The price is still not right They need to "come on down" some more.

Maybe the Realtors @Malissa M. - could try being more honest with the sellers and say hey... you are not going to get that amount in this market.

What your home appriases for does not mean it will sell for that price.

appraises aside @wouldn't be prudent - Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

As a future buyer @The Other Side - I can say prices are still much more than I'm willing to pay. Based on what I've heard recently from those in the know I'm not alone.

Phillip @Phillip J Fry - In the meantime, while you are waiting for the right house at the right price...keep saving your money for a good downpayment. You will be able to drive a better bargain if you have $$ to bargain with.

Good luck and congrats for not allowing your good sense to be swept away by all the "great time to buy" ads that abound.

That's been the plan for a couple of years now @older but wiser - And it looks like its going to pay off.

You never know.... @Phillip J Fry - Depends on where you are buying, and what type of house The article says that Herriman home sales are up 18%. I just bought a short sale in herriman that was originally built and purchased for $485,000. I bought it for $310,000!!! and am putting down 30K, so will owe $280 on it :) -With an APR of 5.87!!

I know that home was part of the housing bubble problem, but no complaints here. I'm glad i'm buying now and not waiting.

DITO! I don't care what your home appraised for in 2006 or 2005. @wouldn't be prudent - In Michigan I have seen homes that appraised for $250,000 back in 2006 and they are now selling for $125,000. A 50% Depreciation.

Sales Price @wouldn't be prudent - Dear Prudent! I assume that you've sold your own properties FSBO! Obviously, you've never hired a Realtor because you'd know that one of the FIRST things that Realtors do is suggest to the Sellers to price their home correctly. It'd be even better to price the home just a bit under market in order to generate interest. Some Sellers feel that because they've put new paint and carpet and they've redone their kitchen that their home is worth much more than comparables indicate. It's not the Realtor who sets the final price, it's the Seller! Please...get your facts straight before you open your mouth!

Sylvia M @Sylvia M. - You have no clue... not I; I have purchased and sold 3 homes and used a 6%er to sell both and everytime they have suggested the sales price based on comps.

The problem with my first home is that they underpriced it to do a quick sell.

Your obviously a 6%er based on your pic and your bloated face.

All realtors are rip off artists and if people quit using them everyone would be better off.

wbp @wouldn't be prudent - you could actually say that about anyone who makes their living on commission. It isn't limited to realtors.

Prudent @wouldn't be prudent - Dear Prudent! Considering that I've been a Realtor with a large company for several years now, I believe that I DO have a clue! As far as my "bloated" face is concerned, let's see YOUR face for a change. Or are you a COWARD, as I suspect?! You neither show your photograph nor say your real name. That's a coward in my book. Response? I doubt it! Coward!

Prudent @wouldn't be prudent - And by the way, Prudent, you may want to pick up a dictionary to learn how to spell. Yes, we Realtors DO have a bit of education, unlike YOU!!! Coward!

Sylvia M @Sylvia M. - As a network Engineer with a Great deal of education; I know that anonimity with reguards to the internet is needed!

Unlike you I work out 4 times a week and watch what I eat.

So I would not say I am a coward just smart enough not to be plastering my name and picture everywhere online as to become a victim of Identiy theft.

Get a clue you may know Real Estate but common sense is lacking.

Have a nice day pudgy!!

Prudent or shall I say Coward @wouldn't be prudent - You may be a network engineer with a GREAT deal of education, but you STILL cannot spell!!! For your information, I am a college graduate and am very educated as well. You say that you're a network engineer. How nice for you! My question to you is how much you have to pay to get your diploma through computer correspondence courses? And since you don't know me, and have NO idea about my life, how do you assume by a distorted photograph on this web site what I look like, and whether I work out at the gym, and what I eat? And yes, I do know what I am talking about with regard to real estate, but I doubt you're a very good network engineer. If you can't spell, which is obvious, I doubt you are very capable of solving problems when a computer network is down. Your incredible lack of tact and common decency is very telling of your cowardice. Coward!

So I was DEAD on @wouldn't be prudent - Sylvia M is a realtor and a 6%er so of course she is going to paint the picture a nice shade of grean! The glass is always 1/2 full. I find it funny that I have been told by other Realtors that I have spoken with that it only took 90 hours to get a Realestate License but a Barber / cosmotologist it takes 2000 hours....

Gee .... you draw the conclusion...

Ha ha ha ha ROFL

Very nice.... @wouldn't be prudent - "Wouldn't be prudent" feels it necessary to judge anothers appearance due to a difference of opinion.

You immaturity has taken away any credibility you may have had. You have much to learn about people, and life for that matter.

Your judging me as well @destroyingangel - so in your argument your credibility as well is tarnished and loses value.

Just a typical glamour shot that you see on a realtor sign that's all and I was dead on the money.

I only stated my opinion just as Sylvia did, her derogitory comments incidet mine, I know I can't spell well and I know I have other things that I must work on, but you are not my judge nor will you be.

Here's hoping @Malissa M. - that the tax assessor will view these drops and drop the tax rates for homes too.

But, once they start taxing you, it never goes away.

@SKYLER4400 - Appeal your tax assessment. I know several people who have had theirs lowered.

