Saint George Real Estate and Market News

Diamond Valley 12 Acres Horse Property FOR SALE

2011-08-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

See the link for a great property - just reduced price $23,000 - now priced at $922,000

PICTURES OF HOME AND PROPERTY ON PICASA WEB

Local Trends

2011-07-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

This month our absorbtion rate has gone down (impressively) 13.55% over last year same time. That is a good sign, showing that inventory is down a bit and prices are attractive enough that people are jumping in quicker. We were at 12.1 months a year ago and are now at 9.94 months.
Average sales price has declined over a year ago from $218,534 to $183,876 - almost a 16% decline. Also on the decline is our days on market (or DOM) from 145 days a year ago to 120 days in June 2011.

Homes priced between $200K and $250K have been the largest number of sale this year to date, so far at 234 units. Washington County has 308 pending sales this month on the books set to close and 341 actually close in June 2011 up 25% from June 2010.

New Listings this month 430, which includes all residential listings.

If you want more information on how you can get this report sent to you email each month, write me at investinutahtoday@gmail.com put MARKET REPORT REQUEST in subject line. It will be a two page report with graphs. Would love to send it to you.

Statistics for St. George (Washington County) Real Estate

2010-09-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our absorption rate in the past year has gone down from 14.5 months last October to just over 11 months today, Sept. 12, 2010. It has been a continual decline and that is good news, there are less homes on the market than a year ago and the days on the market has declined. Sales are up. These are all factors that decide absorption rate. We have seen a steady decline in Notice of Defaults in the county in the past three months and are hoping this is also indication of a positive trend in the local market. Days on market has gone down from 143 a few months ago to DOM 126. All price brackets have seen an increase in the number of sales with the largest increase in the $50,000 - $60,000 range seeing an increase over last year of 580% - that tells me that there are a lot of first time home buyers that took advantage of the tax credits and investors buying rental property. But it also is a strong indication of the offers coming in low and banks accepting those offers. Homes in the $200K- $250K range had a 13.8% increase over same time last year. There are 6,723 active listings on the Washington Board MLS which is a small (3.8%) decrease over last year. The AVERAGE SALES PRICE this year to date is $204,643 compareds to $235,258 for same time last year a decrease of -13.01% Even thought we are seeing a lot more activity we are still not out of the woods. I believe we are looking at another couple of years before we start to see an increase in values and that will depend greatly of government controls, interest rates staying low, the job market improving, and many other factors.
Now if you want to get complete listings for the Washington County Utah area, you can create your own portal website here http://www.mlsfinder.com/ut_wcmls/leannwalters/index.cfm?action=userlogin - it's private, easy to use, and no obligation search!!

2010-09-03T22:00:00.001-07:00

Today in St. George

2010-04-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

#Washington County Economic Development Council - After four long months finally got the deal done with #Litehouse! Food manufacturer Litehouse Inc. will build a new facility in the southern Utah city of Hurricane – an expected investment of more than $10 million that will add 162 new full-time positions in the rural community. This is great news for realtors! We love to see new business come to town and Hurricane will be a great location for them. Good Job #WCED!

Statistics for St. George (Washington County) Real Estate

2010-02-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

St. George Real Estate is alive and well. At the current date we have 2454 active listings in Washington County, that is residential and does not include multi-family unit. There are 370 pending contract at present and there have been 268 closed properties since the first of 2010. The average days on market for residential property is 141 days, so see folks, even with the market rebounding a little, we are still seeing a long wait for the banks to make decisions on these short sales and that is the big reason why the number is so high. Also there is a lot of competition and buyers are taking their time in deciding. But I want to warn buyers here because I have also seen this attitude backfire on many buyers; they think they have time and so a bank owned property comes along that is a great price and they want to think about it and it is GONE!! Don't wait if you find something because buyers are in St. George and they have cash and they are writing offers. Total volume of sales in Washington County since the first of the year is $54,422,243 - that's an average of just over $27,000,000 each month. That is a lot of real estate and keep in mind, this is only residential, single family, condo, townhomes, etc. Almost a million a day. Now if you want to get complete listings for the Washington County Utah area, you can create your own portal website here http://www.mlsfinder.com/ut_wcmls/leannwalters/index.cfm?action=userlogin - it's private, easy to use, and no obligation search!!

