Building Homes From Shipping Containers
Utah Homes could stand a change in price, design. size efficiency, and a host of other alterations. I don't think the following post from "bring a blog" is on the horizon however.
Can you imagine one of these 2 story homes being built in Bountiful, in Davis County. How about a condo project for housing around BYU in Utah County. (well maybe).
In any event when I read this, I thought you could have some real fun thinking about where in Utah this new home concept would turn up first.
More than 18 million freight containers make 200 million trips per year, moving the world's goods from port-to-port. It's system that's been in place for 50 years.
But ever since a California architect used the containers to build the world's first Uniform Building Code-compliant 2-story home, the boxes have been on the fringe of the Green Home Movement.
Look at these few examples container-based housing from around the world:
Shipping containers are popular among architects because they're cheap, plentiful, and easily shaped into designs. They're popular among consumers for their small eco-footprint.
They'll likely never replace traditional building materials, but shipping container homes should become more commonplace over the next decade.
To see thousands of real Utah homes for sale, visit our website @ Utah Homes For Sale and receive photos, maps, prices and directions to over 10,00 homes for sale in Utah.
Or call us at 435-840-5029. We'd love to talk about Utah homes in a box.
Home Affordability Increases On Weak Retail Sales Data
Utah 
Home affordability improved again Wednesday after the government reported worse-than-expected results for April's Retail Sales.
In Utah, Mortgage rates edged lower for the third consecutive day.
The impetus for the rate rally this week may be a long-awaited stock market correction. After touching multi-year lows in mid-March, the Dow Jones added 30 percent going into last Friday.
It has since lost close to 300 points and as those dollars leave the stock market, they're finding their way toward bonds.
The demand is pushing bond prices up which, in turn, causes rates to fall.
Yesterday morning, the Utah rally in rates picked up steam on the heels of April's Retail Sales report. With figures off a half-percent from March and roughly 7 percent from 2008, investors are concerned that consumer spending may not be as strong into the summer months as previously expected.
Consumer spending is important because it comprises two-thirds of the economy and is believed to be the way out of the current recession. Spending in Utah, particularly in the major population areas like Salt Lake, Utah, and Davis counties remains fairly constant and indicate the strength of the Utah Market.
If expectations of a recovery caused mortgage rates to rise recently, it makes sense that a revision of those expectations would cause rates to fall.
So you had better be prepared to make your move if you are looking to buy a new home in Utah, and want to take advantage of all of the incentives available.
Markets are fickle, however, and the slightest bit of "good news" could pump cash back into stocks at the expense of bonds. Until then, however, enjoy the low rates -- they may not last long.
In the meantime, if you are preparing to search for a Utah home, check out our home search page on our web site. You will have access to almost all of the MLS listings in the State of Utah.
Presidents Message:
Chris Sloan:
Each week in my capacity as President of the Utah Association of Realtors I publish an Article in the Salt Lake Tribune about Utah Real Estate, the housing market in Utah, or sometimes even "tips on buying a home in Utah". I usually share it with you on my blog. This weeks article will give you a glimpse into the heads of a few national economists and expose you to some of the folks that make a living forecasting what will happen and analyzing what is happening now and what that means to all of us interested in Utah Real Estate.
This week it's GOOD NEWS !
Over the past month, several indicators have signaled the nation's economy may begin to turn around in the second part of the year.
Just this week, reports showed a surge in U.S. consumer confidence, a reduction in new home inventory and a flattening of new home sales.
That's why it was no surprise when economists who spoke at the National Association of Home Builders' Construction Forecast Conference said there are reasons to be optimistic about the U.S. economy and the housing market. The conference, which takes place every six months, featured presentations from some of the most prominent economists in the U.S., including representatives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FDIC and Moody's Economy.com.
The underlying theme of the conference was that there are reasons for optimism, although those reasons varied from economist to economist. Some of the reasons most often cited were the low mortgage interest rates, the federal stimulus, Federal Reserve actions, pent-up demand for housing, a reduction in inventory and an overall improvement in housing affordability. "I think we're going to pull out of this thing in the second part of the year," said Maury Harris, chief U.S. economist and managing director of UBS, who cautioned that the recovery would be a gradual one with GDP growth in the 2 percent range for the second half of 2009 and in 2010.
In terms of national housing sales, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, said we have already hit the bottom, which he believes was in the first quarter of this year. Sales of new single-family homes are also expected to have hit their low point in the first quarter, said David Crow, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders.
Although it's too soon to tell when the bottom will be for Utah home sales, in particular, anecdotal reports seem to suggest Utah sales may be near the low point as well. Over the past few weeks, Realtors throughout Utah have reported they are seeing the most activity they've seen in more than a year.
Zandi's forecast for a bottom in U.S. home prices will take a little more time, stabilizing in December and remaining flat in 2010, he said. Harris similarly stated that he expected to see a bottom in home prices at the end of the year.
