Real Estate Information

Please take the time to watch this 60 minutes video about the next wave a foreclosures, that will further cause home prices to drop.  You have to watch a silly 30 second commercial before the 60 minutes video begins.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4668112n

The following was presented by one of my real estate coaches.

by Tim Harris

On June 6, 2008 at the Provo City Library, the 2008 Utah County Summit on Affordable Housing  was held.  It was sponsored by the Utah Mortgage Lenders Association, Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, The Utah Valley Home Builders Association and the Utah County Association of REALTORS. This first ever summit was the brainchild of Talylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of REALTORS and supported  by Kenny Parcell, President of the Utah County Association of REALTORS.

The first Speaker was Dr. Kelly Matthews, of Wells Fargo Bank.  Dr. Mattews provided the audience with great research.  His research indicates that nationally we are not in a recession, a slowdown, but not a recession.  Most of the down numbers are centered in the four hardest hit states of Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California.  Locally, Utah maintains one of the strongest economys with a 2% growth, whereas much of the rest of the country is less than 1%.  Dr. Matthews did note that home prices in Utah have fallen around 10% and he feels they need to drop another 10%, perhaps over the next 12 to 18 months to correct the problems facing the housing industry in Utah.  In order to get homes back in the affordable range according to Dr. Matthews estimates, a home worth $250,000 in the height of the housing boom must  be priced around  $200,000  in the next 12 to 18 months.

Lt. Governor Gary Herbert addressed the audience following Dr. Matthews.  He stressed that this market is incredible compared to what he worked in in the 1980s.  He suggested working toghether to come up with creative ideas to solve the affordibility issue in the local housing market..

The final two hours brought panel discussion on the issue of affordable housing.  The first panel was titled The Role of Government, Cities and Towns,--Density Requirements and Zoning.  The panel Moderator was Tad Walch the Utah County Bureau Chief of The Deseret News.  Panelists were Mike Glenn of the Utah Division of Housing, Brad Bishop, Executive Director of Rural Housing Development Corporation and Dave Brown, Director single Family Housing, USDA.  The panelists offered insights on how to  apply for government programs to make housing more affordable.

The last Panel entitled The Role of Consumer/Lending Institutions--Financing and Credit Scores was moderated by Craig Dennis, Publisher of The Daily Herald.  Panelists were Al Bingham of National City Mortgage and author of The Road to 850 Proven Strategies For Increasing Your Credit Score, Deon Spilker, Utah Housing Corporation, Ron Winterton, American West Lending and Matt Barton of Affiliated Realty Group.  Al Bingham brought great insight on the importance of credit scores and affordable housing.  He told the audience that www.Myfico.com is the best source to get the most accurate credit score.  All of the panelists shared their concern that education on credit scoring and the financing process  not only among consumers but also among those in the industry is a huge key to consumers choosing good loans over bad loans and helping assure that we do not repeat the problems that have led to the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Finally, The Provo Housing Authority was given the Utah County Association of REALTORS Housing Advocate Award.

I think the next step is to go from talking  about making housing more affordable to taking action and making it a reality.

Just a quick note to let all of you know that the Provo City "ethics reform" proposal was defeated.  Thanks to all of you that got involved.  I talked with my repairman Tom at Barber Brother's in Spanish Fork who is a Provo City resident.  He was extremely excited to see his city chastised for yet another attempt of an overreaching city council proposal.  I think this proves that when people get involoved on the city level, they can make a difference.  I believe you have the best chance to have your voice heard more on a city level than on a state or national level.

Now for a quick market update.  I recently read some statistics from the National Association of Realtors that shows that home prices nationally are back to levels not seen since 2005.  No doubt this will be a short lived trend.  Many areas like Salt Lake City and surrounding areas are still seeing modest home appreciations.  From my view it appears that we are returning to a normal market.  Home inventories are still a bit high but vary from city to city.  The biggest key I see to getting a home sold is correct pricing.  Too many sellers are trying to set their price on what sold last year.  It is not last year.  I suggest using the best available comparables and pricing slightly lower in order to produce the traffic needed to generate an offer.

Recently Provo City Council was considering "ethics reform."  Basically if you have any business interests in Provo, you will not be able to be a function as a city councilman as you will not be allowed to talk about or be in any council meetings.  Obviously this has not passed yet, but it seems as if Provo City wants to put out a sign saying "business people need not apply for city council"  If you care at all about free speech, now is the time to get involved in city council meetings and let your voice be heard.

I serve as chairman for the Government affairs committee for the Utah County Association of REALTORS.  In that capacity I have become aware of many ridiculous items being proposed on the city level.  We were unsuccessful in getting Lehi City to postpone an impact fee increase, they doubled it to over $16,000.  Woodland Hills is proposing  the most severe and restrictive fence ordianance in the county and Spanish Fork just passed a moritorium on builing multi unit housing in some areas of the city. 

