Photos from John Allaire
View from Ben Lomand Peak (9700') looking south over North Ogden and Ogden 5000' belowLocated in: Ogden, UT
I had the pleasure of representing some awesome, patient buyers who recently closed on a short sale transaction in Utah "only" five months after their original offer was written. I have represented only buyers in short sale transactions, and after many attempts, I can finally say that short sale trasnactions CAN actually close. Having closed only one of 10 short sales transactions, my personal recommendation to buyers looking to purchase a short sale property is to avoid them unless they enjoy waiting for inept, non-responsive mortgage companies to respond (if at all).
Now to the shocking figure in the subject line of this blog entry: As of 2/26/2011, 3427 of the 15,057 homes (22.8%) actively listed on Utah's largest MLS system are short sales. Many buyers and most agents are now well educated on the low odds of getting a short sale transaction over the finish line, so this does not bode well for the housing market, especially the over 3000 Utah homeowners who hope to sell their home as long as lenders continue to drag their feet in responding (if at all) to offers on short sale properties. The odds of a short sale property getting shown to a prospective buyer in the first place is very low, and if the property IS shown AND a buyer likes the property enough to write an offer, the odds are 10% (at best by my estimate) that the buyer will hang in there long enough to wait for a bank negotiator to actually become engaged in the process.
I often wonder why once a bank forecloses on a property and takes over ownership (known as REO, "Real Estate Owned" property) that same lender is suddenly able to respond to an offer within days vs months? Are we as real estate agents and the general public really getting the straight scoop regarding short sales? Does anyone else wonder if there may be an incentive for mortgage companies to drag out short sales, forcing many homeowners into foreclosure? Comments are welcome!
The data below provide monthly single family home sales data from our local MLS system for 2000 through 11/26/2010.
During the five year 2000-2004 period, sales volume doubled between 2000 (50) and 2004 (100), as Utah and the Ogden Valley were discovered by out of state buyers, helped by the 2002 Olympics. Even with this volume increase, pricing remained stable, and a baseline was established, with an annual range of $80 to $90/FT2.
Volume peaked in 2005 at 115 homes sold. Between demand and reduced inventory, prices really started heading up at this point. 2006 - 2008 saw significant price appreciation, with homes selling in the $140-160/FT2 range. Note that sales volume declined each of these years.
Looking back to my July 2009 blog post, I called the bottom of the market. At that point, our average through mid-2009 was $91.64/FT2, and we climbed from there, ended 2009 at an average $100/FT2.
As I have said before, although $/FT2 is not a perfect measure, it provides a good view of the market overall, and helps identify trends. A large percentage of our single family home sales continue to be distressed properties, meaning many are short sales, REO or bank-owned properties continue to drive the overall market. In spite of this, the Ogden Valley market continues to absorb these distressed sales, and prices have held up well since 2009, and more recent sales data shows that our market has begun to firm up from the mid-2009 levels.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can answer any questions or provide assistance with the sale or purchase of Ogden Valley and Northern Utah real estate.
YEAR HOMES SOLD AVG SALES PRICE AVG SQ FT AVG $/SQ FT
2000 50 $301,849 2,897 $88.95
2001 56 $226,303 2,902 $79.13
2002 74 $248,568 2,878 $83.21
2003 87 $256,575 3,081 $83.35
2004 100 $266,801 2,966 $88.59
2005 115 $391,378 3,502 $112.25
2006 81 $454,620 3,001 $151.54
2007 63 $445,401 2,980 $145.71
2008 48 $552,998 2,839 $162.91
2009 61 $343,258 3,397 $100.36
*2010 60 $379,250 2,689 $107.76
Through 11/26/2010
Thanks,
John Allaire
Prudential Utah Real Estate - Eden
When comparing Upper Ogden Valley single family home sales transactions for the first two quarters of 2010 vs the same period in 2009, it appears our local market is continuing to form a baseline and may be starting to show signs of life and appreciation after many challenging quarters.
Below are statistics pulled from the Wasatch Front MLS comparing volume, price and price per square foot data for single family home transactions for the first half of 2009 and 2010. Sales volume improved from 16 to 35 untis (+119%) and average cost/square foot increased from $98.29 to $109.82 (+12%). The inventory of homes currently listed remains high, however.
Please feel free to contact me for more information.
John Allaire
Prudential Utah Real Estate - Eden
John@RockyMountainHomes.net
RockyMountainHomes.net
801-745-2619
Month
Qualifying Weber County residents can now receive down payment assistance. Home buyers with maximum household income of $38,550 (one person) or $75,700 (eight people in household) may be able to qualify for $5000 down payment assistance with this program. The purchase price of the home must be $180,000 or less, and the home must be in Weber County, Utah, but cannot be within Ogden City limits.
Funding has been provided to assist up to 45 families. Contact myself or The Weber Housing Authority at 801-399-8691 for more information.
John Allaire
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Good news. Congress has passed a bill that extends the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010. Please understand this applies only to real estate transactions with ratified contracts in place as of April 30th, 2010 that have not yet closed. Previously, contracts had to close by June 30th, 2010.
John Allaire
Prudential Utah Real Estate - Eden Utah
John@RockyMountainHomes.net
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Northern UT residential & recreational specialist. Eden,Huntsville,Liberty,Powder Mountain,Snowbasin,Pineview,Monte Cristo,Causey. Residential,camping & hunting property, cabins, 2nd / vacation homes.
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