@SKYLER4400 - No kidding... my tax appraisal went way up. I dare them to find one house withing 5 miles of me that has sold for what they say mine is worth. They list my lot at 160,000... for the DIRT! Lots down the street are selling for 80k.

The County assessors office is crazy. Hopefully my appeal will bring some sanity to my tax assessment.

It can't go down too much more @Malissa M. - The problem you will have is a bunch of people who bought homes with a good faith appraisal on a fixed interest rate are the ones getting screwed. Remember not everyone bought above their means and are paying their house payments on time. When they lose value in their home, it limits their ability to grow their own wealth. So for all of you who want the home prices to keep on dropping, you are reducing the ability of people to grow their wealth. This will kill our economy.

If they continue to drop, we will have some people who can afford their payments walk away from their homes because you don't want to put money into a losing investment. I think we all feel bad that the home prices rose too quickly, but good people who bought their home to live in are getting hurt. I don't care for the investors or the realtors because they caused this problem.

It can and will continue to go down... @Webmonkey - Webmonkey, I disagree with your logic on many levels. How many families actually see their home purely as an investment? If one looks at a home as a place to live rather than a wealth building investment, then your argument breaks down. On the flip side, savvy investors who own a home purely as an investment know that short-term gains are unlikely in real-estate; they aren't just going to walk away.

A home is the biggest investment most people will ever make @Turbominivan - and it has a much higher rate of return than the market. In the stock market you only get a return on what you invest. When you "buy" a house you get a return on the whole value of the home, even though your investment is only a portion of that, hence a much higher rate of return. This is basic finance.

Example: if I invest $50,000

stock market ~12% (typical long term rate) annual return = $6,000

home (valued at a conservative $250,000) with ~6% (typically between 6-7% long term rate) appreciation = $15,000, deduct for taxes and insurance and you are still well above the $6k mark, you don't deduct interest because you can claim that on your tax return.

I put about $400/mo toward the principle of my home, I would love to stick that much in the stock market but if I rented there is no way I would have that much surplus cash, plus the net return is much lower.

You people have lost sight! @CepaCapa - You have realtor telling you this house is a great investment. A home is an investment in the place you will LIVE in the future not a place to make money. If you are flipping them ok or they are rental properties sure but, how many people really purchase a house which you live in to move out to a smaller home (?) to cash out and make money? Everyone trades up to a bigger home Mc big freaken house?(larger sticker price!).

ALL THE REALTORS HAVE A VESTED INTREST IN YOU BUYING A BIGGER MORE EXPENSIVE HOME!!!! So all you sutto accountants out there pay your on your loan and stop being forclosed upon.

And one more thing stop buying all the crap I see in your yard because I do not want to be paying for your health care when you are 80 years old and are eating cat food cause you had all the toys you do you Sandy, Herriman, and Draper Mights.

Did you really say "sutto" for "pseudo?" @Robert K. - And do you really think your rant will suddenly make people leap to sell their belongings so that you won't have to worry about "paying for their health care" when they're 80?

Wow.

That is pretty bad number crunching @CepaCapa - First off, that is what leveraging is. Making money on BORROWED money. If you borrowed 250000 to put in the stock market then it would be a better investment than the house. Leveraging is dangerous though because you can lose more than you have which is what is happening to people in houses.

Your logic falls apart about the 250000 house with 6% appreciation. Factor in that the bank is taking 6% in interest in the loan you took and you end up with nothing. Doesn't sound like a good investment to me. You only make money on the part that you own that the bank doesn't own. In your case it would be the $50,000 down payment. You would make 6% on that which would be $3000 compared to the market's $6000. The other 12000 you thought you gained you actually paid to the bank.

Houses have only been an inflation protection for the last 100 years. Their appreciation has only kept up with inflation. It would be just as good to put your money in anything else that won't change REAL value with inflation such as gold and gold doesn't demand that you fix it up every couple years and take care of a yard.

Wow, someone that can do the math for themself @antiEnvironmentalist - And didn't learn it from the late night TV real estate guru.

Not really a good investment @CepaCapa - Buying assets is a good way to grow wealth. The problems is knowing the difference between and Asset and Liability.

Typically a home is a liability. Has maintenance costs, Insurance costs, Taxes, and interest payments. Most people will pay 2 to 3 times the original purchase price in interest alone during the life of the loan; plus annual taxes, insurance, and repairs. This is not a good asset, but is a good liability.

Now if you buy ownership in a company, say a share of GE stock for $15 and it pays you a portion of the company profits in form of a Dividend (say $1.24 a year), and the company continues to grow over 30 years. You get paid dividends yearly and sell the stock for more than you bought it for. That is a good example of an Asset.

Now listen to Buddha and go acquire assets. Of course you need a place to live, just try to minimize your liability when buying a house.

That's exactly right, Buddha. @Buddha - A home is a financial liability, and it always will be. And you're also correct that it's a good liability, so long as the buyer chooses wise financing at the original purchase. If you get a fixed interest rate with good terms, then you have just protected yourself from landlords, who will ALWAYS increase the rent on you if you rented the home instead. For example, on my home, which I purchased for $102,000 some years ago, my payment is $730 per month, total. Some of the homes in my neighborhood are RENTING for $1200 per month, and they're no different than mine. In my opinion, the renters are getting screwed, but they consider it a good deal to have a decent house with a yard for that price.
HOWEVER, if you purchased your house under the HORRIBLE terms that I've seen in the sub-prime loan market(which caused this whole mess in the first place), the payments were tied to various indexes and the payments turned out to be ridiculous, so ultimately the buyers got screwed over by their own stupidity. They should never have signed on those loans.
I have little sympathy. People are responsible for what they sign. But the Democrats are responsible for changing the lending environment that caused the subprime market to be, and they are equally responsible for causing this current crisis.
Two lessons: Never let the government interfere with markets to give advantage to buyers who normally wouldn't qualify; and never let the government interfere with markets to benefit ANYONE over anyone else.

