Many affluent Dallas buyers seeking low-maintenance lifestyle

I am a keen observer of trends – in particular, trends in the luxury real estate sector in Dallas. In 2010, I am seeing a sharp increase in the number of home buyers looking for low-maintenance living – often in a townhome-style condominium community.

Buyers in the luxury market, however, are not seeking just any low-maintenance lifestyle, they are looking for the same level of amenities and superior location they have become accustomed to enjoying in their current, often much larger, luxury homes.

I recently listed several three-bedroom homes at Highland Gates on the Katy Trail. This community excels at offering buyers a low-maintenance lifestyle, but it also offers Lutron lighting, Viking and Asko appliance, Kohler sinks and tubs, granite and marble countertops and hand-scraped hardwoods in a prestigious Old Highland Park location. To top it off, Highland Gates offers access to the popular Katy Trail for exercising and the trendy Knox-Henderson neighborhood for dining and nightlife – all priced from $783,135!

This community gets it right – a low-maintenance lifestyle, a prestigious and convenient location and the high-end amenities today’s homebuyers desire. I can’t predict the future, but I’d be willing to bet that Highland Gates on Katy Trail offers a glimpse into the future of luxury living now.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

Millstone Manor

In the 84404 area there is a condo subdivision that is one of the greatest places to live in this area. This subdivision is called the Millstone Manor. The Millstone Manor was built in 1986 but looks and feels a lot newer than that. The location of the Millstone Manor is one that covers it all. With the condo location right at the month of the canyon is makes it easy to zip up the canyon to go skiing or snowboarding at the local ski resorts such as Wolf Mountain and Powder Mountain, also during the summer it allows you to fish and ski on the Pineview Reservoir. On the other hand the Millstone Manor is located close to I-15 as well as downtown historical 25th St. At the Millstone Manor during the summer you may see a lot of happy people because there is a pool located in the middle of the subdivision that helps keep the residents cool on those hot summer days. One other benefit we cant ignore is the property backs right up to the Ogden River which makes Millstone Manor residents feel as if they are at one with the nature.

In the Millstone Manor subdivision there are currently six properties that are on the market for sale. Of these six there are many shapes and sizes. One property that I would like to tell you a little more about is unit number ten in building one. This property is a two bedroom one bathroom condo that has the best view of the river in the whole complex. This property is currently listed below the rest that are for sale. Unit number ten is listed at $72,000 and would make any family happy.

If you are currently looking for a property in the Ogden area then Millstone Manor is the place for you. If you would like more information about unit #10 that is listed for $72,000 please call or email at 801-710-8081 or justin@welchrandall.com.

Posted By: Justin Stevenson

Calculating and Analyzing Absorption Rate

Have you ever wondered how fast homes are selling in your neighborhood right now? There is a way to measure it that will tell you which way the market is heading. Absorption rate is the measurement of the rate of sales in any neighborhood. For example, if 50 homes are sold in a months period, and there are 100 homes for sale in the market place, the absorption rate is 2; meaning that there are two months of inventory currently in the marketplace.

A balanced market of buyers and sellers is defined at 5-6 months of inventory. A 2 absorption rate means that the sellers have the advantage. A 9 means that the market favors the buyers and sellers can expect to discount their property values in order to sell their home. Included is a chart that show how the absorption rate can also indicate if the market is appreciating or depreciating.

For specific information on your neighborhood please contact me for a free absorption report.

Posted By: Brad Sears

Short Sales and Foreclosures — A Trend or Tidal Wave

Short sales are not new to real estate practitioners but the number of foreclosures and short sales on the Northern Utah market currently is higher than we have experienced in many years. The economic conditions have resulted in job loss and pay reduction for many causing a rise in delinquencies and stress on homeowners. In 2009, nationally, there were 1.9 million properties where foreclosure actions were started. This year the number is anticipated to increase. We certainly are seeing our share of short sale and foreclosures in Utah.

What is a foreclosure? Some may think of a foreclosure as a greedy lender taking over an owners home. Others may think of abandoned properties that cause a loss of value to the neighborhood and community. Still others may see this as a way for buyers to pick up properties on the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar.

