Southern Utah Real Estate Market in December 2009

I am a little late on this, but Happy New Year! I want to thank the following for making December a great month. We ended helping a total of 53 families, individuals or businesses either buy or sale real estate this year. Thanks to all of you that either referred or bought or sold this entire year, and especially those that helped in the month of December, the are:

1. Dall, Rita and Myrtle Flanders (purchase)
2. Jennifer Schnabel (listing sold)
3. Diana Stanley (purchase)
4. Jerry and Jeanne Snider (purchase)
5. Jessica Ham (listing sold)
6. Merlin and Tana Sullivan (purchase)

The Flanders called on one of my other listings, and we were able to help them find this house that works better for them, Jennifer Schnabel is a past client, Diana Stanley was a referral from Dave and Traci Stanley, current clients, Jerry and Jeanne Snider are referrals from past clients Omar and Judy Huntington, Jessica Ham is an asset manager for Olympus Asset management, and Merlin and Tana Sullivan, just happen to like the house I listed across the street from them, so they bought it.
Thank you to all.

I just thought I would send you all the deal of the Month, so check this big house out. It is 4200 square feet, 7 beds 3 baths, with a new roof, new carpet, new paint, new tile, newly finished basement, new vinyl siding on exterior, new drive way, and fencing. The house is a bit older, it was built in 1977, but it is nicely priced at only $199,900. That is under $49 bucks a foot!!! Check out the video below...

Here is what happened in the month of December…

Total Market Activity on Homes in December
Active Listings: 1,623 (Nov 1,447)
New Listings: 266 (Nov 318)
Sold Listings: 203 (Nov 195)
Months of Inventory: 8.00 (Nov 7.42)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 380 (Nov 347)
New Listings: 67 (Nov 88)
Sold Listings: 72 (Nov 44)
Months of Inventory: 5.28 (Nov 7.89)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 327 (Nov 295)
New Listings: 56 (Nov 78)
Sold Listings: 55 (Nov 54)
Months of Inventory: 5.95 (Nov 5.46)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 235 (Nov 205)
New Listings: 43 (Nov 48)
Sold Listings: 27 (Nov 34)
Months of Inventory: 8.70 (Nov 6.03)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 169 (Nov 147 )
New Listings: 33 (Nov 30)
Sold Listings: 18 (Nov 25)
Months of Inventory: 9.39 (Nov 5.88)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 103 (Nov 94)
New Listings: 14 (Nov 21)
Sold Listings: 5 (Nov 13)
Months of Inventory: 20.16 (Nov 7.23)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 96 (Nov 81)
New Listings: 19 (Nov 14)
Sold Listings: 8 (Nov 7)
Months of Inventory: 12.00 (Nov 11.57)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 45 (Nov 38 )
New Listings: 7 (Nov 6)
Sold Listings: 1 (Nov 3)
Months of Inventory: 45.00 (Nov 12.67)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 48 (Nov 44)
New Listings: 4 (Nov 6)
Sold Listings: 4 (Nov 6)
Months of Inventory: 12.00 (Nov 7.33)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 35 (Nov 33)
New Listings: 1 (Nov 5)
Sold Listings: 3 (Nov 4)
Months of Inventory: 11.67 (Nov 8.25)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 37 (Nov 31)
New Listings: 4 (Nov 5)
Sold Listings: 4 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: 9.25 (Nov 31.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 25 (Nov 22)
New Listings: 1 (Nov 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 22.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 20 (Nov 16)
New Listings: 2 (Nov 4)
Sold Listings: 2 (Nov 0)
Months of Inventory: 10.00 (No Sales in Nov)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 5 (Nov 4)
New Listings: 1 (Nov 0)
Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: o Sales in Dec (Nov 4.00)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 48 (Nov 44)
New Listings: 5 (Nov 6)
Sold Listings: 4 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: 12.00 (Nov 44.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 49 (Nov 45)
New Listings: 9 (Nov 3)
Sold Listings: 0 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Dec (Nov 45.00)