Absolutely @Webmonkey - The problem is where people made huge loans for short term gain that they couldn't afford long term.

And the reason they were able to get those loans is because of the quick & dirty (stated income, no proof of income loans) programs that were being offered. That's why a majority of these newly constructed areas are empty, half built, or bank owned. People never intended to live in these homes just flip them for a profit. So to make matters worse why pay for a home you were not going to live in and could never afford to begin with?? What better way then to kiss it goodbye and let the banks and fellow Americans to have the problem.

webmoney @Webmonkey - if you buy, even on good faith, in an inflated market...a falsly inflated market, at that, then you perpetuate the problem. It is really sad, but it is true. People might walk away from their house because it is a losing investment. What they will have done, however, is learned a very hard lesson. I bet it won't happen to them again.

My dad used to say, if you make a mistake and it costs you enough, you won't make the same mistake again.

I don't mean to sound unfeeling about the dilemma people are in, but unfortunately, what goes UP, comes DOWN.

Inflated Market? @older but wiser - The failure of the market will put us in a depression. I was pointing out that we can't have the prices drop too much. We just need them to stop growing for a period. If the prices continue to drop, we will never recover. Banks will continue to lose money and another bailout will be in the works. We need to housing prices to stay even for a few years so inflation can catch up to the growth in prices the last few years.

The real problem @Malissa M. - The story states: "The median selling price is now $243,000."

Well, the real problem is that the median income in Utah is still below $60,000 per year.

Just food for thought.

St. George If home prices are declining this much along the Wasatch Front, I wonder how low St. George's prices are...

That should help in toole.... to keep the price down.. unclear domestic waste
so guvr stunhman didn't know about it, the drivers didn't know about it, the pol didn't know about it, the Dept of transposition didn't know about the loophole. Only steve sCreamer are all the managmt of the co plus the stockholders. Did their insurance knew about it? Are we actually insured on this one?

Hey.... @atchoum - I get it. I had to take a couple of drinks from the bottle, but I get what you're saying!










Coo Coo Coo Coo!

? @atchoum - Dang man, what were you on when you wrote this?

Nice post @atchoum - I'll have what you're having.

LoL The median selling price is now $243,000.

HAHAHAHA...

Homes are still selling! Down 4 %. Isn't that a good sign compared to the rest of the nation? People are not loosing the equity in thier homes.

People are still buying homes right??? The preditory lending is gone. And now the housing market in Utah hasn't gone down HUGE like the rest of the nation.

This is great news. about the economic state in Utah!

Yocum.... @Yocum - You sound like a realtor!

The ecomony sucks right now....

Yes, some parts of the country are hurting more than others but the truth is... Utahs ecomony is struggling too.

Utah is also lagging the rest of the country @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - But it's catching up fast.

Realtor @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - And what's wrong with being a Realtor?

Realtors @Sylvia M. - profit on people selling and purchasing homes... their largest purchase in their life, kind of like a used car salesman except people purchase dozens of cars in a lifetime homes on the other hand...

You see the drift, the profit from other people and make that Pinto sound great when they could of had a Rolls for about the same price had they wanted to wait a little while.

The real question is... @Sylvia M. - What's NOT wrong with being a Realtor?

There's nothing wrong with it at all. @Sylvia M. - It's just that a Realtor's livelihood is so tied in to the housing market, that it is hard to accept what you say as unbiased, so a lot of people are distrustful.
Don't take it personally (with the exception of the personal attacks above). Most people wouldn't go ask a car salesman if now was a good time to buy a car, either. You're just not going to get an objective answer.
Unless the answer is "it depends." Then you are right every time, because the time to buy a home or ANYTHING depends completely on your own individual circumstances, and little else.

Very few good experiences with realtors... @Sylvia M. - I relocated here 2 years ago and the Realtor was only interested in making sure I found a house and closed as quickly as possible. When the home inspection went south, I tried to get out of the deal and he started consulting the seller as to how I couldn't get out! Good thing he wasn't familiar with the terms of his own agreement that allowed me to get out as a result of the inspection.

What a crook. Probably can't afford that nice Beemer he had at the time.

That Sucks @Blazerfan - You did get a bad agent, good thing you took action for yourself and got out.

sure pal Keep dreamin Real Estate agents. Folks are not just not buying on emotion, they are not buying at all. And it is going to get a lot worse in the next couple of months. Might as well take a sabbatical.

TMJ, or whatever your name is @Tj N. - you are out of touch. Home sales have stabilized at around 1000-1100 per month for the last 4 months along the Wasatch Front and this indicates a statistical trough and what follows troughs are upswings. Yocum is right this is good news for Utah. If we followed your doom and gloom logic we might as well turn out the lights and call it a life.

