Utah Home Sales UpdatesOkay, I’m not trying to be a high pressure salesman here, but here are the facts for you first time home buyers:
1. The first time buyer tax credit ends at the end of November.
2. Mortgage Rates will likely be going up.
Get on the ball if you want a great deal on a house, $8,000 from the government, and a ridiculously low interest rate.
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The past few months have marked one of the best times in history to buy real estate. Mortgage interest rates have been less than five percent, real estate prices are down, and sellers are motivated. And, the government is offering big incentives to help people buy Utah Homes. First time buyers get $8,000 in tax credits, and we had a $6,000 grant to purchase new construction homes.
These government incentives have had an impact. First time home buyers are making up more than 45% of real estate transactions.There has also been a big increase in sales of new construction homes and Condos.
Despite these favorable buying conditions, Utah Home sales have been down. During May, Real Estate in Cache County was down by 38% compared with last year and Weber County Real Estate saw a 23% decrease
Some of the things making buying so appealing have ended.
The sub five percent interest rates are now in the six percent range, and the Home Run Grant program ran out of funds today.
What will happen when all the government incentives end? It’s hard to say, the economy and housing market shows some signs of recovery, especially for Salt Lake and Davis County Real Estate, but It looks like the Utah Real Estate market won’t be substantially up in the short term future. I wouldn’t recommend trying to sell a home in Utah right now if you don’t have to.
A balanced real estate market will have 5-7 months of active real estate inventory. Salt Lake and Davis County Utah currently have about 8 months of inventory. Both of these areas also have a large percentage of homes for sale that are unafforable and will not be selling any time soon. If you take out these upper end homes, the lower price ranges for Davis County Homes for Sale are experiencing a balanced real estate market.
Report: Areas in Utah seeing return to housing affordability
Three metro areas in Utah are being classified as “fairly valued” in a new study, while two others are deemed “overvalued.” The quarterly “Home Prices in America” report, created by economists at IHS Global Insight and PNC Financial Services Group Inc., said the Salt Lake, Ogden-Clearfield and Logan metros were “fairly valued,” while the Provo-Orem and St. George markets were “overvalued.”
The report aims to determine statistically normal house values based on prices, interest rates, household incomes, population densities and any historical premiums or discounts that have existed over time. A “fairly valued” area is defined as one in which home prices are within a range of 14 percent above or below the historical norm. Prices ranging from 14 to 34 percent above the norm are classified as “overvalued,” while areas with valuations greater than 35 percent of the norm are “extremely overvalued.” Although “overvalued” areas have valuations above the historically normal range, they are not “so high as to be at risk of substantial price decline,” the report said. During third quarter 2008, St. George had been classified as “extremely overvalued,” but has now fallen to the “overvalued” category.
According to UtahRealtors.com
Single-family home sales saw a decline in the first quarter in the four Wasatch Front counties and Tooele while prices remained relatively flat, according to statistics released by the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS® Tuesday. Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele and Weber counties each had year-over-year sales declines in the 20 percent range, while Utah County fared better with a drop of only about 4.5 percent. The first quarter figures do not reflect the full effect of government incentives like the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and the $6,000 Home Run grant, which were implemented in late February and mid-March respectively.
Salt Lake County
Home sales down 28.79 percent; sales did not increase in any of the nine ZIP codes tracked
Davis County
Tooele County
Utah County
Weber County
Prices neither up nor down; three of nine ZIP codes saw prices increase for Ogden Valley Real Estate.
This isn’t great news for Utah Real Estate, especially with all the stimulus going on.