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: 1,046 (Nov 932)
New Listings: 130 (Nov 74)
Sold Listings: 28 (Nov 36)
Months of Inventory: 37.36 (Nov 25.89)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 133 (Nov 112)
New Listings: 26 (Nov 13)
Sold Listings: 3 (Nov 20)
Months of Inventory: 44.33 (Nov 5.60)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 428 (Nov 386)
New Listings: 38 (Nov 26)
Sold Listings: 15 (Nov 8)
Months of Inventory: 28.53 (Nov 48.25)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 211 (Nov 188)
New Listings: 30 (Nov 9)
Sold Listings: 3 (Nov 2)
Months of Inventory: 70.33 (Nov 94.00)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 126 (Nov 109)
New Listings: 22 (Nov 3)
Sold Listings: 3 (Nov 2)
Months of Inventory: 42.00 (Nov 54.50)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 148 (Nov 137)
New Listings: 14 (Nov 23)
Sold Listings: 4 (Nov 1)
Months of Inventory: 37.00 (Nov 34.25)

Short Sales:
Frankly, it is difficult to get away from them. More and more people, and even banks are going to third party negotiators in an effort to stream line then and make them go more smoothly. I guess they have finally realized that they are here to stay! They still work ok if you don’t mind jumping through the hoops and waiting a while.

Foreclosures:
Same thing, 10-15% are excellent deals, 60% are just ok and the rest are not deals at all. If I can do anything to help, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me a quick email.

What happened in the Southern Utah Real Estate Market in November 2009

Thanks once again to all who have made this a great month. First of all I would like to personally thank all you had a hand in my livelihood this month by closing escrow on some real estate. The following were extremely helpful in the month of November:

1. Dale Gunther (Sold Listing)
2. Jeff Hemming (Sold Listing)
3. Chad and Jill Eckley (Purchase)

Dale is actually a VP of a bank up North and he was referred to me by his son in law Brett Christiansen, Jeff Hemming was referred by his Uncle from Logandale, NV, and Chad and Jill were referred to me by Bill and Amber Overson. Thanks to all of you very much.

One of the ways that I am trying to keep ahead of the curve is by trying to be a little more social on FaceBook. Believe me it is tough, because like all of you I am just a bit busy. I do however see value in it, and I am currently video recording all of my listings with a flip cam and putting them on Facebook for all to see. So if you want to become a friend or check the videos out, it is under Joe Langston on FaceBook. I realize my voice sounds funny, I guess none of us really like our voice on camera, but it does get you inside, and that is what really counts.

This is what the market did last month, looks like we dropped off pretty good from October. I know it was a difference for me…

Total Market Activity on Homes in November
Active Listings: 1,718 (Oct 1,485)
New Listings: 324 (Oct 315)
Sold Listings: 184 (Oct 219)
Months of Inventory: 9.34 (6.78)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 404 (Oct 337)
New Listings: 91 (Oct 80)
Sold Listings: 41 (Oct 69)
Months of Inventory: 9.85 (Oct 4.88)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 362 (Oct 315)
New Listings: 73 (Oct 61)
Sold Listings: 51 (Oct 53)
Months of Inventory: 7.10 (Oct 5.94)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 242 (Oct 211)
New Listings: 51 (Oct 48)
Sold Listings: 33 (Oct 37)
Months of Inventory: 7.33 (Oct 5.70)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 184 (Oct 154 )
New Listings: 36 (Oct 38)
Sold Listings: 24 (Oct 21)
Months of Inventory: 7.67 (Oct 7.33)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 111 (Oct 92)
New Listings: 18 (Oct 24)
Sold Listings: 12 (Oct 13)
Months of Inventory: 9.25 (Oct 7.08)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 95 (Oct 81)
New Listings: 15 (Oct 17)
Sold Listings: 7 (Oct 7)
Months of Inventory: 13.57 (Oct 11.57)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 50 (Oct 46 )
New Listings: 5 (Oct 13)
Sold Listings: 3 (Oct 5)
Months of Inventory: 16.67 (Oct 9.20)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 45 (Oct 43)
New Listings: 6 (Oct 8)
Sold Listings: 6 (Oct 3)
Months of Inventory: 7.50 (Oct 14.33)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 33 (Oct 28)
New Listings: 6 (Oct 5)
Sold Listings: 3 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: 11.00 (No Sales in Oct)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 38 (Oct 36)
New Listings: 4 (Oct 5)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 38.00 (Oct 36.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 26 (Oct 24)
New Listings: 5 (Oct 3)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 2)
Months of Inventory: 26.00 (Oct 12.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 22 (Oct 20)
New Listings: 4 (Oct 1)
Sold Listings: 0 (Oct 2)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in November (Oct 10.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 7 (Oct 6)
New Listings: 0 (Oct 1)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: 7.00 (No Sales in Oct)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 45 (ct 42)
New Listings: 6 (Oct 3)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 4)
Months of Inventory: 45.00 (Oct 10.50)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 55 (Oct 51)
New Listings: 4 (Oct 8)
Sold Listings: 1 (Oct 2)
Months of Inventory: 55.00 (Oct 25.50)