Vision? @vision - Vision or whatever your name is you need to get some glasses!!! NO ONE IS BUYING HOMES!!! YOUR STATS "STINK" GET OFF CRACK!! YOU LOST YOUR JOB YESTERDAY WHEN ALLPRO WENT DOWN THE DRAIN.

@Robert K. - If people weren't buying homes then home prices wouldn't be down 4% now would they. If 10,000 homes sold last year for 270,000, but no homes were being sold now then the value would have dropped 0%, cause you can't measure nothing.

@sklater - 1+1=2. Oh, how many disagrees will I get for that. Some people just seem to disagree with simple math. I was just saying that if no homes were being bought then you couldn't measure if they have dropped or not. Such as if my car is in my driveway you can't tell how fast I am driving.

So according to your logic 1000-1100 homes selling per month means @Robert K. - nobody is buying. Brilliant. You hate my stats because yours a founded in mythology.

True... @vision - yet these trends hit Utah slower than the other states. I am not completely sold that Utah is out of the woods. I still see many homes for sale out there, and reports of foreclosures on the rise. So while we are still selling 1000 homes per month we are foreclosing over 500 homes a month.

Also by this time next year we could be looking at almost a third of homeowners in the state will owe more than what there home is worth. So I don't share your optimism.

Tj @Tj N. - I would certainly LOVE to take a sabbatical, but who has the time? And since you're not a Realtor, how do you know for sure that homes are not selling? True, they are not selling as quickly as they did a few years ago. True, it's more difficult to obtain a mortgage loan due to the financial crisis. But...Realtors are not the culprits some of the people who write posts think we are. Realtors search for homes in the price ranges that their Buyers tell them that they can afford. In my case, I prefer to obtain a prequalification letter from a reliable lending institution. If the Buyer has inflated their buying capability and has LIED to me, I cannot be blamed when the Buyers become unable to afford their payments! And by the way, Buyers looking for a family home ALWAYS buy on emotion.

Realtors don't know whats going on! in 2006 they were saying "you better buy now" home prices will only continue to rise.

In 2007 they said "now is a terrific time to buy" home prices have temporally slowed.

In early 2008 they said "Now is a buyers market, and its not going to last, get on board now."

Now they are saying "Right now you can buy a home that sold for $388,000 in 2007 for $300,000. You will never find a better deal, act now!"

The truth is.......we have a ways to go before we see the bottom, and with finances getting tighter you will only see prices begin to drop, especially with those people who bought a home in 2003 or 2004 with a 5 year arm loan who cannot refinance because they were stretching themselves back then, and now they cannot refinance because they paid more than their home was worth.

You're right. @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - Everybody has an incentive to their job. A Realtors job is to sell homes. So guaranteed Realtors will never speak negative about market conditions. If you can't see that reality then you probably shouldn't be buying a home.

Why blame only Realtors? @mooshu - Like mooshu said, it's a Realtor's job to sell homes. Of course they are going to put a positive spin on things. For some people, buying a house right now is actually a good time to buy.

Don't make the Realtors the scapegoat, look at all the irresponsibility going around with the mortgage lenders, the banks, the people who were actually dumb enough to take on a ARM loan. In the end it boils down to the buyer, caveat emperor.

plenty of blame to go around.. @yoyoma - but the blame won't do anyone any good....the reality is that buying a home is an investment,and ALL investments have risk. The investor/buyer is the ONLY person that can make the evaluation of the risk....When buying a house...the risk are ALL written down and explained...and you SIGN the document...did you red them? So..it isn't the realtor's fault..or the lender...or the bag lady at Smith's...

Now..if you have been following prices in the area, and nationwide....you will see that we are OK in comparison to much of the country. The core market under $300k is actually doing fine...the higher price ranges have been really hurt..especially in the newer higher end suburbs. It is all pretty logical...going forward....my personal opinion...prices shouldn't go up in the short term...but the downward pressure has slowed...I just don't see huge drops in value for Utah...

No, he's not right . . . @mooshu - Think about this:

When the market is going up, NOT buying will lose you money. Historically, the market ALWAYS goes up.

When the market is down, NOT buying makes you foolish. There are some pretty serious deals out there and if you're not getting a piece of it, that's foolish.

When the market is ON ITS WAY DOWN is probably the only time you may want to hold off. Unfortunately, nobody knows when "on its way down" becomes "on its way back up". The very nature of knowing when rock bottom is/was means you're too late.

The GURU says "It is ALWAYS a good time to BUY Real Estate. As they say, they're not making any more of it. As supply goes down, price goes up. ALWAYS. There are only times NOT to sell. And now is one of them. If you can hold off selling while still picking up some of the deals you may find in a few years you've done VERY well."

And that's it.

can't say that @Real Estate Guru - historically...the market has always gone up...if given time...

if you are in the business...the foll is the client that listens to you...

Now...as far as "they're not making any ore of it" WRONG! With existing plans in place for over 200,000 MORE single family homes on the west side...and approved devlopments in the planning stage totally almost as much to the North and South...

THEY ARE MAKING MUCH MUCH more it!

Where to start? @Nobadges - Do you disagree? The market historically goes up. "Historically", by definition, means "if given time". You've merely proven my point.

And then "foll"? Did you mean "fool"? The irony is staggering.

And your shortsightedness will be your downfall. Your final few thoughts are taking into consideration that only the building is the part of real estate with value.