GRI 200 Class on Technology

2010-02-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Had a great class today in St. George Utah. Taught by one of the best on the new technology and how to grow your real estate business using it. His name is Robert Bolar and he is a real estate professional from North Ogden Utah. It was a two day class and I think we all learned a lot. I took his class two years ago and was so impressed then. I've been trying to tell so many of my colleagues the things that I had learned but it still seems like they want to do it their way and they are spending a lot of money on unnecessary efforts and gimmicks to do what he teaches to do on your own and for free. I'm going to create a GRI's of Utah page on Facebook and link some of his stuff to that page if you GRI's out there are interested in getting some tips. But mostly I think you should just watch his schedule and take his class if you every get the chance, NOW THAT will be money well spent!!

Shortage of Low Income Housing A Problem

2009-12-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

I found this article published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. I think we are facing an every growing problem in this nation by continuing this astronomical debt. It is creating poverty quicker than anything by the cost of that debt, the interest that we will pay will far exceed the benefit and that is money that really could be used to create jobs, training, health care for those in need, and many other things. But we are going to pass this debt on and I believe this article is a backlash or just another sympton of more to come as a result of this nations increasing debt. We have to find a way to correct this. Please read and then search your own heart and mind and I would also love to hear your opinions on this. Do you see it with a good outcome that I can't see?

Shortage of Housing for Lowest Income Families Grew Significantly Between
2007 and 2008, New Data Show
NLIHC calls on Congress, Administration to address shortage through National HousingTrust Fund
The shortage of housing that is affordable for the lowest income families grew significantlybetween 2007 and 2008, according to an analysis of 2008 American Community Survey datadone by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). In 2007, the shortage of homesaffordable for extremely low income renter households (those earning 30% or less of their areamedian income) was 2.7 million. The shortage grew to 3.1 million homes in 2008.This longstanding deficit of rental homes that are affordable for the poorest households is getting worse because the number of extremely low income households is increasing, while the numberof rental homes they can afford dwindles. ACS data show that the number of all renter households in the United States increased by 2.4% between 2007 and 2008, but the number of extremely low income renter households increased by 3.5%. During the same period, the supply of all rental homes increased by 2.2%, but the supply of rental homes affordable for extremely low income families decreased by 1.8%. Households with extremely low incomes continue to be the only income group facing an absolute shortage of affordable rental housing. Looking at the number of rental homes that are both affordable and available to the lowest
income households, the picture is even worse. (Many of the homes that extremely low income families could afford are occupied by higher income people.) For every 100 extremely low income renter households, there were 39 rental housing units affordable and available for them in 2007. By 2008, the number of affordable and available units had declined to 37. A scarcity of housing that the poorest families can afford is the principle cause of homelessness in the United States.
The shortage will likely be worse for 2009 and 2010. The increase in unemployment and resulting loss of household income that has occurred between 2008 and 2009 means even more households are competing for fewer homes renting at prices they can afford. This shortage will persist despite the excess supply in the overall housing market caused by the foreclosure crisis and the recession.
“In the array of subsidies and bailouts that Congress and the Administration have given out in an attempt to repair the economy in the last year, more than $1.1 trillion has gone to the housing sector through foreclosure mitigation programs, tax credits for homebuyers, and cash infusions to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Not one dollar has been devoted just to addressing the shortage of rental housing for extremely low income families,” NLIHC President Sheila Crowley said. “This
is unconscionable neglect. Congress cannot claim that we cannot afford to build more affordable rental housing, when they just this month put another $11.8 billion into subsidizing homebuyers with incomes of up to $250,000.”
Low income housing and homeless advocates are calling on Congress to put at least $1 billion in the National Housing Trust Fund before the end of the year. This will support the immediate construction of 10,000 rental homes, creating 15,100 new construction jobs and 3,800 new jobs in ongoing operations. Further, the new jobs bill that Congress is now developing should include another $15 billion for low income rental housing construction and rehabilitation through the National Housing Trust Fund in 2010. An additional $15 billion would create another 283,500 jobs.
The National Housing Trust Fund was established in 2008, but has yet to be funded. Three quarters of the homes produced with National Housing Trust Fund dollars must be affordable to extremely low income households.
NLIHC has analyzed Public Use Micro Sample data from the 2007 and 2008 American Community Surveys. The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual survey of approximately 3 million households that provides recent information on the characteristics of Americans and their housing. Data are published in the fall the year after they have been collected. The ACS will an integral part of the 2010 Census. For more information about the
American Community Survey, see http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/.
Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.
###
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
727 15th Street NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005
202/662-1530; Fax 202/393-1973; info@nlihc.org; www.nlihc.org

Things are Heating Up!