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: 1,058 (Oct 991)
New Listings: 73 (Oct 151
Sold Listings: 34 (Oct 15 )
Months of Inventory: 31.12 (Oct 66.07)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 118 (Oct 105)
New Listings: 15 (Oct 33)
Sold Listings: 20 (Oct 6)
Months of Inventory: 5.90 (Oct 17.50)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 523 (Oct 503)
New Listings: 28 (Oct 61)
Sold Listings: 8 (Oct 7)
Months of Inventory: 65.38 (Oct 71.86)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 232 (Oct 218)
New Listings: 8 (Oct 43)
Sold Listings: 2 (Oct 0)
Months of Inventory: 116.00 (No Sales in Oct)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 119 (Oct 116)
New Listings: 2 (Oct 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (Oct 1
Months of Inventory: 59.50 (Oct 116.00)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 172 (Oct 148 )
New Listings: 24 (Oct 14)
Sold Listings: 4 (Oct 1)
Months of Inventory: 43 (Oct 148)

I usually write a little report about short sales and foreclosures, but not much has changed. Shorts still take a while, and if you are lucky enough to find one that has already been approved and the buyer has bailed on it, good for you, that is a great one to chase down. If not, plan on a bit of a wait.

Foreclosures, I feel the same about. I have listed 10 this year, and out of them 2 have been great deals, 6 have been good deals and the other two, well, let’s just say I still have them listed. The bank might fire me before I get them to go away.

Let me know what I can do to help you. Send me an email.

Status of the Southern Utah Real Estate Market for October 2009

The market has been interesting. As you can see below, October was a great closing month for me, and it would be very nice to keep that average all year long, so if you have any ideas about how to make that work, I am open to your comments. The market reminds me of an old car with junk in the carburetor, it seems to run ok for a bit then it sputters and coughs before it takes off again. I am not sure if I can attribute the inconsistency to my tactics, or if this is how the market is reacting overall. In any case, the closings below represent a total of 44.5 (sides) up to the month of October. I have already closed two more just this side of November, but I do not get to count them yet, because this supposed to be a report up to the end of October. I am getting ever closer to the goal of 50 that I set at the first of the year, and I thank you all very much for your help in achieving my goals. Needless to say, I cannot do it without you. I sincerely appreciate your support. I would especially like to thank the following for their help this month:

Mike Low (purchase)
Pat Moffat, Boyer Group-lot (sold Listing)
Bob and Chris Owens (purchase)
Pat Moffat, Boyer Group-house (sold listing)
Scott and Char Raine (purchase)
Monty Magleby, Blackrock Development (sold listing)
Ryan and Anne Johnson (purchase)
Jared Van Staveren FM (sold listing)
Tyson Egbert FM (sold listing)

Mike Low is a referral from Meagan and David Lee, past clients and friends; Pat is the project manager for the Overlook at Green Valley, which I have listed; Bob and Chris Owens are referrals from Joe and Sue Wirth who are past clients; Scott and Char Raine, I sold a house to, about five or six years ago, and they have remained faithful; Monty Magleby included me on a couple listings in Blackrock; Ryan and Anne Johnson are referrals from long time friends Steve and Amy Palmer; Jared and Tyson are asset managers for a bank that I work for. Thanks to everyone, I get so much support from past clients and friends, and I really appreciate it. In fact, I cannot do it without you!

Many of you have had questions about how short sales work, or in some cases don’t work. I am in hopes that the following video will do two things; first, get me way out of my comfort zone, because that is how we grow, and secondly give you some insight as to how this process works. Take a look. If you are already a short sale wizard, don’t bother, it’s fairly basic.



Wow, look at all of the new listings that have come on to the market. You will notice we out-paced September by a huge margin in terms of active listings, and out sold September by two transactions, so I am sure we can all sigh a breath of relief and expect a spike in the market comparable to that of summer 2005. Just kidding of course.