A simple definition of a foreclosure is a legal process whereby the borrower is deprived of their ownership interest in a property because of nonpayment.

The reality of the situation is that lenders really do not want these properties back on their books and with some exceptions, most buyers pay close to market price for homes that are in good condition. Short sales, by definition mean that the borrower owes more on the home than the home is currently worth in the marketplace. As property values decline, more and more northern Utah homeowners are facing this possibility.

Many borrowers work with their lenders to negotiate a short sale rather than letting the property go into foreclosure. A short sale allows the borrower a way out of the mortgage with less impact on the borrowers credit and allows the borrower to re-enter the marketplace in 2-3 years.

A foreclosure will be on the borrowers record for at least seven years and can have a negative impact on the borrowers credit of 200 points or more. As of April 5, 2010, the Federal Government is encouraging lenders to pursue the short sale remedy first before taking the foreclosure option.

There are many websites that give information on how to proceed with a short sales or foreclosure. For information on foreclosures in Utah click here.

For more information or assistance with a short sale or foreclosure action please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Posted By: Steve Randall

Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Buy

We keep hearing that now is the time to buy because of low interest rates, low house prices, tax credits and on and on. But, you may ask, What does that mean to me? The most practical way to look at it is, How will all of this affect my familys budget? because after all, that is ultimately what makes a difference to us on a month to month basis.

Lets say that you have given yourself $1200 a month to go towards housing. Most people have a pretty good idea of what quality, size and location of home they can expect for $1200.

First, lets consider the impact of Low Interest Rates:
It has been said that when the economy is balanced and where it ought to be, rates should be between about 7 and 8%. Right now rates are at 4.875%. It also has been said (by virtually every economist out there) that rates are expected to rise significantly once the Federal Government ceases buying mortgage backed securities which is currently powering the market towards lower rates. At 4.875%, your $1200 per month would buy you a home worth about $180,000. However, when rates go to about 7.5%, $1200 will only buy a home worth about $140,000. Pretty big difference.

Next, lets consider the impact of Low House Prices:
Home values have gone down. A home that is worth $180,000 today was worth, on average about $210,000 during the peak in 2007. Home values will go back up. They always do, especially here in Utah where the economy is more stable than many other areas in the United States. According to information gathered from the Historical Mortgage Rate Data page from www.mortgage-x.com, and illustrated in the chart below, we see that in 2007, $1200 per month would have purchased a home worth $156,000.

If you compare your purchase of a home now for $1200 a month to someone who purchased a home back in 2007 for $1200 per month, you would have $54,000 more of a home while you are BOTH paying the same $1200 a month! ($210,000 value compared to $156,000)

Third, lets consider the Tax Credit:
The Federal Government is offering tax credits worth $8,000 for First Time Home Buyers and $6500 for Repeat Homebuyers (certain restrictions apply) for the purchase of a home. This money could be immediately used to make a principal payment on your mortgage loan knocking off possibly years of payments. You could set it aside for a rainy day fund for all the many expenses that can come from owning a home. You can literally do anything you want with it. This definitely sweetens the deal when considering purchasing a home now.

And as if all of that was not reason enough, did you know that FHA loans are assumable? This means that if you lock in a 4.875% rate and later decide to sell your home, your buyer can assume your loan and keep your 4.875% rate so long as they qualify for an FHA loan! If you are selling the home for more than you owe, the buyer would simply need to pay you the difference separately which they can do many different ways. When you go to sell, imagine being able to offer a rate around 2.5% less than what they can get through any lender!! What a selling point!!

For more information about buying now and to view all the listed homes for sale in Utah, please visit my website at www.TheSearsTeam.com.

Posted By: Brad Sears

Common Causes of a Short Sale

Here in Northern Utah, most of the homeowners are not directly feeling the impact of the downturn in housing values unless there is a need to sell their home now. Indirectly, however, every homeowner is impacted when there is a short sale or foreclosure in the neighborhood as these homes tend to sell for less than the normal market values. As a result, surrounding home values are indirectly impacted as these homes become comparables used by appraisers to establish new home values.

