Happy New Year everyone! I hope every one has taken off the feed bag and is ready to go to work. I know when my wife is ready for the holidays to be over, because she collects all of the fun foods in the house and throws them all away, whether I am finished or not.

I would like to Thanks the following for helping me with my family and Merry Christmas and getting me started on a new year...

1. Bill Rawson and Jon Crockett (purchase and sale)

2. Eric and Heather Jensen (purchase)

3. Len and Erin Pickens (purchase)

4. Terry Ryerson from Prudential Realty (sale transformed to purchase)

Bill and Jon are both past clients and Bill bought a building lot from Jon. Eric and Heather Jensen are first time buyers and we were able to find them a great home to get started in. Len and Erin Pickens were referred to me by Terry Kelvington, a Sphere of Influence member and they bought one of the premiere golf course view lots on Sky Mountain Golf course. It is absolutely gorgeous. Terry Ryerson is a competing agent who had a buyer for one of my listings, when it foreclosed. The bank no longer needed my services, but he kept me in the deal and shared his commission with me. Never have I seen such a great sacrifice and sense of fair play from a competing agent. My hat is off to him.

To all of you that think there is not money out there, I still have a couple of lenders that I work with very closely that can do FHA and 5% down conventional home loans if you can show income and credit. I know, it doesn't seem fair to require history of actually paying bills and the income to do so, but those are the new rules and we will all have to get used to them. The point is, qualified folks that have income and credit can and are buying homes so don't let the haze of the doom and gloom media scare you too bad.

This is what happened in December, you an compare it with November in the (...).

Total Market Activity on Homes in December

Active Listings: 2,011 (Nov 1,775)

New Listings: 305 (Nov 306)

Sold Listings: 115 (Nov 127)

Months of Inventory: 17.49 (Nov 13.98)

Homes priced up to $150,000

Active Listings: 196 (Nov 162)

New Listings: 42 (Nov 45)

Sold Listings: 19 (Nov 27)

Months of Inventory: 10.32 (Nov 6.00)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000

Active Listings: 343 (Nov 301)

New Listings: 65 (Nov 56)

Sold Listings: 32 (Nov 28)

Months of Inventory: 10.72 (Nov 10.75)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000

Active Listings: 331 (Nov 281)

New Listings: 57 (Nov 55)

Sold Listings: 20 (Nov 27)

Months of Inventory: 16.55 (10.41)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000

Active Listings: 287 (Nov 259)

New Listings: 34 (Nov 47)

Sold Listings: 16 (Nov 16)

Months of Inventory: 17.94 (Nov 16.19)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000

Active Listings: 180 (Nov 159)

New Listings: 29 (Nov 25)

Sold Listings: 9 (Nov 6)

Months of Inventory: 20.00 (Nov 26.50)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000

Active Listings: 138 (Nov 131)

New Listings: 14 (Nov 20)

Sold Listings: 11 (Nov 8)

Months of Inventory: 12.55 (Nov 16.38)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000

Active Listings: 85 (Nov 77)

New Listings: 8 (Nov 11)

Sold Listings: 3 (Nov 4)

Months of Inventory: 28.33 (Nov 19.25)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000

Active Listings: 79 (Nov 72)

New Listings: 12 (Nov 7)

Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 3)

Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 24.00)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000

Active Listings: 53 (Nov 50)

New Listings: 4 (Nov 7)

Sold Listings: 2 (Nov 0)

Months of Inventory: 26.50 (No sales in Nov)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000

Active Listings: 46 (Nov 43)

New Listings: 6 (Nov 0)

Sold Listings: 1 (Nov 3)

Months of Inventory: 46.00 (Nov 14.33)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000

Active Listings: 28 (Nov 24)

New Listings: 4 (Nov 1)

Sold Listings: 0(Nov 2)

Months of Inventory: No sales in Dec (Nov 12.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000

Active Listings: 35 (Nov 29)

New Listings: 0 (Nov 1)

Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)

Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 29.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000

Active Listings: 22 (Nov 19)