Total Market Activity on Homes in October
Active Listings: 1,686 (Sept 1,412)
New Listings: 329 (Sept 398)
Sold Listings: 204 (Sept 202)
Months of Inventory: 7.88 (Sept 6.99)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 362 (Sept 305)
New Listings: 85 (Sept 90)
Sold Listings: 69 (Sept 55)
Months of Inventory: 5.25 (Sept 5.55)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 359 (Sept 275)
New Listings: 63 (Sept 120)
Sold Listings: 51 (Sept 56)
Months of Inventory: 7.04 (Sept 4.91)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 255 (Sept 234)
New Listings: 43 (Sept 39)
Sold Listings: 35 (Sept 40)
Months of Inventory: 7.29 (Sept 5.86)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 172 (Sept 132 )
New Listings: 45 (Sept 51)
Sold Listings: 21 (Sept 15)
Months of Inventory: 8.19 (Sept 8.80)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 108 (Sept 94)
New Listings: 24 (Sept 17)
Sold Listings: 12 (Sept 17)
Months of Inventory: 9.00 (Sept 5.53)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 94 (Sept 83)
New Listings: 16 (Sept 20)
Sold Listings: 7 (Sept 8)
Months of Inventory: 13.43 (Sept 10.38)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 48 (Sept 34 )
New Listings: 14 (Sept 13)
Sold Listings: 5 (Sept 3)
Months of Inventory: 9.60 (Sept 11.33)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 50 (Sept 44)
New Listings: 9 (Sept 8)
Sold Listings: 3 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: 16.67 (Sept 44.00)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 29 (Sept 25)
New Listings: 6 (Sept 5)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 2)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Oct (Sept 12.50)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 48 (Sept 42)
New Listings: 7 (Sept 7)
Sold Listings: 1 (Sept 0)
Months of Inventory: 48.00 (No Sales in Sept)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 23 (Sept 22)
New Listings: 2 (Sept 6)
Sold Listings: 2 (Sept 2)
Months of Inventory: 11.50 (Sept 11.00 )

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 29 (Sept 26)
New Listings: 2 (Sept 4)
Sold Listings: 2 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: 14.00 (Sept 26.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 6 (Sept 6)
New Listings: 0 (Sept 0)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Oct (No Sales in Sept)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 44 (Sept 39)
New Listings: 5 (Sept 9)
Sold Listings: 4 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: 11.00 (39.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 59 (Sept 51)
New Listings: 8 (Sept 9)
Sold Listings: 2 (Sept 1)
Months of Inventory: 29.50 (Sept 51.00)

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: 1,094 (Sept 982)
New Listings: 156 (Sept 53)
Sold Listings: 13 (Sept 18 )
Months of Inventory: 84.15 (Sept 54.56)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 109 (Sept 88)
New Listings: 32 (Sept 17)
Sold Listings: 5 (Sept 7)
Months of Inventory: 21.80 (Sept 12.57)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 414 (Sept 372)
New Listings: 63 (Sept 18)
Sold Listings: 6 (Sept 4)
Months of Inventory: 69.00 (Sept 93.00)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 274 (Sept 238)
New Listings: 7 (Sept 2)
Sold Listings: 0 (Sept 5)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Oct (Sept 47.60)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 133 (Sept 131)
New Listings: 7 (Sept 2)
Sold Listings: 1 (Sept 2)
Months of Inventory: 133.00 (Sept 65.50)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 164 (Sept 153 )
New Listings: 12 (Sept 9)
Sold Listings: 1 (No Sales in Sept)
Months of Inventory: 164.00 (No Sales in Sept)

Short Sales, looks like I have covered them above, so if you need more info, let me know.

Foreclosures: The best way to keep abreast of the foreclosure market is by signing up for the free foreclosure listing report. Log onto www.southernutahforeclosure.com and sign up. Pretty painless. Don’t worry, this is my sight, so you won’t be spammed to death.

Thanks for all the support. Let me know if I can help, and Who do you know that needs to buy or sale real estate in your area?

Southern Utah Real Estate Market for September 2009

September was an interesting month. I did not close too many deals, but it was a great set up month for October. I am kind of excited about what I will be able to report for October, but that’s next month, so we will talk about that then. I would like to thank the following for their support this month:

Pat Moffat and Green Valley LC (Listing Sold)
Bart and Diane Imlay (Purchase)
Jared VanStaveren GRC (Listing Sold)

Pat, of course, is the project manager of the Overlook at Green Valley that I have listed, Bart and Diane are some wonderful long-time friends and neighbors, not to mention repeat performers, and Jared is the asset manager Fannie Mae that I work with to liquidate some of their foreclosed property. Thanks to all of you!

A lot of people are looking for an alternative to short selling or foreclosing their homes. One company that I think is doing a good job of providing a service to help people stay in their homes via a loan modification is Rocky Mountain Relief. They are a local company, who I have met with on several occasions and I definitely think they have a lot to offer. Their fees are very low, and they do have some accountability, so I have been impressed with what I have heard and seen. Their service is that of negotiating with the bank for a different loan amount and a different interest rate, rather than have you short sale your home or lose it to the bank. If you need more information, let me know, and I can hook you up with these guys.