2009-11-21T22:54:00.000-08:00

WEll, it's winter so by things are heating up, of course I'm not referring to the weather. I'm talking about home sales. Buyers are here and they are busy. We have a lot of different types of buyers right now, first time home buyers, move up buyers, investors, retirees, etc. Last week I took a listing on a great condo with 2 bdrms 2 baths and a den, 2 car garage in a 55+ community and had an offer in 24 hours. We close in about 10 days. I've also had one short sale close, and three more that the banks have finally assigned negotiators to. A mfg home I've been trying to sell for 1 year will close on Monday, even though I had to do a big price reduction. I'm very excited about the coming year. I met some lovely people today that are referrals from a friend who is keeping her license on referral right now because of family commitments. I think we will list it around $100K and get a quick sale. Right downtown St. George, wonderful location, close to everything. I'm trying to figure out how I can buy it. I like it WAY better than where I'm living now. Well, not so much the home, but living right down in the heart of the city is really what I would love to do. Just need to make it happen I guess if I want this place. Anyway, if there are buyers out there sitting on the fence or listening to the media and waiting for something to happen, remember there is no such thing as a "waiters" market, only a seller's or buyer's market and believe me we are in a big humongous buyers market. Act now!!

Coaching is Essential

2009-08-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Say you wanted to learn to golf or to scuba dive or sky dive for that matter. What if you had never been bungie jumping and one day you just decided to go out to a very tall tower and tie a stretchy cord on your waist and jump?! The outcome in any of these endeavors without proper training from the experts or the right equipment might be sheer disaster. Real Estate is like any thing you do in your life and training is essential. Having a coach is what brings all the training to focus so that you can really pinpoint what works for you. Accountability is key. I have a coach that I meet with every two weeks. The first week he told me to write out a check for $100 and leave it with him. If I didn't do the things I said I would do I had to let him send the check to any one person who I didn't particularly care for in the business. That sucked so I have worked hard on making sure that I did my calls. It was not that big of a deal to do it. But it is one of those things that you put off because it is uncomfortable. The thought of paying someone $100 because I didn't do it was more uncomfortable.

The past two weeks I've also decided that I'm going to lose weight. I'm tired of carrying around this extra weight and tired of all the offshoot problems associated with it, from lack of relationships with people I feel less confident around to health issues that are starting to creep up. I've been eating 500 calories a day for 2 weeks. That has not been comfortable, but have I died? NO! My thoughts however are changing. My thoughts about food and what my body really needs to live and be healthy are changing. I've begun to realize just how bad my eating was and just how mindless. I think that is what we do with many areas of our lives, it is just mindless jibberish if we don't stop and get aware and see where we need to tweak our thoughts. Our thoughts will control the outcome of what we are doing, what we become. There is no other power that can do it, until we make a purposeful conscious decision.

Coaching is uncomfortable, but I'm going to stay with it and see what I can bring to the table each session, what I can rethink and remake, both personal and in my business. I cannot disconnect the two anyway. One step at a time.

Here is the Link to my New Weight Loss HCG

2009-08-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so day 10 of HCG and I didn't lose today. But I've stuck with it and I'm not discouraged. Drank a lot more water today. I have decided to become an affiliate of the product so here is my link if you want to order please go through me
THANKS, and I will be glad to give ...you hints and tips on the program any time. http://www.yourhcg.com/purchase.php?id=70b8eb54-d4f9-102c-addd-0022193039d4

Got an authorization letter for a home that we are putting into a short sale. Arranged to go take pictures of the listing in Apple Valley tomorrow evening. Have sales meeting in the morning and my son is getting operated on in Casper, WY. Gall bladder removal. I would rather be there.