New Listings: 1 (Nov 3)

Sold Listings: 1 (Nov 0)

Months of Inventory: 22.00 (No Sales in Nov)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000

Active Listings: 94 (Nov 84)

New Listings: 9 (Nov 14)

Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)

Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 84.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up

Active Listings: 94 (Nov 84)

New Listings: 15(Nov 12)

Sold Listings: 1(Nov 1)

Months of Inventory: 94.00 (Nov 84.00)

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: 1,257 (Nov 1,123)

New Listings: 137 (Nov 66)

Sold Listings: 14 (Nov 40)

Months of Inventory: 89.79 (Nov 28.07)

Building lots up to $100,000

Active Listings: 521 (Nov 449)

New Listings: 69 (Nov 37)

Sold Listings: 9 (Nov 14)

Months of Inventory: 57.89 (Nov 32.07)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000

Active Listings: 332 (Nov 300)

New Listings: 31 (Nov 7)

Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)

Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 300.00)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000

Active Listings: 158 (Nov 144)

New Listings: 18 (Nov 8)

Sold Listings: 1 (Nov 2)

Months of Inventory: 158.00 (Nov 72.00)

Building lots from $200,001 and up

Active Listings: 246 (Nov 230)

New Listings: 19 (Nov 14)

Sold Listings: 4(Nov 23)

Months of Inventory: 61.50 (Nov 10.00)

Short Sales

Still happening. Not the easiest way to make it go away, but if you have the following criteria, you have a fair shot at it.

1. Loss of job

2. Divorce

3. Major medical emergency

If you are solvent, have other assets, or if it is a spec or second home, you can expect a deficiency notice, and an unsecured promissory note to the lender. The good news is it is often for a diminished amount and the interest and payment are often negotiable. Needless to say all cases are different, and people could cite several examples to the contrary, but these generalities seem to prevail. Before making this kind of decision, it is very wise to speak to your accountant or attorney to decide what is best for you if you are considering selling your home short.

For a buyer, first and foremost if you make an offer on a short sell that does not have an approved price, plan on waiting a minimum of about a month and as long as six to get an answer from the bank (lien holder). Bottom line, if you are in a hurry, probably not for you. You must be very patient, and kind of go to sleep while you are waiting. If you find an "approved" short sell, that means some other poor unfortunate soul has done your dirty work of waiting and their loan fell through or they just got tired of waiting and opted out of the deal. This works great for you, because you can slide in there, and it works a lot more like a normal deal at this point, except for you have to meet all of their demands and timing to get it to work.

One more thing to remember, since you will be getting a house for a great deal, expect some risk. There may be times when you spend money on appraisals and inspections, then the seller's bank makes an unrealistic demand at the closing table that blows up the deal. Unfortunately, you are out your money; keep in mind the seller usually has no money, that is why they are selling short, and the entire deal is subject to third party approval.

Patience is the key with short sales. Sadly, depending on who the listing agent is, and how well they have done their home work and submitted their package to the bank will make a huge difference in the success of the transaction closing. Most often, that is something you can not control.

Foreclosures

I just did a quick search and found that almost 7.5% of the listed RESIDENCES, not building lots, mobile homes or park models, but actual single family homes, Condos and townhomes are currently bank owned. That does not include short sales! Short sales account for an additional 17.1%, and they are the ones that marked it correctly, I would venture to guess that shorts sales are at least 20% of the active listings.

The point is, there is better than, and I mean a lot better than a 25% chance you will be dealing with a short sale or a foreclosure if you are looking to buy a home in this market. Contrary to common belief, you can not steal these houses, and the late night shows that tell you can buy places for $1000 and a bag of chips, might work in Detroit or Flint, Michigan, but it sure does not work here. A foreclosure usually will take within 2% of the asking price in the first 30 days of the listing. After the first 30 days they become a lot more eager to deal with realistic, qualified buyers provided you can show good down payment and qualification. Even if you offer is verbally accepted within the first 24-72 hours of making it, plan on the banks addendum with in two weeks, which is usually a regurgitation of your offer on their forms so they don't have to mess with our contract. Again, patience is the key.