I am working hard to create a business page on Facebook, so look for that over the course of the next month. That might be one more way for us to connect. In case you are tired of my rhetoric and just came for the data, here you go!

Total Market Activity on Homes in September
Active Listings: 1,605 (Aug 1,400) Listings are up!
New Listings: 394 (Aug 307)
Sold Listings: 195 (Aug 191)
Months of Inventory: 8.23 (Aug 7.33) A little more inventory, wrong direction!

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 325 (Aug 296)
New Listings: 89 (Aug 71)
Sold Listings: 52 (Aug 60) Yikes!
Months of Inventory: 6.25 (Aug 4.93)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 306 (Aug 268)
New Listings: 118 (Aug 69)
Sold Listings: 55 (Aug 58) Not too far off
Months of Inventory: 5.56 (Aug 4.62)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 282 (Aug 241)
New Listings: 50 (Aug 57)
Sold Listings: 38 (Aug 25) Ok, this is way better than last month.
Months of Inventory: 7.42 (Aug 9.64)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 161 (Aug 142 )
New Listings: 44 (Aug 28)
Sold Listings: 15 (Aug 22) This isn’t.
Months of Inventory: 10.73 (Aug 6.45)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 107 (Aug 96)
New Listings: 18 (Aug 21)
Sold Listings: 17 (Aug 8) Good month for this range.
Months of Inventory: 6.29 (Aug 12.00)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 91 (Aug 75)
New Listings: 16 (Aug 20)
Sold Listings: 8 (Aug 8)
Months of Inventory: 11.38 (Aug 9.38)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 47 (Aug 37 )
New Listings: 13 (Aug 9)
Sold Listings: 3 (Aug 2) We will take what we can get.
Months of Inventory: 15.67 (Aug 18.50)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 52 (Aug 42)
New Listings: 12 (Aug 5)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 2) That’s it, really?
Months of Inventory: 52.00 (Aug 21.00)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 33 (Aug 27)
New Listings: 7 (Aug 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 0) Lots better.
Months of Inventory: 16.50 (No Sales in Aug)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 42 (Aug 36)
New Listings: 5 (Aug 3)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 2) Yikes!
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Sept (Aug 18.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 26 (Aug 21)
New Listings: 6 (Aug 5)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 1) A 100% increase!
Months of Inventory: 13.00 (Aug 20. )

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 25 (Aug 25)
New Listings: 2 (Aug 1)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 1)
Months of Inventory: 25.00 (Aug 25.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 10 (Aug 9)
New Listings: 0 (Aug 2)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Sept (No Sales in Aug)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 39 (Aug 32)
New Listings: 9 (Aug 5)
Sold Listings: 1 (Aug 2)
Months of Inventory: 39.00 (16.00)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 59 (Aug 54)
New Listings: 6 (Aug 5)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 0)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Sept (N0 Sales in Aug)

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: 1,028 (Aug 959)
New Listings: 50 (Aug 98)
Sold Listings: 17 (Aug 21 )
Months of Inventory: 60.47 (Aug 45.67)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 92 (Aug 77)
New Listings: 15 (Aug 30)
Sold Listings: 7 (Aug 6)
Months of Inventory: 13.14 (Aug 12.83)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 383 (Aug 354)
New Listings: 17 (Aug 32)
Sold Listings: 3 (Aug 7)
Months of Inventory: 127.67 (Aug 50.57)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 253 (Aug 245)
New Listings: 7 (Aug 16)
Sold Listings: 5 (Aug 3)
Months of Inventory: 50.60 (Aug 81.67)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 133 (Aug 124)
New Listings: 3 (Aug 10)
Sold Listings: 2 (Aug 2)
Months of Inventory: 66.50 (Aug 62.00)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 167 (Aug 159)
New Listings: 8 (Aug 10)
Sold Listings: 0 (Aug 3)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in Sept (Aug 53.00)

Short Sales:
They do not seem to be getting any easier. I thought they would, and they project that fourth quarter should be easier and better, but man, they seem to be taking plenty of time right now. It still is a viable option, just be prepared to strap your boots on, and you are not going anywhere for a while. I am starting to see a few companies that are full time short sale negotiators. If you find the right company, it is a wise idea to work with them in tandem with your real estate agent.

