Logan_Utah_Real_Estate_ Cache_Valley_Homes_for_Sale

I saw tow articles this last week about the education system in Utah. The first said, "No shock: We're last in Per-Pupil Spending." The second said," Utah scores high in literacy."

As I read the first articles I found out the sure enough Utah is the 50^th state in spending per student in public education. They spend less then $6,000 per student per year. The national average is $9,963.

Then I read the second article that says Utah is 5% higher then the national average of adults (anyone over 16) that can read. 92% of Utah's can read while 14.7% percent of the national population lack basic literacy skills.

Do these two articles mean anything? How is it that a state that spends so much less gets so much more out of its students? Could it be that when there is less money to spend it is used wiser? Or maybe it has nothing to do with the school system and more to do with the culture. What do you think? What is it like in your state, and what can we do to become a more educated nation?

Johnnie Rosser

RE/MAX Excel

UThomelist.com

I was comparing 2008 4^th quarter sales to the 4^th quarter sales in 2007 in Cache County, Utah. I was surprised to see that the Average Sale Price only dropped 1.16%. I thought it would have been a larger drop then that.

I think we will continue to see the average price drop at about the same rate going into the 1^st and 2^nd quarters of 2009. There were 20.8% fewer homes sold and the days on the market were 48% higher, 60 days in '07 to 89 days in ‘08.

The good news is that the number of new homes coming up for sale is also down. I think by the end of the 2^nd quarter we should have a better balance between buyers and sellers and home prices will stabilize. We might even see a slight increase in prices by the end of 2009.

If you are thinking of buying a home in the Logan, Utah area this year, I think you will get the best deal if you buy before April or May.

I would be happy to show you the homes for sale in Cache Valley and help you get the best deal possible.

Johnnie Rosser

RE/MAX Excel

UThomelist.com

I received the Providence City news letter this week. One part of the Mayors Message was wonderful to read. It said," You may have read about how cities across the country are facing serious financial problems. Providence City is not one of them. This year's budget was created in anticipation of reduced revenues and we are operation within that budget. We are also monitoring revenues closely so if there is an unanticipated shortfall, we can react quickly".

Many of us have had to make cut backs and curb our spending as our incomes has decreased. It seems many cities, states and the federal governments don't seem to understand that concept. It looks like Providence, Utah does understand that you can't spend money you don't have without getting into financial trouble.

If you are thinking of buying a home in Cache Valley, Providence would be a good place to buy. Home prices in Providence are a little higher than other parts of Cache Valley, but I think the little bit higher price is worth it.

If you are looking to buy a home in Cache Valley, or know someone who is, I would be happy to show you the homes for sale in Providence.

Thanks

Johnnie Rosser

RE/MAX Excel

UThomelist.com

31 17
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL
New Orleans - Jan. 2, 2009

What do you do when there is only one school in the county that is undefeated, but they have no chance at a national title? Florida and Oklahoma will play for the national title, but they both have one loss. Is that fair? Should there be a split National Champion this year. I say a Espn poll befroe the game that said 89% of those who voted thought Alabama would win. I'm sure many were surprised to see how good Utah was. TCU and New Mexico both played Utah better then Alabama did. Was Alabama way over rated (they were raked #1 for 5 weeks this year), or was Utah just really good.

Without a playoff we will never know how good Utah is. I would love to see them play USC, Oklahoma, or Florida just to see how they could do.

Too bad we are stuck with the BCS.

I was nominated for the Good Neighbor Award in the Cach-Rich Association of Realtors®. The person that nominated me asked if I would write a letter explaining how I got involved with the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation and what I do. This is the letter I wrote. I thought some of you might like to see it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

When my son, Bennett, was born in 2003 with Down Syndrome we found that there was no support system from other families with Down Syndrome children in Logan. Through the Up 2-3 (the early intervention program at Utah State University) we were able to meet two other families with sons about the same age as ours. We started getting together once a month to let our kids play and we talked about what we were going through. When we would hear about another child with Downs we would invite their family to join in our play group. We liked to have treats, and do activities, but we didn't have any funding. In 2006 I started donating a little to the group each time I had a closing.

In 2006 we found out about the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation. They had a chapter in Cache Valley years ago, but it had been dissolved. One of the mothers in our group contacted the UDSF president and we restarted the Cache County Chapter of the UDSF. Maria Leishman is the President, and I am the Treasurer.

The UDSF has a few state wide activities during the year at Hoogle Zoo and Lagoon. The Cache Valley group continues to meet once a month and go to places like Cache Valley fun Park and the Willow park zoo. We have an Easter egg hunt, Christmas party and a Buddy Walk fundraiser. We also have a float in many of the parades in the Cache Valley. My favorite is the 4^th of July parade in Hyrum.

The group gives a gift basket to the new mother at the hospital each time a baby with Down syndrome is born. It contains information that we have found helpful, a book about children with Down syndrome and the information for the early intervention program. It also has our names and phone numbers so if the new parents have questions they can call us at any time.

Although we receive some funding from the UDSF and we make some for our Buddy Walk Fundraiser, I have continued to donate to the group from each closing to help pay for our activities. My wife Ashley and I send out by-monthly newsletters letting all the families in the Valley know about up coming activities. We send out about 40 newsletters, and between 8 and 12 families come to the activities. This year for the first time I organized a Father and Son day out. We went to a USU football game as a group. We hope to make this an annual activity.

People with Down syndrome are amazing, but when our son was born we felt like we were alone and nobody knew what we were going through. We started our group so new parents of children with Down syndrome will know that they have a support system of other parents that have gone through what they are dealing with.

Thanks for you support.

Johnnie Rosser

RE/MAX Excel

www.Uthomelist.com