The return to affordability, however, will inevitably prop up the market. "The inflated conditions of the housing market are really behind us," said Jim Glassman of JP Morgan. "Prices, relative to affordability, are [now] kind of where they've always been." Glassman said that will bring buyers back into the market because as prices become affordable, people want to own, especially because of the government ownership incentives like the mortgage interest and property tax deductions.
It could, however, take longer for the jobs market to rebound. Zandi is forecasting the unemployment rate won't peak until about a year from now, and there are signs that the U.S. will continue to lose jobs until early 2010, although the losses will be at a slower pace, said Crow. Because rising unemployment is a negative factor for home sales, Harris explains how home sales can begin rising if people are losing their jobs. "Housing is a leading indicator. It leads you into recessions; it leads you out of recessions," he said. "And the home sales always turn up before unemployment peaks" because of other factors like lower interest rates.
Harris also pointed out that only a small percentage of the population has to enter the housing market in order to see gains. In fact, that improvement is already starting to happen. "What you're seeing play out in the market is a belief that we are in the middle of a transition," Glassman said. "We're sliding from a very steep decline to stability, and I think by fall that we'll be pretty confident that we're on the road ... and this will be behind us pretty soon."
I hope you have enjoyed todays article and have gained a modest understanding of the many factors that will help make up the Utah Housing Recovery.
If you have any questions about Real Estate in Utah, give us a call @ 435-840-5029.
To catch up on past articles about Utah Real Estate check out our blog, @ Utah Stuff.
See you next week.
It's a bit of a play day here today. We are spending the day at Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. It's rainy and 60 degrees.
That's probably the extent of the weather reporting you'll get from me this week.
As has become my custom the last 2 years, my intent is to write to you daily regarding what's taking place at the National Association of Realtors mid year meetings. (NAR).
For those of you that are here, hit the delete key. For those that are not, I'll attempt to get some of the info to you as best I can. Then hit the delete key.
As most of you know, I'm a politics junkie. But, what you may not know is that before that, I was a history junkie, and I remain so today. So, this is Mecca to me.
I've been reading alot of biographys of late, and as I was flying here yesterday, I was watching the Sunday talk shows and some of the History Channel shows. Both types of programs happened to be talking about Leadership, in some form or another.
Democrats criticizing the Republicans, Republican ripping the Democrats. Liberal, Conservative, Right Wing, Left Wing, everyone criticizing the leadership of someone else. As I found myself starting to fall into the trap of thinking that they must all suck, it occurred to me that we have it all wrong.
In point of fact, we've never had a President, Senator, Congressman, Governor that was a bad leader. We've had some that have made bad decisions, or have done things that run counter to what we would like. Does that make them a bad leader? Nope. Just makes them human. As leaders, we are all subject to a case of human-ness every now and then. But, when you think about it, we all were elected because enough people thought well enough of our potential to cast that vote, mostly on faith. We've made good decisions, or bad, or more likely, both.
That's the case here in DC as well. I'm spending the day at the home of perhaps our most reverred leader. Did you know he actually lost alot more battles than he won? The difference is that he won the ones that mattered, and he didn't quit. So, I guess the moral, is stick to your guns!
I hope you all have a great week, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the BOD meeting in a couple weeks.
If you have any questions about what's going on back here, let me know. Question for your Senators or Congressmen? Meeting with them Wednesday. Let me know. Happy Monday to you all!
Chris
Chris Sloan
Branch Broker
Group 1 Real Estate
tooelehomes4sale.com
(435)840-5031
With Mortgage Rates, You Can't Shop For Good Luck
After a series of increases starting April 30, mortgage rates in Utah finally took a dip Monday. It was a welcome surprise for Utah home buyers that went under contract over the weekend.
Same for homeowners looking to pull the refinance trigger.
Versus mortgage rates on Friday afternoon, many local SLC lenders were already showing lower rates Monday morning before a late-afternoon rate sheet reprice went even lower.
The drop in UT rates lowered annual mortgage payments by roughly $180 per $100,000 borrowed.
Rate dips like this aren't expected, of course, bringing us to the one of the most important axioms of shopping for a mortgage rate: You can't shop for good luck. Even in Utah. This is because mortgage rates are inherently unpredictable.
Occasionally, there are days when rates are all three.
Monday's rate dip, though -- while sharp -- may not last. Early this morning, markets were pressuring mortgage rates to rise and lenders are often quick to pass rate hikes on to consumers.
With a little bit of luck, you'll get your rate locked in before it changes for the worse.
Just as you start shopping early for a home to buy, you should select your loan officer and shop Mortgages to finance that home.
Let us know if you need help with that. We have a number of lenders that we work with. We would be confident in their recommendation.
To check us out stop by our website at All About Utah Real Estate to begin your search for a home and a lender.
Then give us a call @ 435-840-5031, We can talk about Utah Mortgage Rates and why it's not about luck.
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