Foreclosures:
I Feel about the same. 15% of them are great deals. 60-70% are fine deals, which means that you will probably come out fine once you get them fixed up, and the rest do not make sense. I am currently working with a company that represents Fannie Mae, and they are pretty reasonable about getting their inventory gone. They plan on paying closings costs, and are helpful at negotiation time. They want to sell them fast.

As always, let me know what I can do to help! Send me an email!

Status of the Southern Utah Real Estate Market for August

Welcome to the latest edition of the status of the market. I have to apologize, I was out of town at the first of the month taking care of some personal business and the month sort of ran away from me. As always, I would like to thank the following for making August a great month.

1. Jared VanStaveren (Sold Listing)
2. Dale Hanson (Purchase)
3. Evelyn Anderson (Sold Listing)
4. Monty Magleby (Sold Listing)
5. Jepthah and Christine Alt (Sold Listing)

Jared is an asset manger from a company that deals with Fannie Mae, I have had the pleasure of working with him on three different properties, Dale Hanson is the Father of Marie and Chip Ehlers, who are sphere of influence members she referred Dad to me. Evelyn Anderson was a referral out in Sun River from my new Sister-in-law, Margie Hare Sanderson, Monty is one of the principals at Black Rock, that had me help sell a couple and Jepthah and Chris Alt are past clients from about six years ago, that finally needed to sell their gorgeous Green Springs house. Thanks to all of you for your contribution to my business and family.

If anyone is looking for an incredible, golf course condo, Black Rock is the ticket right now. They are very aggressive in their pricing and still have several units that over-look the Sun Brook Golf Course on three different levels. If you want more information about that, call or email me, you will be very glad you did. The “economic stimulus” discounts are amazing, and I am not sure of a project of its type that holds a candle to the quality. Just check out my video tour on this blog posted on July 2. That unit is now sold, but it might give the flavor of what there is to offer. Prices are in the late $100’s to the late $200’s and perhaps on occasion early $300’s, depending on what you do with the finishes.

Total Market Activity on Homes in August
Active Listings: 1,545 (July 1,346)
New Listings: 308 (July 379)
Sold Listings: 187 (July 250)
Months of Inventory: 8.26 (July 5.38)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 323 (July 266)
New Listings: 67 (July 103)
Sold Listings: 59 (July 58)
Months of Inventory: 5.47 (July 4.59)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 290 (July 263)
New Listings: 66 (July 72)
Sold Listings: 55 (July 66)
Months of Inventory: 5.09 (July 3.98)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 263 (July 230)
New Listings: 57 (July 58)
Sold Listings: 24 (July 42)
Months of Inventory: 10.96 (July 5.48)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 157 (July 139 )
New Listings: 31 (July 43)
Sold Listings: 22 (July 22)
Months of Inventory: 7.14 (July 6.32)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 99 (July 89)
New Listings: 23 (July 23)
Sold Listings: 7 (July 18)
Months of Inventory: 14.14 (July 4.94)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 85 (July 66)
New Listings: 19 (July 28)
Sold Listings: 8 (July 17)
Months of Inventory: 10.62 (July 3.88)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 41 (July 34 )
New Listings: 10 (July 10)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 5)
Months of Inventory: 20.50 (July 6.80)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 54 (July 45)
New Listings: 5 (July 9)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 7)
Months of Inventory: 27.00 (July 6.43)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 28 (July 21)
New Listings: 7 (July 6)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 3)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (July 7.00)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 42 (July 41)
New Listings: 4 (July 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 5)
Months of Inventory: 21.00 (July 8.20)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 21 (July 19)
New Listings: 5 (July 3)
Sold Listings: 1 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: 21.00 (July 19.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 29 (July 28)
New Listings: 1 (July 5)
Sold Listings: 1 (July 2)
Months of Inventory: 29.00 (July 14.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 2 (July 1)
New Listings: 2 (July 1)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (July 8.00)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 48 (July 44)
New Listings: 8 (July 7)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 3)
Months of Inventory: 24.00 (14.67)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 63 (July 60)
New Listings: 5 (July 4)
Sold Listings: 0 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: No Sales in August (July 60.00)

