put out. It only takes about a minute and a half to watch so please check it out. Click here.

If you have the money, credit, and job, maybe it isn't such a bad time to buy a home. If you don't, once again, maybe it is time to follow the admonition of our friends from the Home Builders. Click here.

In any event, if you or anyone you know needs any real estate help at all, it would be my honor to help. Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated.

Joe Langston

What Happened in September in the Southern Utah Real Estate Market!

Another month has passed us by and I must say sorry for not posting much this last month, it has been a busy one, and I promise to do better. First and foremost, we have a winner of “Yes, I have viewed your blog and I am willing to email you”. The winner is…Trish DeMarcus! So Trish, you have movie tickets headed your way, thanks for your response!

I would like to thank the following people for their transactions that closed in September:

Michael and Shanna Miller (Purchase)
Michael and Jan Cain (Purchase)
John Sopp and Teryl McKnight (Commercial lease)

Thank you so much! John Sopp and Teryl McKnight are three time customers and I want to thank them for their loyalty.

In keeping with our tradition of yester-month, I would like to high-light two other business people in our community that I think are doing a great job. This pair, just happen to be a pair. Malea Ellett is the owner of Tickled Pink Photography, and you really ought to see what she can do. Her work is honest, creative and wonderful. Check out her blog, then call her and put her to work, you will not regret it.

Her husband, Brandon is the owner of The Drawing Board and is a very creative and innovative draftsman. He has a full line of drawings for sale and of course does custom work. He is a seasoned professional, and if you need a house drawing, he is a wonderful option. Take a look at his blog.

Ok, so here are the numbers, based on the Washington County Board of Realtors for the month of September. Like always, only data through the board of realtors has been used. It is all I can verify and track. It is also important to note, that I have noticed that some data floats in throughout the month that skews these numbers a bit, but for the most part, since we are doing it near the very front of the month every time, I think the variation is minimal. (Remember for comparison, the previous month is in parenthesis)

Total Market Activity on homes in September
Active Listings: 2,344 (Aug 2,389)
New Listings: 440 (Aug 449)
Sold Listings: 121 (Aug 162)
Months of Inventory: 19.34 (Aug 14.75)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 199 (Aug 192)
New Listings: 41 (Aug 39)
Sold Listings: 20 (Aug 18)
Months of Inventory: 9.95 (Aug 10.67) Wow, a bright spot!

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 340 (Aug 352)
New Listings: 70 (Aug 92)
Sold Listings: 24 (Aug 29)
Months of Inventory: 14.17 (Aug 12.14)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 378 (Aug 372)
New Listings: 97 (Aug 99)
Sold Listings: 27 (Aug 37)
Months of Inventory: 14.00 (Aug 10.05) C’mon people buy a house already!

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 327 (Aug 346)
New Listings: 58 (Aug 53)
Sold Listings: 16 (Aug 33)
Months of Inventory: 20.44 (Aug 10.48) Love the trend!

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 231 (Aug 246)
New Listings: 36 (Aug 34)
Sold Listings: 10 (Aug 18) Yikes!
Months of Inventory: 23.10 (Aug 13.67) Wow!

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 172 (Aug 180)
New Listings: 36 (Aug 33)
Sold Listings: 10 (Aug 8)
Months of Inventory: 17.20 (Aug 22.50) Saints be praised!

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 120 (Aug 112)
New Listings: 21 (Aug 21)
Sold Listings: 4 (Aug 4)
Months of Inventory: 30.00 (Aug 28.00)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 122(Aug 118)
New Listings: 16 (Aug 10)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 1)
Months of Inventory: 122.00 (Aug 118.00) That’s right, 10 years! "Mr, and Mrs. Seller this listing contract will expire on Dec 31, 2018, please sign here."

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 67 (Aug 72)
New Listings: 11 (Aug 7)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 1)
Months of Inventory: 67.00 (Aug 72.00) Hope you saved your money!

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 60 (Aug 67)
New Listings: 11 (Aug 11)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 2)
Months of Inventory: 30.00 (Aug 33.50)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 43 (Aug 39)
New Listings: 9 (Aug 9)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 2)
Months of Inventory: 43.00 (Aug 19.50) Doubled, isn’t that special.

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 43 (Aug 47)
New Listings: 3 (Aug 6)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 3) Those zeros factor nicely.
Months of Inventory: No Sales in September (Aug 15.67)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 18 (Aug 18)New Listings: 4 (Aug 5)Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 0)Months of Inventory: 18.00 (No Sales In August)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 102 (Aug 104)
New Listings: 13 (Aug 13)
Sold Listings: 4 (Aug 5)
Months of Inventory: 25.50 (Aug 2o.80)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 122 (Aug 124)
New Listings: 14 (Aug 17)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 3)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in September (Aug 41.33) Gee, I’m surprised.

The following information is for building lots in the same general area as the housing data listed above.

All Building Lots in the Greater St. George and Hurricane Valley

Active Listings: 1434 (Aug 1420)
New Listings: 143 (Aug 125)
Sold Listings: 18 (Aug 8)
Months of Inventory: 79.67 (Aug 178.80) Amazing progress!

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $100,000
Active Listings: 904 (Aug 894)
New Listings: 98 (Aug 97)
Sold Listings: 14 (Aug 5)
Months of Inventory: 64.57 (178.00 Aug)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 378 (Aug 385)
New Listings: 37 (Aug 35)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 0)
Months of Inventory: 378.00 (No sales in August) Mr. and Mrs. Seller this will only take 31.5 years, please sign here.

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 199 (Aug 198)
New Listings: 11 (Aug 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 2)
Months of Inventory: 99.50 (Aug 99.00)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 331 (Aug 328)
New Listings: 34 (Aug 21)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 1)
Months of Inventory: 165.50 (Aug 328.00)

What does this mean?

Still a good time to buy, and we are going to start to see rental properties pencil, (rent covering the mortgage payment) if you can get the loan. Most lenders are staying away from investment property right now. Selling is more on a have to or really want to basis, and be willing to negotiate away from your price, and make some concessions for a good buyer.

Despite the dour news out there, one with good credit, say a score of 680 plus, and 5% down, can still buy a home. FHA only requires 3.5% down, but some of the fees have gone up. More to come on that, once I have that all figured out.

Short Sales and Foreclosures

Ever present, and my belief is they will be for some time. As a matter of opinion only, shorts sells are ok, if you are not in a hurry and can hang on for quite a while to have about a 35-50% chance of getting it. Foreclosures are doing fine, but be prepared to wait a couple of weeks for their paperwork, and filling out a whole new “addendum” which is larger than our contract, that basically says you are buying the house and we do not stand behind anything so buyer beware! Just make sure you factor in a couple of thousand for fix ups, because I have not sold one yet, that does not need something that was not found during the buying process. In the end, if you can buy them right, you are ok.