Sometimes it can get a little discouraging looking for a home and trying to keep your budget in line.  Well worry no more, your finances will thank you for checking this one out.  What more could you ask for?  Ultra-affordable property that’s ready for you to make it into your home. Located in a quiet neighborhood and tucked away in a cul-de-sac, this property is just a few easy minutes away from freeway access and centralized living.  All without breaking the budget.

Here’s the deets:

240 W 25 S Clearfield UT

MLS #1452340

4 bedrooms

2 baths

2 car garage

$199,900

There are few words that can be used that entirely describe the feeling you get when it all comes together.  That feeling of being completely settled in to the place where you live.  It has the perfect combination of being affordable while feeling luxurious, being close to work and necessities while feeling lifetimes away.  There is one word that brings it all together though….Home.

Congratulations, you’ve finally found it.

2 bedrooms

2.5 baths

1198 sq ft

14851 Ox Cart Ln Draper UT

MLS #1455092

*end unit**steps from walking trails**seconds from freeway access**pool, hot tub, and community gym**modern finishes**dog friendly*

$234,000

Affordable and amenities like these usually don’t go hand in hand.  Homes with this many upgrades and updates is usually juuuuust a touch outside the budget.  But today this house defies logic!

You decide for yourself:

2 beds

2 baths

nest smart home enabled, drip irrigation, xeroscaped yard, fire pit, tankless instant hot water heater, centrally located in the valley and seconds away from freeway access

$208,000

7409 S Main St Middle UT

MLS# 1453567

You’re welcome.

Every once in a blue moon a home pops up on the market and jumps right off your screen, slaps you square in the face, and screams ‘You’ve gotta check me out!’.  If you haven’t guessed already, this is one of those homes. It’s not even fair.

Here’s the skinny:

5 bedrooms

3.5 baths

wet bar, pool room, wide open kitchen, formal dining, and plenty of room for everyone in the family to find some space for themselves

Plus, it’s steps away from the playground and basketball court.

$384,900

Boom. Mic drop.

On February 3 Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors®, and James Wood, Ivory-Boyer senior fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute of the University of Utah, presented the 2017 Salt Lake Housing Forecast report.  This detailed report gives clarity to many questions we all have about the coming market in 2017.  What does this year hold?  Is there a pricing bubble?  Will the market continue to rise or will housing appreciation slow or drop?

Here are some of the highlights of the forecast:

Highlights from last year

• $295,000 median sales price for a single family home, an
  increase of 8.1 percent.
• 13 days for median cumulative days on market (CDOM), a
  record low CDOM for single-family homes.
• 13,600 single-family sales, an increase of 1.3 percent – the highest level in 10 years
• The number of underwater homeowners in Utah drops from a high of 21% in 2010 to 2% in 2016

Notable considerations for 2017

• No housing bubble for Salt Lake.  One of the factors that indicate a housing bubble is affordability (or lack thereof).  Prior to 2008 (the great recession) Wells Fargo housing opportunity index stood at 30 (50 or greater is considered a healthy and sustainable market).  This indicated that the housing market had become untethered from household income.  Today the Wells Fargo housing opportunity index stands at 70.  Well above the healthy line.
• Housing shortage will continue to put upward pressure on home values.  In 2016 the cumulative days on the market (how long a home sits ‘for sale’ before accepting an offer from a buyer) was only 13 days!!  Even with new construction homes, there just isn’t enough property out there for the demand.
• More millenials will move into homeownership
• Mortgage rates will tick up
• Affordability will decline

The overall picture for the Wasatch Front looks very promising for 2017.  The economic forecasters are expecting a 5-7% increase in home values over the course of the year.

I highly encourage you to check out the complete report for more details on the bullet points noted here.

Housing forecast and information from Salt Lake Board of Realtors

Salt Lake City has a lot to offer, and when picking a favorite thing about the city you’ll come up with a ton of different opinions;  the community, the surprisingly robust foodie scene, proximity to premier National Parks etc.  And while those are valiant efforts to pick the best thing about Salt Lake, they’re wrong.  Just plain wrong.  Nope, the best thing about our town, without a doubt, is the proximity to the mountains.  Virtually wherever you are from Spanish Fork to Brigham City, within 20 minutes you could be alone in the mountains.

For most of us though, enjoying the mountains is a summertime activity.  No doubt it’s much easier to pack up the kids and friends and head up the canyons for a quick day hike in the summer but you’d be missing out on half of what our Wasatch Mountains have to offer.  Winter in the mountains isn’t just for snowboarding or skiing at one of our world class resorts.  Most of the day hikes that we’ve come to love in the summer are still available to us when the snow flies.  There is something amazing about taking a familiar hike in the snow and seeing a completely different side of the mountains.  The muffled sounds, the crunch of your boots or snowshoes, and the glisten on the pure white snow.  In my humble opinion, the best time to take a hike in the snow is at night.  Despite the colder temps, once you get moving you’ll warm up quick and be the only one on the trail, many times a headlamp isn’t even necessary with the light reflecting from the moon.  Who knows, you may even see a moose!  When considering the trail, most times snowshoes or a ski touring setup isn’t even necessary since the path has already been made and easy to handle with just boots.