Monday

2009-08-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've moved my office to my house. Have holed up inside for several days. I have decided to start a diet called HCG. It involves taking drops that are made from the urine of a pregnant woman. This is gross! But being overweight hasn't been exactly heaven. I have had so many friends and family tell me lately that this has worked for them, ie. my nephew, by marriage, lost 30 lbs in 30 days; my friend at work, Cathy, has lost over 40 pounds in just a couple of months. And I have about 50 pounds to lose. A lot of people have said they've lost over 75 lbs. so I'm going to try it. Now what does this have to do with real estate. I love selling real estate. I love the people I get to meet, I really like it when I find a new home for a young family and I hand them those keys. I like it when I can get someone out of a bad situation and find they HAVE to sell their home, and in this market that is happening a lot. I love it when I get a call from a couple of people that I've helped find their home and they want to know if I will work with their kids to buy them a home. That is the highest level of trust when you turn your kids over to an agent. But I know that my success would be greater if I were not as heavy as I am. I know that it affects my confidence and the way people look at me and how they relate to me. I know they don't take me as a professional as much as they would if I were thinner and dressed more professional. I don't dress the way I would like and the way I used to because I'm not comfortable with how I look. There are professional agents and people in other walks of life and they just have a look. Now I would be the last to judge the person by what they wear or look like at first glance. I will always want to know the person regardless, but I know how society is and they are not so open and forgiving. So this is a journey I have decided to take. My son told me once that he thought I would be a better real estate agent if I were thinner. I asked him why, he said he knew I would be more confident.

This is a journey I started on August 1st. Today is August 9th and I have lost 11.8 lbs. That is over a pound a day. I'm not hungry and I'm excited. I will write more about this journey and how it relates to my business as days go by.

Tomorrow I'm getting the paperwork started to do a short sale in Coral Canyon, I have to go to apple Valley and measure a house and put a sign up on a new listing, horse property on an acre plus. It's a great property for $165,000. I think it will sell quickly.

Current St. George (Washington County) Market Stats

2009-07-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Just pulled these numbers off our local MLS data base. I hope you find them interesting. If so and you would like to have any other questions answered please call me. I am always just a phone call away at 435-619-3619 - As of today our single family homes that are active on the market are 4,856. that is a 13 % decrease over that same time period last year. That tells me that the market it getting a little bit better. Average days on market last year was 199 this year 159, number of single family homes sold last year in our MLS area was 930 and this year there have been year to date 1099 single family homes sold. BUT this is the kicker, the average sales price of single family homes has gone from $320K to $267 and if you take out the Zion area that number drops to $237. Now keep in mind this is not including any of the townhome or condo classes of homes. Just a bit of trivia to think about. You can access ALL local MLS properties at http://leannwalters.com - create your own search and save it for your own personal portal. Call me if you have any questions, like I said I'm always happy to help in any way I can.

What Will Happen in the Next Year in St. George?

2009-07-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is the question. One client that I was talking with the other day said that he really believes we are riding on a wave and that those that grab it while it is here will be all the better off because it is a temporary, fleeting wave. There is a definitely a surge in the market. I feel it, I see it in my closings and offers I'm writing, and I see it around my office with all the other agents that didn't give up last year. But I certainly will be the last one to try and predict what is going to happen in the future. It seems that each and every day the banks we are talking to with the short sales change their "procedures" and it just puts another delay on what could have happened. The homes are sitting empty, people are walking away because they want something and they want it now. I do think because of this we are going to see a great number of REO's rather than short sales. Most agents are just tired of working with the banks and all the guidelines that go along with getting the approvals on these offers. It doesn't seem like it is even about the money to the banks, it is about the process. I had an offer on a house listed at $315K - my client came in with a cash offer of $275K on a short sale. We were rejected and it went to foreclosure. The very next week the house was back on the market through their REO dept and the price was $275K - The bank paid the cost of foreclosure so they could collect on their PMI is all I can figure, and that was pretty much confirmed by the agent. So I guess I was wrong maybe it is about the money, but I had another deal that was a cash offer, only 8% less than what the banks were owed and it has been 8 weeks and still not even a negotiator, they've lost the file three times after closing the file in the 3rd week for no apparent reason that they can even determine. And I have had to refax the offer 4 times now to 4 different fax numbers. But they promise me that this last number is the one that will get to the right department. In the meantime, the buyer has walked - and I'm not going to tell the bank until I get an answer from them so that I at least have an approved price to put back out on the MLS. What are some of the challenges you face? Are you seeing an end to this any time soon?