One of the reasons the administration is trying to curb the effects of delinquencies and foreclosures is to stop the downturn of home values. As the values continue to drop, there are more homeowners who become at risk of a short sale. Unless the trend is curbed, equity in homes will continue to be lost. Last week, a new effort was made to assist more homeowners with mortgage modifications.

Most of us think that we will never be in a short sale or foreclosure situation but most of the major reasons for homeowners can happen to even the most unsuspecting owner. For example, here is a list of common reasons that would qualify a homeowner for a short sale:

1. Job loss
2. Business failure
3. Payment increase or a mortgage adjustment
4. Divorce or death of a spouse
5. Illness
6. Relocation
7. Reduced income
8. Mortgage fraud
9. Predatory lending practices

As you can see, many of these common causes for short sales and foreclosures can and do happen to many of us and when they happen to our friends and neighbors it can have an indirect impact on us as well. For more information on short sales/foreclosures please contact our office.

Posted By: Steve Randall

You Cant Change Me! Using PDFs in Business

While the title to this post might be a little misleading as to what Im talking about it actually makes quite a bit of sense. For the past few years as Ive been working in Property Management and Real Estate transactions Ive become very acquainted with the popular PDF file. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. PDFs are great because they are not easily manipulated, they are relatively small (making them great to send as attachments in emails), and almost everyone that owns a computer has some type of PDF reader. The fact that the document cant be altered is one of the biggest reasons we love them hence you cant change me!

There are expensive programs that you can purchase that allow the user to do all sorts of crazy things with a PDF file. Ive seen programs that allow you to highlight, put in captions, bookmarks, comments, change the colors, create hyperlinks, etc. While these perks are interesting I dont have a need to use them often. That said, I cant justify spending several hundred dollars just so I can highlight a section of a PDF.

Awhile back I did some quick searching for a cheaper way to create a PDF from a word processing document. Cnets www.download.com has become a place for me to search for the latest and greatest, free or cheap software. While looking around I stumbled across a program called PDF reDirect. EXP Systems LLC created both a free and professional version of PDF reDirect. I have had the free version installed on my laptop for about a year and use it almost daily. The free version allows the user to create a PDF from just about any type of file. I have had success in creating PDFs from Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Publisher, Google Docs, WebPages, images, screenshots, etc. I love this program. The professional version costs only $19.99. It adds quite a bit of functionality to the free version. On EXP Systems website they have a comparison chart where all the differences between the free and paid version are listed. You can see that chart by clicking here.

As a Realtor I often need to send offers, rental applications, lease agreements, etc. that have all kinds of sensitive information within the document. As we know not all email is secure. One of the best features that PDF reDirect offers is a way to encrypt (password protect) sensitive documents. I am now confident as I send emails because the recipient and I have established a password that must be entered before the file can be displayed.

To download the free versions of this program please click here. If you know of any other programs that might be helpful please let me know. If you have problems installing or using PDF reDirect Id be happy to help. I can be reached at adam@welchrandall.com or on my cell (801)388-3035.

Posted By: Adam Stuart

The Next 10 Years!

Welcome to a new year! We survived the 2009 real estate market! In fact, we actually had some good news in last half of 2009 with unit sales rising in many parts of the country and some price ranges actually seeing some appreciation. In some areas in Layton and other parts of Northern Utah we saw some appreciation. We dont want to be overly optimistic because we know that recovery will be slow and some economists fear a double-dip economic recession if unemployment numbers dont show greater improvement. There will be some rough waters to navigate this year as well.

In 2010 we still face a higher than normal inventory, declining home values in most price ranges, high unemployment leading to delinquencies, short sales, and even foreclosures. Credit is still tight but the worst is likely behind us. Recovery will be slower than we all wish for, but still we will see progress in 2010 in the Utah housing market.

A recent Deseret News article outlines some of the changes coming to Utah in the next decade that will impact our lives in the next 10 years. Here are the full details of the article.

Utah, especially Northern Utah, will have some great things to look forward to starting with an estimated increase of 700,000 new residents in the next 10 years. The bulk of that population growth will be centered in Northern Utah. Additionally, Utah will draw some high tech jobs and companies as part of its entrepreneurial heritage. Research now being conducted at Utahs major Universities will continue to draw top notch companies which will want to employ Utahs highly educated work force.