You're wrong there.

When you say they are making more of it, what you state is they are still IMPROVING what we already have. And you are correct, but it's the LAND itself that they are not making more of. And if you owned more of it, you'd be well off.

That being said, if the Lex Luthor school of real estate from "Superman Returns" is correct and that land can be made, you would have a valid point.

But it's not and you don't. Both of you are living in the funny pages.

Real Estate Guru. @Real Estate Guru - I don't know why I expected a comments like that from you, but I did.

you said, "When the market is going up, NOT buying will lose you money"

The problem is, markets are not always going up when some realtors tell you to buy. Some know this, they will just say whatever you want to hear. All they want is for the person to buy!.

You also said, "When the market is down, NOT buying makes you foolish. There are some pretty serious deals out there and if you're not getting a piece of it, that's foolish."

Again, the problem is, things are going to continue to down for some time, at least a year. (I know a realtor will tell me different, but that is what I would expect.) Would you rather buy now for 200k, or wait a year and buy for 160k?

For some people it might be worth it to buy now, but the majority would prefer to buy for 40k less. Buying now would be foolish.

Problem is, there are so many unethical realtors out their its difficult to find one that will give you some sound advise. Most are looking out for #1.

Nobadges @Nobadges - Actually the quote should have been "buy land!! they aren't making it anymore!" RE Guru is wrong.

The coolaid is strong with this one @Real Estate Guru - EOM

Yet you have no point? @Phillip J Fry - Tell me where I'm wrong.

Others have tried. You wouldn't be the first. But you can see where that's led them.

No point? @Real Estate Guru - I've been following this financial disaster called the housing market for a couple of years now and have been predicting this down turn for months. The problem with any logic you use to justify buying a house right now is that these are not normal times and won't be for quite some time. Home prices are going to be falling rapidly for at least a year and probably two. Buying now means you are not only throwing money at the bank to pay your interest (the majority of which is paid at the beginning of the loan)but you are also losing money every month from depreciation. You take those two factors into account and renting is a much better choice.

This is the logic that got us in this mess in the first place... @Real Estate Guru - The market never goes down...not since WWII have housing prices ever declined...

It's just the same old crap. First realize that as a general trend people "always make more money" and "prices always rise". There are local perturbations but this has been the trend over the past 100 years. Now when houses rise out of sync with income, as they did from 2000-2006 they needed to fall back in line. People simply can't perpetually spend a larger and larger portion of their income on housing. This is particularly true since most people buy more home than they need. These two trends indicate that there is fat to be shed from the system. Your house is not a good long-term "investment". It's a great savings vehicle and also a nice hedge against inflation but over the long term, it's not going to be worth substantially more than you paid for it (when adjusted for inflation).

Mooshu. @mooshu - You are correct. Realtors will never speak negative about market conditions, their income relys on the sale.

The problem is they need to be honest about it. They have a moral responsibility to their client, especially when they are collecting a 6% commission.

I am not a realtor but I can tell you home prices will continue to fall over the next year. If I were to ask that question to the majority of realtors, they would just say "now is the time to buy, hurry, the economy is starting to turn around."

I think most would say this even if they knew prices would continue to fall over the next year.

They have an ethical obligation to their client and most won't tell you to wait.

Right. @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - You're right Realtors are obligated to be honest. As are all people who have a some type of moral compass. But if you are so oblivous to blame realtors for not knowing the Market is tanking then you shouldn't be buying a home.

Commission @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - Allow me to explain how commission works! When a Seller signs a broker agency agreement, he or she agrees to pay a 6% commission based on the final sales price at settlement. The Listing Agent gets 3%; the Buyer's Agent gets 3%. If the Listing Agent both lists AND sells the house, then they get 6%. But...whether the agent deserves to get 3% of the entire 6%, that amount is going to be reduced based on the commission split that they're on with their real estate brokerage. Unless the realtor is with a brokerage and is on a 100% split, it is not correct to assume that a realtor gets the entire commission.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!! @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - A PERSON WITH A BRAIN ON HERE. CAN I TAKE YOU TO LUNCH OR SOMETHING. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I THOUGH THE FILERBUSTER WOULD BE FOREVER!!!! MOST OF THE OTHERS ON HERE WHERE SHOUTING OUT SANITY!!!

THANK GOD FOR A PERSON WITH AN IQ AND CAN SEE WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!

[Please don't shout with ALL CAPS.]

Hmmmm @Oh yeah!................Oh no! - You need to talk to a different realtor. I warned my clients selling their home in Jan/Feb/Mar 2006 that the house prices will be going up a lot and they should wait, some did, some didn't want to. I then warned all my clients that bought a home in 2007 that home prices will be going down the next few years and so if they want to buy, buy SMART (location, price etc.) and plan on having that home for at least the next three years. Now 2008, yes it is a good time to buy, but you still need to buy SMART. And what is dragging down Utah's market is the short sales and foreclosures that the realtors did not 'cause but lenders that pushed many buyers in horrible loans (aka Builders Lender that make the buyer use them through incentives) and the buyers themselves that signed contracts, they knew or should of known that they were going to barely be able to pay their payments and/or the terms. Yes consumers we are adults and need to take responsiblity for our own actions.

