St. George Utah Real Estate Video Blog with Jeremy Larkin

The Truth About Selling Your Home During The Holidays

Want to see which St. George area homes are currently for sale? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You can always call us at (435) 215-4533 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today's blog comes to you from Elk Grove, California, where I was visiting family for the Holidays! We hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving, and we wanted to take the time today to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as well!

Today, we want to debunk the common myth that the holidays are a “bad time” to sell your home. Real estate agents love to say, "There are 20 AMAZING reasons why you should sell your home during the holidays!" I don't find that to be very helpful. Rather, I'm going to run through some of the pros and cons of selling during this time.

Economics 101

Remember your sophomore year High School economics class? Selling your home is all about supply and demand. Lots of supply and little demand pushes prices down, while low supply and high demand push prices up. It goes without saying that everyone wants the highest price for their St. George home.

Truth 1: There are indeed FEWER BUYERS out in December. Of course there are, it’s Christmas! But….

Truth #2: There are also fewer homes FOR SALE, meaning the supply is low…meaning that competition is low. This is illustrated by comparing last December, when 165 new homes hit the market, to last January, when 423 listings hit the market. 3 times as many families put their home on the market in January as in December…all waiting until “after the Holidays”….thus creating a much more “cluttered” St. George real estate market in January than was experienced in December.

Holiday buyers are serious - they're not taking time away from Christmas shopping to look at homes for fun. They NEED to do it.

If you want to put your home on the market to take advantage of those buyers, but have concern about being hassled showing it during the Holidays, remember that

You have complete control over when your home is shown - so we recommend you isolate and restrict showings on specific dates or times, like December 24-26 for instance. If you have family gatherings or events, tell us and we'll work around your schedule.

Having your home on the market during the holidays isn't the end of the world, and it could even be a great thing for you because of the lack of competition.

Also, if you decide that now is the right time to sell, check out our blog post on 10 Steps to the Best Decorated Home for the Holidays!

If you're looking to make a move in St. George, would like to discuss your options, or have any general real estate questions, don't hesitate to give us a call at (435) 215-4533 or shoot us an email at LarkinGroup@GoStGeorge.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Is it "Now or Never" for St. George Real Estate Market?

The Clock's Ticking...Now May Be the Time to Make Your Move!

Is it a "now or never" type of market here in St. George? It sounds dramatic, but there are a few changes we may see soon that could knock many St. George area Home Buyers and Seller right out of the market for a very long time...if not forever!

CONSIDER THIS:

Interest rates are currently close to historic lows, hanging around 4.5%. If they go up 1%...just one point, a Buyer's purchasing power is DECREASED by a full 10%! For example, if you're trying to buy a $200,000 home, and rates jump just 1 point to 5.5%, you're buying power drops to $180,000. That's 10% of your buying power gone...obliterated...vanished like it was never there!

If, for instance, you were having trouble finding that perfect home for $200,000, think how hard it will be to find one for $180,000. That one point increase in interest rates can drastically change the whole buying process and make you settle for less.

And it’s not just gonna affect BUYERS. Sellers need to understand that this effect on Buyers will hurt their ability sell their property as well!

If you are on the fence about entering the real estate market, take the fact that interest rates are expected to rise as early as winter 2014/2015, and "they" have been saying they would rise at any moment for over a year!

By waiting to make a move, you could cost yourself a lot of money...and perhaps the ability to buy or sell AT ALL for the near future.

GET YOUR FREE APPRAISAL:

Our friends Brad Shutterfield and Patriot Mortgage have offered to give our clients a free appraisal at a $450 value to help them take advantage of this opportunity. Just REPLY TO THIS EMAIL and let us know you'd like us to connect you and the free appraisal is yours!

We're serious folks, it's opportunity time. Reply by email or give us a call with your personal burning real estate questions. Take care!

Is St. George in a BUYER, or SELLER’s market?

As we approach the end of the summer, the weather continues to be hot, but what did you expect?! To distract you from the heat, here’s a brief but POWERFUL update on what's going on with St. George real estate. The first thing we want to talk about is sales data and how that determines whether we are in a BUYER, SELLER, or NUETRAL real estate market.

Some fun facts:

Since Jan. 1, 2014, our MLS records indicate that Washington County has seen approximately 263 sales per month which equates to about 1800 home sales through July.

BUT WAIT!.....THERE’S MORE! (cue the infomercial music….)

With every sale, there are actually TWO parties – both a Buyer and Seller, so every single St. George real estate transaction is actually TWO transactions! Following that theory, there have been more like 3600 families/Investors/businesses buy or sell Washington County Real Estate in Washington County this year!

BUT WAIT….THERE’S EVEN MORE!!!!

When you multiply those figures by the average sales price of $252,000 in Washington County, you can see that A LOT of money is moving around this real estate market.

What you need to know:

· The average # of days to sell a home to date 2014: 110 days, or just under 4 months (depending on your area and the Agent you’re working with)

· Overall, most folks are selling their homes for 95-99% of their full asking price (again, depending on area and your Agent) for their home – that ain’t bad!

· There is approximately 6.1 months of housing inventory available in Washington County.

So is this a BUYER, SELLER or NEUTRAL market?

St. George is currently in a healthy, neutral market, based on this rule of thumb:

· 1-3 months inventory: Seller’s market

· 4-6 months inventory: Neutral market

· 7+ mos inventory: Buyer’s market

Not a lot of movement up or down in St. George home values. And that is OK as it will ultimately benefit buyers and sellers as the market stabilizes.