We live in different real estate world. Until the market corrects it self and this inventory is absorbed, we can count on dealing with these two types of listings very regularly. You probably will not hit a grand slam home run, and get a short sales or foreclosure for pennies on the dollar, but like some of my clients have, you can get a deal that puts you in an equity position, and allows you to do some fixing and updating without pricing yourself out of the market.

As always, if I can do anything for you or anyone you know, send me an email.

If you or anyone you know would like to have foreclosures sent to your inbox at no cost or obligation to you, please sign up at www.southernutahforeclosure.com and click on buyers.

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

Status of The Southern Utah Real Estate Market for October

Well folks, October 2008 is in the books. I hope you are already for Thanksgiving and getting ready for the turkey. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to thank those who we were able to close this month. We know you have a lot of choices and we are always flattered you have chosen us.

Randy and Beth Wyatt (Sold Listing)
Bob and Brenda Crow (Sold Listing)
Toni Thompson (Purchase)

I would also like to thank Dustin and Traquel Dayley for referring the Wyatts, and Gerald and Cortney Brewer for referring the Crows. I was able to find Toni when I spoke to her mother Colleen Simkins about a listing I had in the neighborhood.

So this is what happened in the Greater St. George and Hurricane during the course of this last month. Once again, remember, this only includes homes and lots that have conveyed on the MLS, I have no way of being accurate on non-MLS sales.

Total Market Activity on Homes in October
Active Listings: 2,083 (Sept 1,733)
New Listings: 413 (Sept 385)
Sold Listings: 133 (Sept 144)
Months of Inventory: 15.66 (Sept 12.03)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 178 (Sept 156)
New Listings: 43 (Sept 34)
Sold Listings: 20 (Sept 24)
Months of Inventory: 8.90 (Sept 6.50)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 305 (Sept 254)
New Listings: 61 (Sept 65)
Sold Listings: 35 (Sept 28)
Months of Inventory: 8.71 (Sept 907)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 349 (Sept 279)
New Listings: 67 (Sept 82)
Sold Listings: 29 (Sept 30)
Months of Inventory: 12.03 (Sept 9.30)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 289 (Sept 248)
New Listings: 60 (Sept 48)
Sold Listings: 22 (Sept 18)
Months of Inventory: 13.14 (Sept 13.78)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 195 (Sept 162)
New Listings: 40 (Sept 33)
Sold Listings: 14 (Sept 13)
Months of Inventory: 13.93 (12.46)


Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 145 (Sept 125)
New Listings: 25 (Sept 28)
Sold Listings: 6 (Sept 13)
Months of Inventory: 24.17 (Aug 9.62)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 99 (Sept 83)
New Listings: 22 (Sept 18)
Sold Listings: 3 (Sept 6)
Months of Inventory: 33.00 (Sept 13.83)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 99 (Sept 80)
New Listings: 17 (Sept 16)
Sold Listings: 1 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: 99.00 (Sept 80.00)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 65 (Sept 52)
New Listings: 7 (Sept 10)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in October (Sept 52.00)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 54 (Sept 42)
New Listings: 14 (Sept 12)
Sold Listings: 1 (Sept 2)
Months of Inventory: 54.80 (Sept 21.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 31 (Sept 28)
New Listings: 4 (Sept 5)
Sold Listings: 1(Sept 2)
Months of Inventory: 31.00 (Sept 14.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 51 (Sept 43)
New Listings: 12 (Sept 6)Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in October or Sept


Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 16 (Sept 11)
New Listings: 4 (Sept 3)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in October (Sept 11.00)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 96 (Sept 76)
New Listings: 18 (Sept 13)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 4)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in October (Sept 19.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 110 (Sept 91)
New Listings: 19 (Sept 14)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 0)
Months of Inventory: (No Sales in October or September)