Hmmm @HeathersRealEstate - Thanks Heather. Finally, another Realtor who truly knows what's going on!

ooops wrong subject unclear domestic waste
so guvr stunthman didn't know about it, the drivers didn't know about it, the pol didn't know about it, the Dept of transposition didn't know about the loophole. Only steve sCreamer and all the managmt of the company plus the stockholders. Did their insurance knew about it? Are we actually insured on this one? what about maritime authority, did they knew that nuc waste was running around, Railroad? Border people, highway ports of authority? great what else is running around? organic milk from El salvador?
sorry, yes the price of the house you can't afford??? you was saying?

Are you off your meds again? @atchoum - .

Hey atchoum... @atchoum - ....Gesundheit!!!

Seriously, please keep your posts coming....you really make my day. Both laughter and brain teasers are very healthy.

Nay Sayers Interesting. Here comes all the nay sayers. Guess what,,, I also bought stock becuase it was down.

Of course home prices are slowing, DUH! But people and banks still have to sell a house, and people are still buying houses.

I bought my house in Oct 2006 Multiple offers, Paid a high price for it. Do I really care if the prices have come down??? NO! I am not moving and I love my house!

Yocum @Yocum - The problem is not people like you and I that purchased homes to live in. There will never be an issue with living in a home VS what the value of said home is.

The issue is people who are flipping the homes for a huge profit. They are going to be hurt by this and they should IMHO as they are the ones who over inflated the market in the first place.

I plan on staying in my home at least 8 - 10 years and by then this will all hopefully be a distant memory.

Like stocks they will rebound eventually but it's going to take time, people need to take the emotional side out of the situation and realize this is going to be a long process and that they can't have everything RIGHT NOW!! and not cost them dearly.

@wouldn't be prudent - One other thing that was a major problem was people borrowing against the value of their home for other purchases. "Home equity lines of credit". People were predicting that their homes would go up in value forever. They said, well, since my home has appreciated by 20%, instead of selling it for that extra 20% and keep the profit, let's borrow that much money to buy some stuff and we will pay that off when we do sell. I think that it is the stupidest thing in the world to borrow against the value of your home. It's like people are scared of getting out of debt and feel better when they owe money than when they don't.

Most people buy a house to live in @wouldn't be prudent - Yes I am a realtor, I think a good one. I am very realistic. I personally think that the market will go down for the next 3 years. and then level off with only moderate gains.

Every buyer who is looking at buying a home is looking for a good deal, sometimes they find the exact thing that they are looking for, and are "Willing to pay the price." I found my house and was willing to pay the price. There are homes selling, but what is interesting is becuase of the national media everybody thinks that becuase a home in Michigan, or Florida, some parts of Tx or Ohio are selling for .35Cents on the dollor, Utah should. It just isn't the case. We are in Utah. Im not one to say that in another 2 3 years we won't be there. I must ask,,, Would you rather rent or buy??? There are benifits to both!

Knowing personally what I have learned in my life being married for 19 years, I would have purchased a small condo vs Renting, Even though my rent was only $200.00 a month. Back in 1990 I would have come out so much ahead. But I am only looking at long term history. Not quick get rich.

Coincidence? @Yocum - I sold my home in October 2006 and had multiple offers. The buyer paid $25k over the asking price. Even at the time, I knew that was unnatural.

Kimmy @Kimmy - Good for you the saying goes .... a sucker born every minute.

I know that I would not pay more than the asking price, I purchased my home this year and did ended up with a great deal.

I am in it for the long haul though and knew going in that I could have got a better deal if I had waited. Given the market and credit crunch it worked out best to have concluded the deal earlier.

Most are still 100 thousand or more over valued That’s minimum, if one considers wages they really haven't gone up that much since 2002 so home prices should be seeking the level they were in 2002 before the speculators came in and started flipping and causing the prices to go up.

well a few things wrong here @gardenofwrath - In the past 8 years the average wage in America has gone down by about $2000.

Homes are not that over valued we have had a substantial growth in new homes, older homes in this valley still tend to be below $200,000.

The average household in Utah makes around $54,000 that means that they should be able to easily afford a $150,000 home and there are plenty of them in this range they are starter homes. With interest rates around 6% someone make that much could afford $200,000 home with 20% down.

$150,000 home? @Serenity_May - Sure they're out there. If you want to live in a place where bullets are flying through your windows at night and gangs are roaming the streets.

And Utah income is still below average compared to the rest of the U.S.

and here is why people are paying way too much for a home @yoyoma - Do a little research West valley has the same if not a lower crime rate that Sugarhouse. Magna has a lower crime rate than most other cities in the salt lake valley.

Yes there are bad areas but if you are that paranoid you should look at the statistics that newer "nicer" communities often have the same crime rates as the surrounding older slum areas. Just because you paid more does not make a house safer.

Utah has a lower income cause the cost of living even now is lower than many other places in the US you cant compare Utah to New york or many other big cities. Yes utahs income is low and housing is a little inflated but the average household can afford many if not most of the homes for sale.

Serenity @Serenity_May - my hat's off to you. You finally posted something I agree with and it is based on good old common sense.

yoyoma @yoyoma - Check the market, there are a ton of 150K homes in good areas, just plan on doing some work because they are short sales!

Serenity... @Serenity_May - Serenity_may more like insanity NOW!

