Should I Sell my Home this Month?

We keep hearing about how much of a buyer’s market it is. This can still be an advantage if you are selling your home. If demand for your home is up, which it is in these Hot Spots, you’ll be able to sell your home for top dollar. Then you will also be able to take advantage of the great deals available in other neighborhoods.


While the tax-credit stimulated the sales for a few months it only applied to some buyers. Those who did not qualify for the tax credit are still looking for homes to buy. The currently lower interest rates provide more buying power. If you live in a hot spot, now is the time to list your home and start looking for a great deal to purchase.

Utah’s Hot Spots are the zip codes and prices ranges that had the most demand and highest demand last month. Economic improvement and recovery start in hot spots and then spread to other areas of the valley. Purchasing a home in one of these hot spots gives you a front row seat to economic recovery.

1. Lindon, Zip 84042                Price Range: $100K – $200K
Sales History                           Current Homes for Sale

2. Sandy, Zip 84094                 Price Range: $300K - $350K
Sales History                           Current Homes for Sale

3. Salt Lake City, Zip 84105      Price Range: $350K - $400K
Sales History                           Current Homes for Sale

4. Salt Lake City, Zip 84109      Price Range: $400K - $500K
Sales History                           Current Homes for Sale

5. Salt Lake City, Zip 84109      Price Range: $200K - $250K
Sales History                           Current Homes for Sale


Home Sales History for all Zip codes and price ranges

Don't Panic

Here's a quick video for my Listings.







For more information and graphs check out my earlier report comparing the home sales along the Wasatch Front, with those of the rest of the nation.

As well as my reaction to the July statistics: Double Dip?

Utah versus the U.S.

How did home sales across the Wasatch Front match up with the rest of the nation?

This is a graph of how many homes sold across the Wasatch Front. The Green line represents the sales this year. The orange line is 2009 and the blue line is 2008.

Here are the actual numbers:

Here are what homes sales have looked like across the Wasatch Front since 2005:

And here is how many homes sold across the nation for the past 5 years:

Double Dipping

The National numbers are in and it looks like we have a double dip situation on our hands. January 2009 was the bottom of the market, but last months numbers show we could have another dip approaching.

Last month the United States' home sales fell to a level we haven't seen in almost 15 years! Everyone expected home sales to be a little lower, but the results were lower than anyone thought. We knew it would be low because of the expiration of the tax credit. The tax credit compressed months of demand into a short period ot time. When you look at home sales there is a spike corrolating with BOTH tax-credit deadlines.

Now that the tax credit is gone we are experiencing a decrease in demand. Because less homes are selling there are more homes available on the market. When the supply of available homes is increasing, and the demand is decreasing, it is likely that home prices will go down.

Just as the tax-credit pushed demand it also stabilized prices. House prices had stabilized last year after steadily declining since 2006. Because this stabilization was artificial we now have to catching up with reality. Interestingly enough, relative to rents and incomes, the price of houses are now roughly where they should be when compared with historical norms. The past few years we have seen inflated home prices so the decreasing numbers seem exagerated by comparison.

A major concern of economists is that this news could cause a further decrease in consumer confidence and spending. Analysts say this news may cause consumers to lose urgency to buy homes because they'll want to wait for the prices to stop dropping. As the prices drop more people will owe more than they can sell their home for. Nearly one in four homeowners with a mortgage owes more than their home is worth. As this problem grows fewer people will have the ability to sell/buy homes. "You end up in a home-price-depreciation death spiral," said Laurie Goodman, Amherst Securities Group LP in New York. "It's not clear there's enough demand to handle this overhang without another round of price declines."

A word of good news comes from economist Paul Dales of Capital Economics. He suggests that "A double dip in the housing market and house prices will not be enough to generate another recession." They are estimating as much as a 5% price reduction in home prices. So far, we have not seen prices start to slide again. The median price of an existing home sold in July was actually 0.7% higher than it was a year ago!

It's a Great Time to be Selling Homes!

We are having FUN selling homes!

There is a degree of satisfaction that comes from closing a deal. However, the greater satisfaction comes from knowing the buyer is going to love their new home. It is a fun time to be selling homes because there are so many great deals out there.

I love being able to find beautiful homes for my buyers. One of our clients just got a steal of a deal on their new home. For approximately $1400 a month they get to live in their dream home:

4 bedrooms
2.5 bathrooms
3,436 square feet
.20 Acre lot
3-car garage
RV parking
And a perfect location for their lifestyle; there is a golf course litterally in the back yard!


These great homes and amazing rates won't last forever, but as long as they do I am having fun hooking up my clients with fantastic deals!