I am a Real Estate Agent, and have been actively working in the Utah Real Estate market for over 14 years. I work with sellers and buyers in the Salt Lake Valley, Park City, Utah County and Davis County. You can contact me at (801) 856-4667 or email me at Michael@SuperHooper.com.
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Forbes released an article on Feb 7, 2008 naming the top cities for buying a home in 2008. These are “…markets where job growth is strong, foreclosures are relatively low and inventory is high. With these factors in place, buyers can still dictate terms of sale and negotiate prices, but aren’t as exposed to the economic and lending risk problems that have sunk many markets around the country.”
Salt Lake Citytops the list, again, as being the #1 place to buy a home this year, saying, “Of the major metros in the U.S., Salt Lake City is adding jobs faster than anywhere. The economic boom in SLC has drawn residents from all over the country, and more than a few home builders trying to make a profit in these otherwise woeful times. Housing supply has gone up quickly, and there hasn’t been a high rate of foreclosure.”
But some of the other cities might surprise you.
For example, the article places Phoenix at #5, saying, “Phoenix has a very high foreclosure rate; there’s no way around that. Based on RealtyTrac’s estimates, there is one foreclosure for every 87 households in Phoenix. Still, our data suggest that strong job and economic growth in many non-housing sectors of the local economy is enough to offset it, and people are still moving to the Valley of the Sun at a quick rate.”
And Las Vegas at #7, saying”Las Vegas is a market hammered by foreclosures, due largely to extremely high speculation in both residential communities and the condo market. Though the housing slowdown has hurt jobs in the construction sector, Vegas continues to attract businesses and job seekers to its growing economy, making its excess inventory (and there’s a ton) less toxic than in other places. “
Usually I’m pretty skeptical about ‘miracle’ inventions, so I bought The Furminator with some hesitation. The price tag of $50 especially made me a little nervous. Well, I can say after it’s first use today that it’s worth every penny.
This is my 2-year old German Shepherd, Bailey (or The Beast as we affectionately call her). She’s an awesome dog, great with the kids, super smart – the only downside is that she is a shedding machine. We’ve tried slicker brushes, undercoat rakes, professional grooming, etc. with no luck. The Furminator was my last resort before we resolved ourselves to a hair-covered house. Now there’s hope! I watched all of the demo videos on The Furminator website, and figured they must have brought in dogs off of the street that had never been groomed. I can honestly say that I got at least this much hair off of Bailey and probably could have gotten more if I had kept going. The instructions say not to brush too long or you’ll irritate the dog’s skin, so I’ll give it another go next week.
I’m happy to add The Furminator as the first post in my ‘Cool Stuff’ category. From a real estate standpoint, I think it’s a great tool if you have a dog and plan to sell a house. I see a lot of homes that are covered in dog hair and the owners were having the same predicament that I was. I will definitely recommend The Furminator to all of my clients, family and friends.
Speaking on “Squawk Box” this morning, Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
“Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. “We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.
“The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you’re in the credit markets the world couldn’t be worse. If you’re a farmer and you’re getting $25 for your wheat, you’re having a great time. If you’re a CEO and you’ve got a balance sheet that’s bullet-proof, you’re in a great position. This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand.”
Zell said that although he doesn’t try to pick bottoms in markets he believes housing has hit its nadir and will turn around this spring as inventory clears out.
As for the credit situation, he projected that once markdowns are out of the way banks will begin to regain their footing.
In the wide-ranging interview, Zell also voiced support for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
“I think he should be renewed when his term is up. I think one of the positives of the United States is having people in the position of the Federal Reserve (chairman) for long periods of time,” Zell said.
“I think Bernanke’s reduction in interest rates has been spot-on, because basically we’re going to fix the credit markets by creating a big enough spread between the risk-free cost of capital and what’s available so that greed overtakes fear and the game begins again.”
Wells Fargo held it’s annual economic forecast for the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, and it looks like we’re in a very interesting market. Home prices are holding steady (for the homes that are selling), but the total inventory of homes on the market is growing every day and the total number of sold properties is down.
The recommendation to home sellers is to focus on getting their home SOLD by confronting the reality of the market and adjusting prices to reflect current conditions. Homes will still sell if they are priced correctly and competitively, and the marketwide forecast is that prices may have to adjust down 7% to 10% to get things moving again.