Get a clue... I bought a home in april and could not find anything for less than 200K worth even looking at.

I make more than the utah average by myself, not including my wife's income. Utah is lagging far behind in wages and that is the real issue.

Continue to hide your head in the sand.

Utah does have low wages @wouldn't be prudent - but you have to compare all factors Utah also has low unemployment and a very high part time employment base meaning that skews the data.

I agree that our wages could come up some but there are plenty of houses to buy. We do have a affordable rental housing problem though.

I do make about half what the average US person does in my occupation but I also don't live in a major city.

If I lived in NYC I couldn't even find a 1 bedroom apt for the price I paid for my house that is on nearly a quarter acre.

The reason @Serenity_May - we have a rental housing problem is because home prices are WAY too high. This forces people to rent that can not afford to buy or have other limiting factors.

If I lived in NYC then my wage would easily be double what it is here and I could not affor a home there either.

If our cost of living is so much lower then look at our Energy costs specifically fuel, we are the third or fourth highest consistently!

I don't know where you get your figures from but they are not adding up.

Utah is in for a real wake up call in the next 6 months homes will lose 30% of their current value and possibly more, people flipping them will get bit hard with that reality.

see but fuel wise @wouldn't be prudent - Gas is very high but we pay fractions on what others pay for home heating back east. same for most of our utilities.

Apparently a lot of people in this valley can afford many home cause if not why would anyone stay and buy here.

People really need to buck up and stop complaining about what they can't afford in there current situation houses are not something everyone deserves its not a right its something you earn.

Although home prices are inflated about 20% too high if people still buy them the price will not come down if you want that mini mansion and wont buy a starter home boo hoo for you cause you are going to have to save for that nice house.

I'm A REALTOR The average sales price for homes sold in Salt Lake County over the past 30 days is $283,703 and at least 600 sales took place during that time. Homes are still selling... not like they were but they are still selling.

If you need to sale for whatever reason, there is still a great chance your home will sell if it is priced right.

If you don't need to sell then you might want to hang tight until things improve -- or make up your loss on the next buy since prices are down.

Utahguy. What is the magical number @Utah_Guy - What is the majical # of being priced right? 4% 10%, 20% below an acutal appraisal??? I do feel bad for those who have to sell, not becuase they are loosing their house to the bank, but by a job transfer. My last 5 sales have all been short sales. I have 4 clients who are looking for a short sale becuase they know I can save them 16% up to 50% depending on negotiation skill and meeting with the BPO guy of Market value.

There is no magical number! @Yocum - Pricing propery right means using comparables of recent sales in the neighborhood. Unfortunately short sales and REO properties are comps also so if those sales are taking place in your neighborhood then they should be used.

Realtors and sellers are still in fantasy land when pricing homes today. I'm probaly one of the few Realtors who actually walks away from listing appointments on a regular basis because I refuse to take a listing that I know I can't sell. I am not doing the client nor myself any good by listing a property too high.

An appraiser can't use a short sale or a bank deal as a comp @Utah_Guy - As a realtor, you should know that an appraiser can't use an REO or short sale as a comp. Although the facts are as you are selling your house it will affect value.

300,000 grand? For a cheaply made house?

Hmmm. Interesting.

Wow! 4%! I can buy the house and the can of beans now!

Realtor and Mortgage Broker scam. Keep in mind that each time a house sells there is a 8% to 10% false increase in the value. The increase comes from the realor and financing fees. This is a cummulative increase; meaning that in four turnovers there's a 46% false value in the property. Never believe what a realtor or mortgage broker tells you. They're a big part of the problem with today's over valued housing market.

You're wrong too . . . @Walter1 - Here's something to keep in mind:

There is no such thing as a false increase unless the new buyer is in league with this "conspiracy" you allude to. Here comes the HUGE news for you:

Buyers will pay what they think the home is worth.

Done.

End of story.

That's the beauty of the fair market system. A seller sells a home for more than that home is worth TO THEM. A buyer buys the home for LESS than that home is worth TO THEM. It's a win-win. Otherwise, neither party to the transaction would go through with it.

Realtors are in a position to give you honest feedback from the market. A valuable commodity when BOTH buyers and sellers in this market are being unrealistic.

RE guru @Real Estate Guru - Sometimes, people will buy what they WANT, often regardless of the price, and in the past that has been because of the 'creative' financing available. Don't tell me people never extend themselves beyond what is financially healthy in order to get the house and location they WANT, because that is bull and you know it.

Seems to me the only thing that has dropped a lot as a whole for the entire state is the number of homes being sold not the price.

http://utahrealtors.com/quarterly/qtr208yearly.pdf

That's old data @NJCASH - Wait until after next Thursday when the Q3 numbers are posted. It should match what has been reported in this story.

shhhhhhhhhhhh........... dont let the realtors know this, they are still telling everyone it is a GREAT time to buy.
Just think if you fell for their garbage last year, you would be way down!!!

And to think it is ONLY going to get much worse!!!

At least 25-30% drop from here.


I know, I know, Utah is different, Utah is undervalued, RE is the best investment....Blah, Blah, Blah!!!

However Event with only a 4% decrease on the selling price of homes we are not getting all the information. What this fails to mention is how much house you are getting for the price.

From what I have seen you get a LOT more house for your $$ this year than you did last year.

