First, we discuss all these local factors over at St George real estate market conditions and trends.

 

Secondly, I'll just sum it up here. Basically, we were like the thin aluminum cooking pan- we heated up artificially too fast and the consequence also is cooling down fast enough for all to see how artificial it really was, even for our most glamorous areas with the larger home building getting hit hard. All areas of the market have been put into a reality, that exists up against new traction, with some new home building or the commodities and price of materials that go into a home, helping to help set the pricing on homes. The distressed sales inventory has diminished enough, and is trending that way, for people to realize good deals, but not the great deals anymore, and now only if they respond very quickly in often what become multiple offer scenarios. There are more and more resales coming down into this new reality of distressed properties, that of them having set pricing.

 

I see things as having stabalized along a bottom floor. How long we will skip along above and below this bottom at a plateau state is something I think the overall economy will decide with many people that would move into this area if they could liquidate where they are at. I see this variable as significant. Although, don't forget, we also have many new sellers here that would like to keep inventory levels high by putting their home up on the market. The fomer would increase prices, while the latter would keep them low.

 

However, my educated guess is this: that we have skipped along this bottom floor long enough, that probably the new trend is to see that distressed properties will become more of the dinasour relic of the past, that although regular resales are being phased in already along with new sellers, that new pricing structures common among appraisals or comparables setting prices will start to become braver in representing a whole new breed of prices being higher. That is not the crystal ball on things mind you.

 

However, take that and combine it with interest rates being so low, if getting a loan is part of it, and if it were me, I think I'd think seriously towards getting in now. I would not break my arm over it with some time yet. But, I'd probably get out a calculator and figure out how much my payments would be at the certain interest rate we have now and then project and study out what they could change to if we wait that much longer. Then figure out if paying for maintenance and upkeep pays or not.

 

Remember, that many people are looking to get in early now too and as such, there may be more of a rush on the condo and townhouse market because they typically take care of all that yard maintenance. So, getting in now on those would be a higher priority if it were me. I also think it is sometimes easier to hire out a maintenance crew to come in on a single family home purchase rather than it needing to be in an association where they take care of yard maintenance. But, I notice it is not as realistic when if it is for folks in the later years of life- it might be the association of folks that are also older in those associations as a maximized chance of accomodating that lifestyle of having similar neighbors in that phase of life, that might overrule the single family dwellings idea. Areas where you can get into single family housing that still have a strong retiree population influence would be Sunbrook, Stonebridge, Coral Canyon, many areas along Snow Canyon Parkway, like Paradise Canyon and a few others I can help you with as your St George retirement specialist. Hope this has helped!

National Policy Effects the St George Buyers Ability to Get a Loan

Several potential national policy changes could really change the rules of the St George real estate game. A factor to keep an eye on is whether the governments patch job of regulating better lending, will backfire through over-aggresive attempts to squelch the American dream by increasing the down payment requirement to 20%. I have a bias obviously, in terms of how this will dappen tradition wealth building, that would normally be through home ownership. Other over-involved government measures that might have an impact on the housing sector would be making house buying non-tax deductible, whereas now it is tax deductible.

 

Another factor that would affect the local Utah real estate market would be if the government taxed charitable contributions whereas now it is tax deductible. The reason Utah'ans might become concerned about this is that the state has a huge percentage of its population base that currently donates 10% of its income to its church as a charitable contribution. By being tax deductible it equates to about 6% of their income, where as if it becomes non-tax deductible it will take about 4% more of their income away, to go straight to the government- a pretty sizeable taxation that could take from a Utah residence ability to come up with a down payment.

Interest Rates are a key factor making housing affordable. From what I've read, interest rates while lower now, are scheduled to go up. Several factors to read into that will affect this are: inflation, national debt legislations, strength of the U.S. dollar based on how much confidence could become forfeit in it and the U.S.'s ability to remain strong in paying their foreign debts and confidence in the international community, how the export or inport vitatlity of trade is going, both in the U.S. and in large consumer countries like China, the employment rate and overall prospects of the U.S. economy getting stronger and our if the approach towards dealing with the national deficit are strong enough to instill strength in our U.S. dollar.