Salt Lake Home Values - Bucking The National Trend

Almost daily we see news articles on the sagging real estate market throughout the country. MSNBC reports that March sales plunged by the largest amount in 18 years, the Deseret News carried an Associated Press article warning that the "seasonally adjusted rate dropped 3.9% dimming hopes for a rebound in the troubled housing market and raising fears about the health of the economy", another MSNBC article warns us as the Housing market enters season of reckoning. And that "things seem to be snowballing very quickly".

In my daily conversations with clients and prospects I get concerned questions about our Salt Lake Real Estate market. Should they wait to sell their home or should they hold off buying a new home in hopes that prices will drop? How do we answer these questions?

Well, I kind of feel like David taking on Goliath. I'm refuting the national press and trying to convince clients that we are not the national market. What are the three most important words in Real Estate? All together now...Location.Location.Location. Yes, it's good to be informed about what is happening on the national home sales market. But, then we compare the national market to our local market to make a more informed decision. So, what is happening with home sales in our Salt Lake county real estate market.

In these related posts (Bluffdale, Herriman, & Riverton lead Salt Lake County in 2006 Home Values, Salt Lake Market forecasted among the best of the best, Salt Lake City Housing Market Report - 1st Qtr 2007 and Utah Home Prices Rank Highest Increase in 2006) you can see what is happening by city so I'm not going to repeat those here. Let's focus on Salt Lake County as a whole.

Comparing March 2007 to March 2006 the number of homes sold declined by 11% which is pretty consistent with nationwide reports. But, where other markets have decreased in price the Salt Lake County had an average increase in home values of 23.76%. And though the number of homes sold declined the average days on market only increased by 5% to 39 days. Compare that with the 2005 days on market of 61.

So what does that tell us about our market compared to the national market and whether we should buy or sell our home now or wait?

We still need a little more information. Look at the state our local economy. The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported that Utah continues to hover near its record low 2.3% unemployment levels. It also reports that the national level of 4.4% is considered to be at "full employment". So really anyone who wants a job in Utah can work. And the Governors Office of Economic Development reports that Utah is one of the fastest growing states in the nation in job growth as well as population growth.

So does this all lead us to buy and sell now or wait? My advice to clients and prospects is this. If you're an investor looking to flip an investment with a short term, I'd be cautious. But if you're a home owner I think this is a great time to buy. Home values in Utah will not go down. We were flat for almost 10 years and have only seen a correction up in the last 2 years. Our economy is strong! In-migration is strong! And though the number of sales has declined over last year, prices are increasing at double-digit rates. Will that continue, not likely. But it will continue at more moderate levels of 5-10% annually.

Yes, now is the time to buy or sell. Visit us at www.SaltLakespeaks.com.