Lets all keep waiting and watching because we have a long way to go before home prices have finished falling.

It is true... Home values will likely drop more over the next year, I doubt it will drop more than another 10% by the time it is done. Now is a great time to buy for certain people. Interest rates remain low and most prices are at places that people can afford. I have been finding some great deals for people, including myself. I am in the process of buying a home to live in during this market downturn as I feel now is the time to look. There is some bad weather on the horizon, but the media is blowing it out of proportion.

Bottom Line......................... "AMAZING" to me is that there is never a blame posted on the "BUILDERS" that got "stinking rich" over the last few years. Didn't they "INFLATE" the prices just a little???? No matter what- homes in Utah are overpriced compared to the average wage earners income.

Builders @dutchman - There were several builders that struck it rich, but many more who have lost their shirts over the last year. I know at least fifteen builders that have gone out of business because of the price fall. It was a type of necessary evil, but stereotyping 'all' builders into the greed category is not accurate.

You are Dead wrong @UtahsRealEstateSourcedotcom - The builders are as much to blame as the lenders. They overextended themselves, they thought the prosperity would never end. When lending collapsed and the banks and sub-contractors came calling, they had nothing.

I hope they all go under.

Smart business is smart business. The ding dongs that have gone out of business never planed for a rainy day.

I say good riddance...

if you want to paint fingers @Ty S. - lets look at the cities for issuing building permits for mini mansions and little to no starter homes or apartments.

Unscrupulous lenders and dumb buyers Doesn't anyone know why we are in this financial crisis. It has a lot to do with lenders over valuing house prices and dummies taking the bait and buying a house that is 4X more than they can really afford.

Home prices in Utah in a lot of areas were selling for 2X what the market can actually bare.

If you think I am wrong look up the amount of foreclosures in Utah. At one point during the summer we were #1.

Don't blame this on the economy. Utah has one of the lowest un-employment rates in the country.

Blame it on unscrupulous lenders setting up Chip down the street with a 3 year balloon. Guess what Chip the balloon burst and you just lost your 400K house on your 35k income.

Look for house prices to drop a lot more than 10% over the next year or so.

November 5th The market will start to recover on November 5th.

On November 5th our Chicken Little media will stop screaming that the sky is falling and we will get back to business.

Except for the psychological effects of media induced mass hysteria our Utah economy, including real estate, is very solid.

Very Solid? what planet are you living on? Sure homes that price in the area of $300k and beloow may be selling like crazy, but homes above that and even the more expensive homes above $500k are sitting dead and vacant. Neighborhood after neighborhood of dead and vacant homes, some brand new. On my street alone there are homes selling for $650k and the home next to that is selling for $400k and so on through the neighborhood. If that desn't tell you how messed up the housing market is then nothing will.
Very soild, NOT!!

You Can Trust Me On This One @StormyDays123 - The entire market, including houses over 500k will begin to improve the moment the talking heads on our TV news stop telling us the sky is falling.

Utah Following California We always follow California by two years. California barely recovering. We are barely starting to hurt.

Two more bad years ahead for us. Its easy to predict the future. Listen to the past listen to the present, and then draw a line right to the future by connecting the dots.

Utah prices will go down further... especially condos. That is my prediction.

Agreed @John C. - Home prices are still high relative to income. Unless we get more large Fortune 500 companies (corporate jobs, not just call centers and manufacturing) I don't think incomes will rise. In fact, I wonder if average income the past few years was high due to the big $ builders and those in the construction industry were making. That is likely to come down, inflation has been high, tighter credit markets, falling stock market; all this equals lower housing prices for the next few years in UT.

Sylvia I wanted to say I think Sylvia has a very attractive, kind face. Why would anyone say that? It isn't true all all. Sylvia, if you want a true reflection of yourself ask me. You are beautiful and I would pick you as a friend because you are pretty.

John C @John C. - Why thank you very much for your very kind compliment. I'm SO glad that in this post I didn't have to defend myself against ugly personal attacks! I would most likely pick YOU as a friend because you have good judgment! You just made my day, and I appreciate it!

Gotta love all of you that want housing prices to drop For my own selfish reasons, I wouldn't care if they dropped. I'm staying in my home for the next 10-15 years, so lower values would mean cheaper property taxes. The problem with this logic is you need to have movement in the housing market. People need to be able to sell their homes without taking huge loses. There are many reasons people have to sell their homes, i.e. divorce, relocation or job change, and family growth. Having the home price drop 3%-6% isn't a big deal. That is covered by inflation in a few years. But if you get double digit percentage drops, our entire economic outlook changes. Builders won't hire people to build new homes. Banks will lose more money because of short sales or foreclosures. The economy of Utah changes as a result of this. We just need inflation to catch up to the price increase that we had. Wages will then rise to catch up to inflation.

Hopefully everyone that has a home will realize that their home isn't a way to make a quick dollar. You will make your money when you spend the next 30 years paying off the loan and then enjoying the extra money by not having a house payment. If you rent, you don't get that luxury.

I blame everyone for the housing drop Since I can't pay for "my mortgage" and for "My Cars" and "My Boats" and "My credit cards", oh never mind I did that to "Myself." Buy rentals and keep um' thats my advice as a Realtor and yes in my profesional opinion the housing market sucks, don't sell right now but if your in a position to buy there are always good deals to be had. Cheers.