2008 Home Sales for Kaysville UT

Hi Alan, 

I considered buying a particular lot in Farmington about 4-5 years ago which would have cost me around $65K. It was a beautiful piece on a street lined with old sycamores- just about perfect. Today, even in this present market such a lot might be priced at from 2 to 3 times that amount. The fact that houses in that neighborhood bring between perhaps $200K to $300K doesn't seem to enter the minds of today's would-be land profiteers. I'm not buying in the present Utah lot market for the simple reason that I actually want to build a house for myself that will not cost $100K over the market value of  neighboring properties. If I could send a message to landowners wishing to market a lot in Utah,it would be: Any person who buys your ground needs to know that the home he plans for it will fit the neighborhood pattern in style, size and quality, if he wants to protect his investment if/when resale should become necessary. If you are a victim of the insanity that gripped the area a few years ago, I am genuinely sorry you paid so more than you should have for your land. I wouldn't dream of trying to drag you back to the reality of the actual value of your investment: That painful realization will have to be made yourselves and in your own time.For you who are long-time owners I ask you to consider your bloated expectations in light of what a reasonably-built project will actually cost. Unless your customer is an"easy mark" or simultaneously both wealthy AND stupid, he/she will have done their homework on local values and actual expenses and require that you do the same. A fair price treats both buyer AND seller as intelligent humans.The real estate rocket that took off with our wallets in 2004 ran out of fuel a LONG time ago. The inflated prices you have assumed to be the new standard were only supported for a brief time by developers who gambled that they would be able to make back the high land costs with immense houses.Have you checked lately to see how many of these one-coat stucco castles are on the block as short sales or foreclosures? The only thing you lose by following the time-honored formula of Land+ Improvements= Value are phantasies of a time that should never have been and for which we are all now paying Big-time. Thanks for reading. And thanks Alan for letting me state my case.- RG