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: 1,063 (July 1,099)
New Listings: 85 (July 100)
Sold Listings: 20 (July 15)
Months of Inventory: 53.15 (July 66.60)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 77 (July 60)
New Listings: 28 (July 6)
Sold Listings: 6 (July 6)
Months of Inventory: 12.83 (July 10.00)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 401 (July 384)
New Listings: 22 (July 29)
Sold Listings: 7 (July 6)
Months of Inventory: 57.29 (July 64.00)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 268 (July 251)
New Listings: 15 (July 17)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 1)
Months of Inventory: 134.00 (July 251.00)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 133 (July 128)
New Listings: 10 (July 15)
Sold Listings: 2 (July 0)
Months of Inventory: 66.50 (No sales in July)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 264 (July 256)
New Listings: 12 (July 35)
Sold Listings: 4 (July 2)
Months of Inventory: 66.00 (July 128.00)

Foreclosures:
My opinion is still the same…10-15% of them are great deals. 60% are pretty good, and if you are willing to put in a little elbow grease you are in great shape. The rest, just aren’t any good. By the time you bring them up to speed, you could have bought a house in good shape minus the labor.

Short Sales:
My opinion ebbs and flows on this issue. There are months when the banks seem to want to talk and others where they just don’t. This month I am pretty ambivalent, though I do have a couple I am working hard to get done right now.

Thanks to you all for everything. If there is ever anything I can do, I want to hear about it. Send me a quick email. Lastly Know Do You Know, that needs to buy or sale a home. I hope you have me in mind when you think of them.
Listings

The Who Do You Know? Home Tour, Makes a Stop!

Hello Everyone:

Here is the second of the Who Do You Know? Home Tour. This is a very nice upper scale family home right in the Mecca for families...Shadow Mountain. the nuts and bolts are as follows: 5 Beds 3 Baths, den, two kitchens, out door barbeque and water feature, ample storage, huge game room in lower level, 4360 Square feet, priced at $429,900. So check out the video, and ask yourself...Who do you know that needs to make this home theirs?

Send me an email if you thought of the right "Who".

Status of The Southern Utah Real Estate Market for July 2009

Sorry I am a bit late. I guess the endless supply of summer obligations and frankly some fun; have kept me from posting until now. I had a great July, thanks to all of you for your help and efforts in keeping the Doors of ExSell Realty open and operating. I would especially like to thank the following for their closings this month:

1. Boyer Green Valley LC (Listing Sold)
2. Daniel and Karissa Holloway (Purchase)
3. Bart and Diane Imlay (Purchase)
4. Scott and Cathy Alexander (Listing Sold)
5. Mark Hammond GRC (Listing Sold)
6. Greg and Lona Clarke (Purchase)

Pat Moffat the project manager of The Overlook at Green Valley has been awesome to work with for the past year or so, Daniel and Karissa are wonderful people that were referred to me by Blake Bench of Bank of America, thanks Blake, Bart and Diane Imlay are long time family friends and neighbors, Scott and Cathy have two siblings that are both past clients of mine, Arica Demarcus-Dadjou and Dave and Trish DeMarcus and Mark Hammond is a REO asset manager that happened to put me to work on a project, and Greg and Lona Clarke are some wonderful people that I serendipitously bumped into in the middle of the woods one day, and they happen to buy the cabin I listed with Mark. Thank you all.

Look for the “Who Do You Know?” home tour. I am planning to start videoing each week for the last three weeks of each month and posting them on this blog so check it out. I am interested in your feedback.

Here is what is going on in the market, there is a bit of movement out there and total sales are up compared to a dismal first quarter. According to the Washington County Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, Homes closing escrow in the Greater St. George and Hurricane Valley increased from 218 in the month of June to 247 in the month of July, so the trend looks positive.

According to our friends at Southern Utah Title, if you add the MLS information to the by owner, and by builder and you add in the other areas on the MLS that I did not report on, such is the North West and North East corridors, they report a 363 sales in July, up from 304 in June. Either way you look at it, things are up.

Here are the numbers broken out in each category.

Total Market Activity on Homes in July
Active Listings: 1,572 (June 1,352)
New Listings: 408 (June 308)
Sold Listings: 242 (June 213)
Months of Inventory: 6.50 (June 6.35)

Homes priced up to $150,000
Active Listings: 285 (June 246)
New Listings: 106 (June 65)
Sold Listings: 56 (June 39)
Months of Inventory: 5.09 (June 6.31)

Homes priced from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 304 (June 258)
New Listings: 82 (June 80)
Sold Listings: 64 (June 56)
Months of Inventory: 4.75 (June 4.61)

Homes priced from $200,001 to $250,000
Active Listings: 253 (June 206)
New Listings: 63 (June 55)
Sold Listings: 41 (June 41)
Months of Inventory: 6.17 (June 5.02)