Transportation will be expanded with new smart-car technology that will communicate with each other adding new features and greater safety. Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will have five new Trax lines completed by 2015. Real estate values will increase around the station locations. In addition, the Mountain View Corridor will be completed to Provo and I-15 expanded to accommodate the new growth coming to Utah. Each expansion of transportation will lead to more growth and an increased demand for new housing, existing housing and a strong rental market through the next ten years.

Utahs economic growth will outpace the US economy in the next 10 years with the real question being how well will the US economy do in the next 10 years. Utahs advantage has always been in its educated, reasonably priced work force. That advantage is expected to continue into the next decade.

To review the top 10 stories for national real estate trends in 2009, we refer you to Steve Harneys blog which we have highlighted in a previous blog post. For the statistics on how we in the Beehive State did in 2009, please refer to this NAR report for Utah.

One thing we know for sure is that there is nothing to fear in 2010 that a buyer, seller, or investor with the right information cannot use to their advantage. For those in Northern Utah who want to know how the recent market changes have impacted home values, please contact us for a free, no obligation, Competitive Market Analysis. Welcome 2010!

Posted By: Steve Randall

Considering Other Options Than Foreclosure

In this post we deal with options other than foreclosure that a homeowner may consider. Some of the options involve a Realtor and other options do not.

Homeowners Have Choices:

1. Refinance: Homeowners work with lenders in the new HAFA program to reduce monthly payments amounts. No Realtor involvement is necessary.
2. Lender Workout: Lenders at time will work with homeowners to restructure the loan and forgive missed payments or add them to the end of the loan. Fees can be wrapped into the new loan and interest rates lowered. No Realtor involvement is necessary
3. Sell and bring cash to closing: If the homeowner has other resources, lenders will expect sellers to liquidate assets and bring money to closing to pay off the difference in the mortgage amount and the sale price of the home.
4. Short Sale: In a short sale the lender agrees to accept less than full payment and to at least partially satisfy the amount owed to the lender. Short sales wont damage the homeowners credit as much, have less impact of the neighborhood home values, and are a more civil way for lenders to release homeowners from their obligations.
5. Deed in lieu of foreclosure: this occurs when the borrower agrees to trade the property to the lender and the lender agrees to cancel the note. In declining markets, lenders are less likely to accept this alternative. No Realtor involvement is necessary.
6. Do nothing or walk away: At times a homeowner may simply be upset that the value of the property has dropped or that the other options available are too difficult so they just decide to walk away. Homeowners should always check with their attorney and account about this option because the consequences can be far more substantial than for homeowners than those who attempt to complete other alternatives. No Realtor would recommend this alternative but a Realtor is not needed in this option.

There certainly may be other options not mentioned above and there are many variations to the options above. The Federal Governments current recommended choice is a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure and new guidelines have been established to move these processes through more quickly.

Please contact me for further information on foreclosure alternatives.

Posted By: Steve Randall

Location, Location, Location

When it comes to real estate one of the most important things you look for is a good location. As I sit down and talk with clients they are always looking for the best location for their families. I have not always lived in this great state of Utah but I am starting to enjoy what Utah has to offer. I grew up in the busy state of California where I would have to travel long distances to get to the great outdoors, but here in Utah its right in your backyard. Being in Real Estate we have the opportunity to travel from city to city and see what each city has to offer. Each city has something a little different than the other, if it is farm land, mountain trails, ski resorts, city life, or a subdivision it is all great here in Utah.

One of the best opportunities we have to check out other locations and properties is on a day we call Halloween. Going from house to house and from one neighborhood to the next you have the chance to see what is out there. Even though candy is involved I always like to evaluate a home and see what styles I like and dislike so when it comes time for me to look for a new house for my family I know what I am looking for. It does not matter if you are not in a position to make that next step and move into your dream home yet - it doesnt hurt to start looking. As the famous Boy Scouts motto goes always be prepared, so it is always good to prepare for the future.

Utah is a wonderful place and has great locations where you can find happiness in raising a family. I always thought growing up that I would never move out of California and leave the beach but now that I see what Utah has to offer, I am proud to say Utah is a beautiful place to live.

Posted By: Justin Stevenson

Next Page »