Merry Christmas and Thank you!

I have done a little reflecting over the course of this last week. It is 2008, and though my real estate business may not be as lofty as it was in 2004-06, I want you all to know how grateful I am for all of you. I have had a good year. Not a 2005 year, but a good year. I took a look at the source of my business and I found that out of the 38 transactions I was able to close this year, 31 were because of you. When I say you, I mean, past clients, or people I know that cared enough to refer me to others that were interested in buying or selling in our market. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your help and support. I could not have done it without you! You have kept me in business.

There is a lot of negative talk out there right now. Maybe some of you have lost your jobs, or your pay has been cut. I think it is time for all of us to focus on the positive and go to work. Sometimes I think it pays to put the blinders on a little and not believe what the main street media has to say all of the time. No matter what business we are all in, there are still people out there that want to do business. Sure it may take a lot more effort on our parts, and we may have to do the jobs we could have rejected a few years ago, but the point is, opportunities are out there if we will look and if we will believe it. Let’s keep our goals in mind, a prayer in our heart, a positive attitude and Go to work!

Lastly I want to get something else off my chest. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Yes, Christmas, not holidays, or winter break or winter solstice, but Christmas as in the day we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the name shouts, I am a Christian, and I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I know he lives, and I know through him and his atoning sacrifice we can return to live with our Father in Heaven some day. What a privilege to live in a land where I can celebrate this most wonderful of days, and to share these feelings with colleagues and friends without fear of retribution.

So, no matter what race, creed, religion or of what national origin you belong or what you or yours celebrate, and how you do it, I applaud you and am deeply thankful that you that right to celebrate and worship whomever or whatever your conscience dictates. I pray that you may do so with peace, love and without fear of retribution too, EVEN IF IT IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I BELIEVE.

May the love of the Lord be with all of us, and may we experience the love and peace that this season offers! Make it a great New Year, and thanks for letting me break away from being so P.C.

The Southern Utah Real Estate Market in November

The market has been interesting, and here is the good news, with interest rates dropping we expect a lot of good things to happen in the up coming months. I think we are going to see a noticeable increase in sales over the next couple of months. That of course, is exciting to me, as it should be to you, especially if your house is on the market. Remember, I have reputable lender contacts that still have some great 5% down programs if you have good credit, so getting money still is possible. Before we get too far into that, there are some special people I would like to thank for their business this past month.

1. Nathan and Brittany Fielding (Purchase)
2. Larry and Diana Haggerty (Purchase)
3. Doug Brough and Cal Carman (Purchase)
4. Boyer Green Valley LC (Listing sold)

As you can see the market is still moving a bit, I would like to thank Rhea Racker for the referral of the Haggertys. They were great to work with, and frankly, I can not do it without all of your help.

I have a new website that you might be interested in. www.southernutahforeclosure.com From this website you can receive CURRENT lists of ACTUAL FORECLOSED inventory that is available for sale on the Washington County Board of Realtors MLS. This only works for properties in and around Washington County. No default lists, or pre-foreclosures, we are talking real foreclosures waiting for real buyers. If you want to sign up, please do so, and let anyone else know who may be interested too.

This is how the market went this past month…

Total Market Activity on Homes in November

Active Listings: 2,334 (Oct 2,374)
New Listings: 341 (Oct 480)
Sold Listings: 116 (Oct 138)
Months of Inventory: 20.12 (Oct 17.20)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 208 (Oct 221)
New Listings: 50 (Oct 50)
Sold Listings: 26 (Oct 20)
Months of Inventory: 8 (Oct 11.05)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 369 (Oct 368)
New Listings: 65 (Oct 86)
Sold Listings: 25 (Oct 37)
Months of Inventory: 14.76 (Oct 9.95)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 371 (Oct 401)
New Listings: 58 (Oct 74)
Sold Listings: 24 (Oct 29)
Months of Inventory: 15.46 (Oct 13.83)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 337 (Oct 324)
New Listings: 53 (Oct 74)
Sold Listings: 12 (Oct 24)
Months of Inventory: 28.08 (Oct 13.50)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 222 (Oct 221)
New Listings: 27 (Oct 44)
Sold Listings: 6 (Oct 14)
Months of Inventory: 37 (Oct 15.79)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 165 (Oct 164)
New Listings: 21 (Oct 26)
Sold Listings: 7 (Oct 6)
Months of Inventory: 23.57 (Oct 27.33)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 105 (Oct 114)
New Listings: 10 (Oct 21)
Sold Listings: 4 (Oct 3)
Months of Inventory: 26.25 (Oct 38)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 110 (Oct 116)
New Listings: 10 (Oct 20)
Sold Listings: 3 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 36.67 (Oct 116)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 67 (Oct 64)
New Listings: 10 (Oct 9)
Sold Listings: 0 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Nov (No sales in Oct)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 59 (Oct 63)
New Listings: 1 (Oct 14)
Sold Listings: 4 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 14.75 (Oct 63)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 30 (Oct 31)
New Listings: 0 (Oct 8)
Sold Listings: 2 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 15 (Oct 31)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 50 (Oct 51)
New Listings: 5 (Oct 9)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 50 Oct 51)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 21 (Oct 20)
New Listings: 3 (Oct 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Nov (No Sales in Oct)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 105 (Oct 99)
New Listings: 14 (Oct 21)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: 105 (No Sales in Oct)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 115 (Oct 117)
New Listings: 14 (Oct 20)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 115 (Oct 117)

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: 1,403 (Oct 1,490)
New Listings: 69 (Oct 151)
Sold Listings: 38 (Oct 16)
Months of Inventory: 36.92 (Oct 93.12)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $100,000
Active Listings: 946 (Oct 990)
New Listings: 51 (Oct 121)
Sold Listings: 15 (Oct 10)
Months of Inventory: 63.07 (Oct 99)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 387 (Oct 405)
New Listings: 10 (Oct 33)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: 387 (No Sales in Oct)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 177 (Oct 197)
New Listings: 6 (Oct 13)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 2)
Months of Inventory: 177 (Oct 98.50)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 280 (Oct 303)
New Listings: 12 (Oct 17)
Sold Listings: 22 (Oct 4)
Months of Inventory: 12.73 (Oct 75.75)

Short Sales and Foreclosures

I am only working with a couple of short sell listings right now, and a couple of buyers. The banks seem to be a little more stingy and less fun to work with. I am certainly not going to say that they can not be done, I am just saying they are a heck of a lot of work, and the national averages say about 1/3 of them will get done. Bottom line, don't get your heart set on it, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Foreclosures have been pretty solid lately and they do offer some good deals. When I say good deals, I am speaking about the end user. I am not saying there are a lot of opportunities for investors or to fix and flip, what I am seeing is there are some solid deals for people to go in with a willingness to put up some elbow grease and come out in an equity position. It will be interesting to watch that trend as the interest rates fall, and the barriers to entry diminish.

Happy holidays everyone, and as always, if I can help in any way, don't hesitate to send me a quick email.

joe@joelangston.com