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: 1393 (Sept 1227)
New Listings: 143 (Sept 145)
Sold Listings: 14 (Sept 21)
Months of Inventory: 99.50 (Sept 58.43)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $100,000
Active Listings: 537 (Sept 463)
New Listings: 82 (Sept 57)
Sold Listings: 9 (Sept 13)
Months of Inventory: 59.67 (Sept 35.62)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 382 (Sept 334)
New Listings: 31 (Sept 37)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in October (Sept 334.00)


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: 289 (Sept 262)
New Listings: 16 (Sept 39)
Sold Listings: 3 (Sept 4)
Months of Inventory: 96.00 (Sept 65.00)

Foreclosures and Short Sells

The foreclosure market is really ramping up. I am in the process of revamping my foreclosure website so that it will give everyone full access to any foreclosed listing on the MLS. No bull, just listings you can actually buy. The site is www.southernutahforeclosure.com. Check it out. It should be up in the next few days. I am excited about it, and I think it will help.

Short sells. Starting to see fewer of them, a lot of them, of course are turning into foreclosures.

Good deals are abounding. I am seeing more and more of them everyday. It is a great time to buy.

As always, please let me know what I can do to help you and yours with any and all of your real estate needs.

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.

What happened in August in the Southern Utah Real Estate Market!

August has come and gone, so let’s take a look at what happened in the Greater St. George area and Hurricane Valley in the month of August

Before we get started I would also like to thank the following for their closed transactions in August:

1. Rick and Tatine Jenkins (sold listing)
2. Rebekah Andrus (sold listing)
3. Kevin and Nichole Cowley (sold listing)

Rick and Tatine Jenkins are third time customers and I want to thank them for their loyalty.

I am curious if this is information is interesting and or helpful to you. I am going to do a contest, and I will post the results later this month or next month. If you read this blog email me at joe@joelangston.com and put “contest” in the subject line. The winner gets some free movie tickets.

If you know of anyone else that might benefit from this information with their permission of course, please send me an email with the subject line “referral” to joe@joelangston.com with their name and email address, and I will put them on the list. Whoever provides the most referrals gets movie tickets too.

One more thought. Take a look at the business blog section of this site. Dr. Dick Harper is a personal friend and mentor of mine, and he is brilliant. Take a look at his blog, Dr. Dick’s Journey. He has provided a lot of the information I have used on this blog of late, and you will be well rewarded by taking a look at his posts. No, I am not a weirdo; Dixie Zumba Girls is my wife’s blog. She and a couple of her friends teach a dance exercise class called Zumba. If you know anyone interested in that, she has classes at several different locations, and she usually high-lights a routine on her blog.

I must remind you these stats are according to the Washington County Board of Realtors MLS and do not take into account any private sells. As many of you know, Utah is a non-disclosure state, (That means the county does not record prices of sold homes, only the MLS system does) so if I try to start introducing private sell data, I will struggle with completeness and accurate. So, for the time being, I will stick only to data from the Washington County Board of Realtors MLS.

This data covers the Greater St. George area: (St. George, Santa Clara, Washington, Ivins) and the Hurricane Valley: (Hurricane, La Verkin, Toquerville). For the purpose of this blog, homes refer to single family houses, condos, town homes and new construction. I have not included any provisions for time shares, trailers, mobile or manufactured homes. That being said, this is what happened in August. You can see the July comparison in parenthesis.

Total Market Activity on homes in August

Active Listings: 2,385 (July 2,465)
New Listings: 440 (July 524) significant dip
Sold Listings: 149 (July 150)
Months of Inventory: 16.01 (July 16.43)

Homes priced up to $150,000

Active Listings: 182 (July 208)
New Listings: 34 (July 35)
Sold Listings: 18 (July 23)
Months of Inventory: 10.11 (July 9.04)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000

Active Listings: 333 (July 334)
New Listings: 87 (July 69)
Sold Listings: 25 (July 28)
Months of Inventory: 13.32 (July 11.93)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000

Active Listings: 382 (July 406)
New Listings: 106 (July 83)
Sold Listings: 35 (July 34)
Months of Inventory: 10.91 (July 11.94)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000

