Tony Fantis, Realtor , Principal Broker - Salt Lake City

Nestled near the Harvard/Yale & Yalecrest neighborhoods in Salt Lake City is a little gem known affectionately as 15th & 15th. (view on map) Right in the middle of one of Salt Lake's most popular neighborhoods you'll find a hot little neighborhood cultural center. It's full of some of my favorite restaurants and one of the best book stores in town.

Restaurants & Sips

Paris - This is a favorite of mine at which to treat professionals relocating to Salt Lake City. Sure, there are plenty of restaurants in town with good food...a welcome change from 15 years ago. But Paris has excellent food and even better service. During the summer there's a delightful outdoor patio (a theme in this neighborhood).

Mazza - Dive into the Middle East at Mazza. This little gem was the winner of Salt Lake Magazine's award for "Best Middle Eastern Restaurant" for three years in a row! One can often find some fresh specials made from scratch by hand! If you're interested, you can also find some wine & beer imports from the Middle East to round out the dinner. Smack in the middle of the 15th & 15th neighborhood!

Fresco - Blink and you'll miss it...you'll find Fressco on the same block as all the others on the east side of the street. The restaurant focuses on simplicity of environment coupled with great food and a wonderful dining experience.

Einstein's Bagels - Everybody eats bagels, right? A great stop for some quick breakfast, a nice sandwich, and some very yummy orange juice.

Starbucks - Yes, there is a Starbucks here, too. I once slammed my finger in my car door while showing houses, and Starbucks gave me a bag of ice. Thanks! What would 15th & 15th, or any neighborhood for that matter, be without a Starbucks?

And much, much more...

There's also an excellent book store, "The King's English" located on this block. Don't leave out the salon and two art galleries. Did I miss anything?

Real Estate

Homes in the 15th & 15th area currently range from $200-$600k, with the majority of real estate landing comfortably in the $350-$450k range. Stlyes range from bungalows and tudors to rambler and modern.

Sales in the 15th & 15th area have increased 70% over the first quarter of 2009. While sales have not returned to the record levels of several years ago, this area escaped the downturn relatively unscathed. Most homes maintained value or loss less than 10% of their value in the last two years. And prices are on the rise again!

You can search the 15th & 15th neighborhood homes for sale at Saltyhomes.com.

You can play the housing market just like the stock market. But do you really want to?

There's one sure-fire way to know when the market has hit bottom. It works every time, and it is the method that most people use. It has always been this way and always will be. Are you ready?

Wait for the market to go back up. That's right, most people wait for prices to go up before they buy. It's the only way to know that a recovery has begun.

Smart investors don't wait for the graph to begin to rise. Their goal is to get in while the prices are still low. They use many, many methods but the bottom line is they don't wait until it's too late to get into the game.

Of course, if you're buying for a long term investment, just about any time is a good time to buy. There has never been a 10 year period in which real estate was worth less than someone had paid for it.

If you're looking to buy real estate in Salt Lake City, Utah...now is an excellent time to jump in. As you can see in this graph from "The Fantis Report," inventory is high and sales are low. It is a great opportunity for bargain shopping, in most cases. Every market is different. Remember, there are markets within markets. Be sure to consult with your local real estate expert before jumping in.

Last year, more than 400,000 Realtors didn't sell a single home. That's a lot. And in my home state of Utah surrounding Salt Lake City, the average Realtor sold 1.3 homes. What is going on?

Put simply, there are too many Realtors. It's too easy to get a license. It takes less time to get a real estate license than to be licensed to cut hair. Both are important jobs. One is under-regulated.

So if the states won't make adequate licensing requirements for agents, then it falls on the Realtor organization. Now I'll likely get some hate mail for this, but let me be the first to say I'd pay triple my Realtor dues in order to flush out non-producing agents.

It is NOT a benefit to consumers to have 400,000 Realtors roaming around with no experience. Sure, there will always be new people involved. But for now we're diluting a product and devaluing our profession.

By increasing our dues, we can provide better training to Realtors and more value to consumers. People who cannot afford it will have to drop out. Survival of the fittest...just like any other business.

I volunteer to pay triple my dues for 2009. Anyone else wanna pony up? Any other solutions or suggestions?

Now we've done it.

The number of listings in Salt Lake County for the 1st quarter of 2008 was the highest we've seen in the last ten years. Generally speaking, that means LOTS of people are selling, or at least trying to sell.

Are you sitting down?

The number of sales for the same time period was at a 10 year low. That's right, we've had the fewest number of buyers we've had in a long, long time.

What does this mean?

It is perhaps too soon to tell, but the disparity in the numbers has never been greater for as long as we've been tracking them electronically with the MLS for Salt Lake County. But unless buyers come out in droves this spring, it will be a clear buyer's market. Will there be price slashes beyond belief? Doubtful. Few sellers in Salt Lake County truly have to sell. Many just want to sell.

The fire hose effect.

With the youngest population of any state, excellent job growth, low unemployment, and record setting in-migration...Utah is poised to lead the country in growth for what has been estimated by many to be the next 15-20 years. Imagine a virtual fire hose of new buyers flooding the market at all times. Now imagine that hose getting partially clogged. Pretty soon that hose begins to bulge (remember the cartoon images?) until it is ready to burst. It will happen. It's just a matter of time.

Brace for impact.

Thinking of selling? You may want to get it on the market NOW. With growing inventory and record low buyer numbers, prices are going to slide down considerably this spring if the trend continues. If you have no immediate need to sell, hang on to your property. It's value will return soon enough!