Maybe the cities haven't noticed but we are in the midst of one of the biggest slow downs in real estate in history.  Fortunately Utah is doing better than many parts of the United States.  Our economy has even be said to be the best in the union.  However, the  housing sector is suffering and the restrictions by some municipalites does not help.  Obviously the most hurtful item to home sales is the credit crunch.  The tightening of lending parameters effectively stopped Utah's seller market and double digit appreciation rates overnight.  Currently most of Utah County has 12 month or so inventories but some cities like Salem, Saratoga Springs and Lehi are seeing two, three and four years supplies of homes.   That means at the present rate of home sales, it could take years to clear out the present inventory.  Cities should be passing ordinances to help people achieve home ownership not make it harder.

That's how I see it from here.

P.S.

Recently I attended a thank you dinner with several important state and county legislators.  I can tell you we have some great folks working hard to serve the community, such as John Valentine, Utah sentate president, Rep. Mike Morley, Sen. Margaret Dayton, Sen. Curt Bramble, Rep. Keith Grover, Rep. Lorie Fowlke, Rep. Ken Sumison,  Rep, Craig Frank, Rep. Chris Herrod and Rep. Becky Lockhart to name a few.  We were also treated to a wonderful speech from pollster Dan Jones.

     Hey there everybody!  It's me again, Scott Rogers, the new guy!  Well, it happened, I'm official.  I was able to pass all my tests the first time around and am now a bonafide real estate licensee here in the great state of Utah.  Stringham schools really prepared me well for my exams!  I recommend them to anyone pursuing a real estate license in Utah! 

     I should probably take a moment to introduce myself and my family.  My wife, Linda, and I recently moved up to the Salem area in southern Utah County.  We came up from Gilbert, Arizona where we lived for 7 years.  We have a son, Tanner, who is 4, and Linda is pregnant with twins!  We expect the little ones to arrive any day now, and poor Linda is more than ready!  In Arizona, I worked for the popular quickserve Mexican/American chain Del Taco.  After 7 years, it was time for a change.  I am excited to be here and a part of the Scott Walters Team of real estate professionals!   

            Here’s this week’s blog brought to you by the new guy!  Hi, I’m Scott.  Not Scott Walters.  I’m Scott Rogers.  For now Scott and I are unofficially being referred to as Scott 1 and Scott 2.  Obviously, Scott Walters is Scott 1!  I’m taking care of this week’s blog while Scott 1 is away attending the Utah Association of Realtors Leadership UAR Conference. 

            My wife Linda and I recently moved up from Gilbert, Arizona so that I could get into the exciting world of real estate.  Currently I am attending the Stringham Real Estate School in Salt Lake City.  Stringham is the #1 school for real estate licensing in Utah.  I have a few more classes to go before I am able to take my exams and get to work selling real estate!  I look forward helping many people realize their dreams of home ownership!

I have the great fortune to chair the community involvement committee for the Utah County Association of REALTORS.  Because of this opportunity, I have had the privilege to be involved in some great causes.  Recently, we were able to organize 80 REALTOR volunteers  to work on a Habitat for Humanity subdivision in Provo, Utah.  What a great Saturday we had rehabilitating a home, building a new home and getting the Habitat shop cleaned up.   We will also be involved in the Utah Heart to Home project, as well as Pride in Provo, and the annual food drive.  In future posts, I will let you know of upcoming Habitat for Humanity projects as well as other community events that we will be helping with.

One of the most majestic sites of all of nature is the migratory flight of the Canadian goose escaping the oncoming cold and seeking the warmer climates of the lands southward.  The V shaped flight pattern of the flock of geese is announced by the hymn of the honking geese.  One must only watch for a short time to notice that the lead goose drops to the tail of the V, while one of his brethren takes his place at the helm.  Nature has taught these creatures that the easiest flying formation for the flock is the V.  One goose leads out and breaks the resistance of the air making the flight easier for the entire flock.  This is no easy task and cannot be borne alone; therefore, the task is shared by the rotation of the lead goose.   As each goose takes his turn the load is distributed throughout the entire flock, making the burden lighter for the whole group.

This preceding paragraph explains why I have a passion to be involved with Habitat for Humanity and the other projects.  We can really make a difference in the lives of others without it being a huge burden on ourselves if we will be willing to share the load together.

Have a great week.

Recently, I attended the annual Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) sellabration in Las Vegas Nevada.  Much of the conference focused on the slow down in the national real estate market.  Most of the national media also highlight the sluggish real estate sales throughout the nation.  However, because my market area, Utah, did not participate in the boom years, we are not experiencing the sluggish sales syndrome that the rest of the country is suffering from.  In fact, for 2006, Utah was second only to Idaho in home appreciation at 17.2%.  Economists are forecasting another stellar year for Utah.  Based on the activity of the first quarter of 2007, I think they are right.

I like to incorporate frequent trivia contests with my newsletter and blog.  This weeks trivia question is:  In which U.S. State are the most automobiles Registered?

a) Texas  b) New York  c) Michigan  d) Florida  e) California

The first correct response to this questions will two free movie tickets to a cinemark cinema theatre.