Active Listings: 350 (July 366)
New Listings: 49 (July 97) wow, big dip
Sold Listings: 29 (July 22)
Months of Inventory: 12.07 (July 16.64)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000

Active Listings: 239 (July 243)
New Listings: 31 (July 73) significant dip, thank heaven
Sold Listings: 18 (July 14)
Months of Inventory: 13.28 (July 17.36)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000

Active Listings: 183 (July 184)
New Listings: 36 (July 39)
Sold Listings: 8 (July 11)
Months of Inventory: 22.88 (July 16.73)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000

Active Listings: 108 (July 108)
New Listings: 21 (July 27)
Sold Listings: 3 (July 5)
Months of Inventory: 36.00 (July 21.60)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000

Active Listings: 127 (July 135)
New Listings: 8 (July 21)
Sold Listings: 1 (July 4)
Months of Inventory: 127.00 (July 33.75) Yikes! Get a load at this absorption.

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000

Active Listings: 70 (July 71)
New Listings: 8 (July 15)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (July 71.00) Yea, that means it worse than 71.

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000

Active Listings: 76 (July 74)
New Listings: 12 (July 17)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 2)
Months of Inventory: 38.00 (July 37.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000

Active Listings: 33 (July 39)
New Listings: 5 (July 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: 16.50 (July 39.00) Looky here, Progress!

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000

Active Listings: 49 (July 47)
New Listings: 7 (July 13)
Sold Listings: 3 (July 0)
Months of Inventory: 16.33 (No Sales in July) Here too!

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000

Active Listings: 21 (July 20)
New Listings: 7 (July 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (No Sales in July) No wonder that listing hasn’t sold!

Homes priced from $750,001 to $800,000

Active Listings: 31(July 28)
New Listings: 5 (July 2)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (28.00 July)

Homes priced from $800,001 and up

Active Listings: 201 (July 202)
New Listings: 24 (July 22)
Sold Listings: 5 (July 4) Wow! Some sales!
Months of Inventory: 40.20 (July 50.50)

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: 1410 (1486 July)
New Listings: 123 (99 July)
Sold Listings: 7 (26 July)
Months of Inventory: 201 (57 July)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $100,000

Active Listings: 468 (527 July)
New Listings: 59 (33 July)
Sold Listings: 5 (20 July)
Months of Inventory: 201 (57 July) Just a decade and a half or so of inventory!

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000

Active Listings: 405 (414 July)
New Listings: 28 (24 July)
Sold Listings: 0 (3 July)
Months of Inventory: No sales (138 July)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000

Active Listings: 207 (209 July)
New Listings: 14 (8 July)
Sold Listings: 2 (1 July)
Months of Inventory: 104 (209 July)

Building lots from $200,000 and up

Active Listings: 330 (336 July)
New Listings: 22 (34 July)
Sold Listings: 0 (2 July)
Months of Inventory: No sales (168 July) All I can say is YIKES!

Short Sales and Foreclosures

I am currently not taking too many more short sell listings unless it is payment in full to the first and shorting a second in a minor way. The problems is when you get too far apart, the national investors, think that they would rather foreclose than go through the gymnastics of putting the deal together, and in their minds get ripped off. Formerly, I was able to get 50-60% of mine to work out, but recently, through some unfortunate circumstances and some unqualified buyers my ratios have dipped dramatically. When representing a buyer, I still would not hesitate to make an offer on an approved short sell; it is just getting it to that point that is the challenge. If you are a buyer making an offer on an unapproved short sell, just be ready to wait for several weeks for about a 35% change of having the transaction work.

Foreclosures have really picked up lately. There are some good deals out there right now. Not the late night buy a house for $50, type deals, but homes that make sense and you can not build for what they are selling them for. I made two strong offers at the end of August for clients, and it looks like we did not get either deal to work, due to multiple offers! If you find a good foreclosure and the numbers make sense, make a good offer. If you do not make a good offer, expect to miss them, because multiple offers are coming.

As always, if you need anything or know someone who does, get a hold of me, I would love to help.