Homes priced from $250,001 to $300,000
Active Listings: 176 (June 151 )
New Listings: 43 (June 26)
Sold Listings: 22 (June 28)
Months of Inventory: 8.00 (June 5.39)

Homes priced from $300,001 to $350,000
Active Listings: 114 (June 98)
New Listings: 26 (June 20)
Sold Listings: 16 (June 12)
Months of Inventory: 7.12 (June 8.17)

Homes priced from $350,001 to $400,000
Active Listings: 89 (June 91)
New Listings: 24 (June 15)
Sold Listings: 16 (June 14)
Months of Inventory: 5.56 (June 5.79)

Homes priced from $400,001 to $450,000
Active Listings: 47 (June 42 )
New Listings: 15 (June 5)
Sold Listings: 5 (June 5)
Months of Inventory: 9.40 (June 8.40)

Homes priced from $450,001 to $500,000
Active Listings: 46 (June 45)
New Listings: 8 (June 6)
Sold Listings: 7 (June 2)
Months of Inventory: 6.57 (June 22.50)

Homes priced from $500,001 to $550,000
Active Listings: 30 (June 28)
New Listings: 8 (June 5)
Sold Listings: 3 (June 2)
Months of Inventory: 10.00 (June 14.00)

Homes priced from $550,001 to $600,000
Active Listings: 46 (June 42)
New Listings: 8 (June 4)
Sold Listings: 5 (June 3)
Months of Inventory: 9.20 (June 14.00)

Homes priced from $600,001 to $650,000
Active Listings: 21 (June 15)
New Listings: 3 (June 7)
Sold Listings: 1 (June 1)
Months of Inventory: 21.00 (June 15.00)

Homes priced from $650,001 to $700,000
Active Listings: 32 (June 25)
New Listings: 5 (June 5)
Sold Listings: 2 (June 1)
Months of Inventory: 16.00 (June 25.00)

Homes priced from $700,001 to $750,000
Active Listings: 7 (June 6)
New Listings: 2 (June 1)
Sold Listings: 1 (June 1)
Months of Inventory: 7.00 (June 6.00)

Homes priced from $750,001 to $1,000,000
Active Listings: 50 (June 45)
New Listings: 8 (June 4)
Sold Listings: 2 (June 4)
Months of Inventory: 25.00 (11.25)

Homes priced from $1,000,001 and Up
Active Listings: 72 (June 64)
New Listings: 7 (June 10)
Sold Listings: 1 (June 4)
Months of Inventory: 72.00 (June 16.00)

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: 1,114 (June 1,054)
New Listings: 103 (June 51)
Sold Listings: 13 (June 19 )
Months of Inventory: 85.69 (June 55.47)

Here are the data ranges:

Building lots up to $50,000
Active Listings: 63 (June 64)
New Listings: 6 (June 12)
Sold Listings: 5 (June 10)
Months of Inventory: 12.60 (June 6.40)

Building lots $50,001 to $100,000
Active Listings: 428 (June 401)
New Listings: 27 (June 18)
Sold Listings: 5 (June 5)
Months of Inventory: 85.60 (June 80.20)

Building lots from $100,001 to $150,000
Active Listings: 308 (June 307)
New Listings: 33 (June 3)
Sold Listings: 1 (June 1)
Months of Inventory: 308.00 (June 307.00)

Building lots from $150,001 to $200,000
Active Listings: 129 (June 121)
New Listings: 9 (June 10)
Sold Listings: 0 (June 2)
Months of Inventory: No sales in July (June 60.50)

Building lots from $200,001 and up
Active Listings: 186 (June 161)
New Listings: 28 (June 8)
Sold Listings: 2 (June 1)
Months of Inventory: 93.00 (June 161.00)

Short Sales:
It is estimated that about 65% of the current inventory on the MLS are short sales. I am not sure if that is true or not, but I do know there are a lot of them. I got digging around in my “year to date” sales stats and I found that over 20%, or seven of my closed transactions involved a short sale. They are going to be around for quite some time, and perhaps it would be wise to get used to it.

Foreclosures:
There are quite a few of these on the market too. I have been fortunate to have listed five so far this year, three of which have sold and closed and two that are currently under contract. I have already closed a total of six foreclosures this year, including buyers I have represented and have three more currently under contract, so needless to say, there are plenty of bank owned opportunities out there too.

I hope this information helps, Who Do You Know, that needs to buy or sale real estate? Now is the time, the market is great for those that wish to buy. Let me know how I can help. If you would like to contact me right now send me an email.