As always though, when traveling in the backcountry with snow pack it is best to rely on the many resources we have to travel safely in avalanche territory.

Check out Snowshoe Utah for an excellent resource on some of the more popular snowshoe and boot pack trails to enjoy.  They give descriptions of trail length and difficulty, avalanche danger, and directions.  Before heading out to a designated trail double check the avalanche danger with the Utah Avalanche Center for the most up to date avalanche danger.

So take advantage of one of the best and most unique opportunities we have in Salt Lake.  And as always, travel safe and have fun!

As we transition into 2017, you’re probably thinking like I am…. ‘2016 was a wild ride, what does 2017 hold in store?’  Considering the real estate market in Salt Lake and surrounding areas in 2016, not many predicted the continued low inventory through the year as well as the median price to shoot above the 2007 high mark.  But we’ve already begun seen a shift in the market that could spell the change most have been expecting.

Since November, interest rates have crept up above 4% which could indicate an increase in market volatility but also it could create a rush of buyers trying to purchase before rates rise any more.  More millennials are expected to enter the market as well as a rise in ‘boomerang buyers’ (former owners who lost their home to foreclosure or short sale during the Great Recession and now qualify to purchase again).  Before the end of last year there was the highest share of first time home buyers in the market than any year except 2013.

So what does this mean for 2017?  Men and women much smarter than I (hard to believe, I know) are predicting an overall price increase in the market of roughy 7% and a home sale increase of 5%.  Economists at the National Association of Realtors forecast that housing inventory will continue to stay low which means our fast moving market will persist.  Interest rates are expected to rise to 4.5%.  Baby boomers and millenials will continue to dominate the market.  Millenials are expected to make up 33% of the buyer pool and baby boomers 30%.

So in conclusion, the takeaway from the forecasters is this, rising interest rates, low housing inventory, increase in number of homes sold, but slower appreciation.

Should be an interesting year.

Stats and taken from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors Magazine

Salt Lake Home Prices at Record High

SANDY (Oct. 31, 2016) – The price of a single-family home in Salt Lake County has now surpassed the inflation-adjusted peak home price, which was reached prior to the Great Recession, according to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®.

Single-family home prices in the third quarter of 2016 climbed to a median price of $301,000. The previous peak home price was in the third quarter of 2007 when home prices topped $256,000 (or $298,085 in inflation-adjusted dollars).

The higher prices and limited housing inventory have dampened sales. Single-family homes sold in the third quarter fell to 3,694 units sold, a 5 percent decline compared to 3,881 units sold in the third quarter of 2015. The median single-family home price in Salt Lake County increased 7 percent compared to $279,000 last year.

“Limited housing inventory and high demand continues to push home prices higher,” said Cheryl Acker, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors® and a Realtor® with South Jordan-based Utah Key Real Estate. “More housing inventory is needed to help balance current demands.”

Condominium sales in the third quarter in Salt Lake County increased to 1,151 units sold, a 7 percent increase compared to 1,044 sales a year ago. The median price of Salt Lake condos increased to $200,000, up 6 percent from $188,500 a year ago. Condo sales also increased in Tooele and Weber counties (up 11 and 10 percent respectively). However, fewer condos were sold in Davis and Utah counties (down 1 and 6 percent respectively).

New listings of homes on the market in Salt Lake County in the third quarter ticked up slightly to 6,235 units, a 1 percent increase compared to 6,166 listings in the third quarter of 2015. Based on sales trends of single-family homes over the past year in Salt Lake County there is currently less than a four-month supply of housing inventory.

The months of supply is the measure of how many months it would take for the present inventory of homes on the market to sell, given the current pace of home sales. A normal housing market is typically characterized by a five- to six-month supply of housing inventory. Levels below five months represent a seller’s market. Home buyers gain the advantage when levels start rising above six months.

Single-family home sales increased in Davis (up 2 percent), Utah (up 1 percent), and Tooele (up 7 percent) counties. Home sales fell slightly in Weber County.

The average cumulative days a listing was on the market in the third quarter in Salt Lake County fell to 33 days, down from 48 days in the third quarter of 2015.

This article was taken from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors

So with this gem, I’ve got good news and bad news.  The good news is that this little home has it all.

Where to start…?

Completely remodeled (electrical, plumbing, roof, kitchen, bath etc)

5 minutes from Downtown Salt Lake

4 beds, 1 full and 3/4 bath

1162 W Talisman Dr Salt Lake City

$239,900

Aaaaand now the bad news…… This little guy is currently under contract.  It sold almost as fast as we could list it.

Check out the pics though, let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll contact you first if things don’t work out.

This little Millcreek home packs quite a punch for such a tiny frame.

Smack dab in the middle of town and yet it feels so, so far away.  With a corner lot, you rarely see the privacy that this humble home boasts.  Large mature trees provide the shade and the tall fence-line provides the seclusion while you provide the bbq and horseshoes.  The large, open kitchen is definitely something to write home about especially considering the typical kitchen style of the area.

Here’s the skinny:

3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 1 half bath

1258 E 4130 S

$254,900

Check out the pics and see it in person.  You’ll be glad to you did!