Southern Utah Real Estate Market in January

Thank you all for all you have done for me this past year. It is definitely time for us to move on with life and calm down on all the late year well-wishing and go to work, but I have to tell you, I was blessed WITH YOUR HELP to assist 37 individuals and families either buy or sell, a house, building lot or some other kind of real estate. Granted, that is only half of what I was doing earlier this decade, but I wanted to thank this group, because by 2008 standards, that is not too shabby. As I track the sourcing of each transaction, it looks like 75-80% of them came from you. Friends and past clients. I could not do it without you. Thanks so much!

That being said, I did not have any closings in January, but I have a few lined up for February, three of which have already happened and we are looking at at least two or three more, so I am not too far off pace of having one each week this year.

In terms of highlighting another blog or business this month, I would like to mention something my wife and I have been doing for the past several months. We have been using essential oils to either supplement, or in my case take the place of either prescription or over the counter drugs and medicines. We have seen no miracles, but our children have been very well this winter and a lot of people in our neighborhood have noticed and become involved. I have been sick twice since my wife has been doing this with the kids, maybe it would have been prevented if I would have been taking them more faithfully, instead of taking medicine I used the essential oils. It still took a few days but I was able to do it more naturally and with none of the groggy haze that comes with most of the medicines out there. Anyway, if you would like more information, here is a link you can go to.

Need to borrow money for a house? Remember, if you have credit and job history, you can still get a 5% down conventional loan OAC, or a 3.5% down FHA loan OAC (contact me if you need specifics, I can refer you to the right people). That being said, I think if you see a good deal, it is time to buy. Many segments of our market are now to the point where they "pencil" as rentals, and they can not be built for the prices they are going for. It is at that point in the real estate cycle when things start to smooth out. I am not predicting we are at the bottom, nor am I predicting that there will not be some more movement, because I think there will. What I am saying, if you see something that is a good deal now, it will likely be a good deal, or at least a fair deal whenever we reach the bottom. I think it is time to buy if you are ready. Any way, this is how it all turned out in January.

Total Market Activity on Homes in January
Active Listings: 1,915 (Dec 1,643)
New Listings: 407 (Dec 299)
Sold Listings: 82 (Dec 121)
Months of Inventory: 23.35 (Dec 13.58)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 194 (Dec 166)
New Listings: 57 (Dec 40)
Sold Listings: 15 (Dec 21)
Months of Inventory: 12.93 (Dec 7.90)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 346 (Dec 312)
New Listings: 72 (Dec 63)
Sold Listings: 21 (Dec 32)
Months of Inventory: 16.48 (Dec 9.75)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 316 (Dec 262)
New Listings: 68 (Dec 57)
Sold Listings: 13 (Dec 20)
Months of Inventory: 24.31 (Dec 13.05)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 273 (Dec 242)
New Listings: 51 (Dec 36)
Sold Listings: 14 (Dec 17)
Months of Inventory: 19.50 (Dec 14.24)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 180 (Dec 143)
New Listings: 49 (Dec 29)
Sold Listings: 9 (Dec 9)
Months of Inventory: 20.00 (Dec 15.89)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 132 (Dec 116)
New Listings: 32 (Dec 14)
Sold Listings: 4 (Dec 11)
Months of Inventory: 33.00 (Dec 10.55)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 72 (Dec 66)
New Listings: 10 (Dec 12)
Sold Listings: 2 (Dec 4)
Months of Inventory: 36.00 (Dec 16.50)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 64 (Dec 53)
New Listings: 16 (Dec 9)
Sold Listings: 2 (Dec 0)
Months of Inventory: 32.00 (No Sales in Dec)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 47 (Dec 42)
New Listings: 8 (Dec 6)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 3)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (Dec 14.00)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 43 (Dec 36)
New Listings: 11 (Dec 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (Dec 36.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 31 (Dec 29)
New Listings: 4 (Dec 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 0)
Months of Inventory: No sales in Jan (No Sales in Dec)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 32 (Dec 29)
New Listings: 7 (Dec 3)
Sold Listings: 1 (Dec 0)
Months of Inventory: 32.00 (No Sales in Dec)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 18 (Dec 16)
New Listings: 7 (Dec 3)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (Dec 16.00)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 83 (Dec 75)
New Listings: 6 (Dec 9)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (Dec 75.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 95 (Dec 81)
New Listings: 11 (Dec 13)
Sold Listings: 1 (Dec 1)
Months of Inventory: 95.00 (Dec 81.00)

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: 1,233 (Dec 1,162)
New Listings: 100 (Dec 133)
Sold Listings: 11 (Dec 14)
Months of Inventory: 112.09 (Dec 83.00)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $100,000
Active Listings: 518 (Dec 492)
New Listings: 45 (Dec 67)
Sold Listings: 11 (Dec 9)
Months of Inventory: 47.09 (Dec 54.67)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 297 (Dec 278)
New Listings: 27 (Dec 28)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (No Sales in Dec)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 166 (Dec 156)
New Listings: 9 (Dec 19)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 1)
Months of Inventory: No sales in Jan (Dec 59.00)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 252 (Dec 236)
New Listings: 19 (Dec 19)
Sold Listings: 0 (Dec 4)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Jan (Dec 59.00)

Shorts Sells:

After long last, I was able to close a short sell I have been working on for a few months. They do work, and when they do, they probably are the best deals, but if you are in a hurry, forget it. They usually take from 2-8 months to work out, and it usually goes from no communication to doing everything you can and must in a matter of days, and with very little if any say in the matter if you want the property. A recent national statistic said only about 30-35% of short sells are successful. Bottom line, a lot of waiting for something that may work. If it does, you usually do well, but be prepared for some waiting time and red tape.

One of the tips and tricks that I like to use is, if you see short sells that you like, since you DO NOT TO PUT DOWN EARNEST MONEY, and it has no relevance until the lien holder agrees to it, make offers on several, and see which one gets back to you first. If you get one to say "yes" rescind the rest and move forward. In the end you are doing everyone a favor of getting things moving, because the bank usually will not speak to the listing agent until he or she has a contract in hand.

Foreclosures:

We are seeing a lot of them. They are good deals, but the best way I can describe them is a house that usually needs a little work, and if you are handy and are willing to jump in, you can usually buy them for about a 10% discount, but they probably need about 3-5% of that back to bring them up to speed. I have not worked the numbers on this, all I am saying is in most cases they are a good deal and you can gain some sweat equity, but they certainly are not the deal on TV you see at midnight that says you can buy houses for $1.86 and a bag of chips. If that were the case, and they really were that great of a deal, don't you think that I would get a few partners and buy them? That being said, I have helped a few clients get some great deals this past quarter or two.

If you want a free list of all of the foreclosures on the MLS for sale, go ahead and log onto:
www.southernutahforeclosure.com, and fill out the form and I can get you set up.

Thanks for your patience, and I appreciate your support. If you need me, send me an email, I will get back to you.