Remember this is still specific to YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

If you would like to take a look at all of the data I’ve shared and more, feel free to visit our website, www.SoldinStGeorge.com and click on the "our market" link for all of the latest statistics. If you’re a real estate numbers “nerd”, you’ll be glad you did!

We have so much more information for you to see. For right now, we have got a healthy, neutral market and in coming videos, we will let you know what to expect in terms of rumor of the real estate market crashing again – STAY TUNED.

Our contact info as always, (435) 215-4333 or email us:larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

What are St. George Homes Worth per Square Foot?

There are many great St. George area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (435) 215-4533 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What are St. George Homes Worth per Square Foot?

Today we are going to answer a question and discuss an issue that always comes up…and we DO mean ALWAYS! What is your house worth per square foot?

The challenge of this question is that it's the WRONG question It's like asking, “how much do cars cost?” Well…..there are questions you need to answer first, like: Which car? What year? What model? What upgrades? There are too many variables to just give you a short answer of "what cars cost."

The same thing happens with attempting to come up with blanket pricing per square foot on a home. When you are only analyzing a home in terms of its price per square foot, you might miss some of the details that a home has that makes it worth more or less per square foot. Age, location, view, # of levels, # of garage bays, pool?, etc, etc, etc.

If you look at a list of St. George area homes that are all priced for $100 per square foot and find another home that's the same size but priced at $120 per square foot, you are going to wonder why it costs so much more. In all actuality, you may be getting a better deal on the SECOND property due to extra features in the home.

So, just how much variety exists in St. George home values in terms of pricing per square foot?

Well, since January 1st of this year, the lowest priced single-family home sale in terms of price per square foot, was $39, located in Hurricane City. On the other hand, an incredibly unique home in downtown Springdale was sold for a whopping $745 per SF! How could a home sell for that much more, when they are both single family dwellings?

Well, the home that was priced at $745 is located in Springdale on 20 acres right near Zion National Park. Essentially a one of a kind, impossible to replace, incredibly located property. You can't compare a small, rural home in Hurricane Valley to a landmark property in Springdale and ask why one is so much more expensive than the other. You have to look at much more than the price per square footage to determine the true value of a home.

Is there a time when price per SF can be used to determine your home’s value?

Yes. If you live in a very standardized townhome community or even a single family home community with homes of very similar size, age, finishes, AND a consistent ownership demographic, price per SF can be anywhere from “fairly” to “incredibly” accurate. Just remember that subtle differences – often those you can’t see inside your neighbor’s home, can create massive differences in value.

If you’re wondering about your own home’s value – whether it be to SELL it, or “just because”, please don’t be shy about reaching out to us by phone or e-mail so we can prepare a “Pin-Point Pricing Analysis” for you. If you’d prefer to just do the whole “free info” on the internet thing, check out our instant home value generator to see what your home might sell for in 51 seconds or less! www.DixieHomeValue.com

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

Washington County New Home Construction: Heading for BOOM or BUST?

There are many great St. George area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (435) 215-4533 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Washington County New Home Construction: Heading for BOOM or BUST?

Welcome! Today on GoStGeorgeTV I’ve got my hard hat on because:

We’re going to be talking about the recent construction boom here in Washington County.
And I believe (obviously) in a “Safety First” philosophy.

I will walk you through this subject and let you know what to expect in the near future as a result of this rise in home construction

So, who is building all these homes? As of May, the top Builders shook up as follows:

Salisbury Homes is the leader pulling 41 building permits totaling 7 million dollars.
Henry Walker Homes – 34 permits
Ence Homes – 30 permits
Sunriver St. George – 19 permits
And New Trend Construction pulled 15 permits as of the date of this video.

What people really want to know is if this BOOM is going to BUST, and after the events of the most recent economic meltdown, it’s a valid question! Here are my thoughts:

No, this building boom is not out of control. Note that the total # of building permits pulled in 2013, (1600), is less than HALF of the total # pulled in the “Boom” of 2005 when a whopping 3500 permits were pulled. As a matter of fact, in 2009 85% fewer permits were pulled than 2005, that’s almost a 100% decrease! This is a healthy return to the construction industry based on cooped up demand for new homes.

The real question here is can this level of construction be sustained?

While I do not believe that we will have a big home construction decline, I predict that 6 months from now there will be quite a few builders who will regret building those last few spec homes, left holding the proverbial “bag”.
This will likely result in having to sell those homes for a lower price than they had hoped.
I also predict that the building market will slow down soon due to a decline in housing affordability. NOTE – I did NOT say that the entire market will necessarily slow down, simply that the dramatic increases in new construction costs will price Buyers out of NEW HOMES.

If you have any more questions, feel free to call or e-mail us with anything Also, don’t forget to utilize our FREE MLS home search and home value report links on our website. And our full, detailed St. George Real Estate report is always available 24/7 so you can be the smartest kid on the block! Check it out here: St. George, Utah Real Estate Report

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

St. George Real Estate Sales dip…should you panic?

St. George Real Estate Market Update

For this month’s Real Estate Report, home sales both nationally and for Washington County are down from last year. To be specific, residential sales in Washington County were off by over 10% from the first quarter of 2013…but don’t panic just yet! There’s actually a silver lining here.

WHY are home sales down?

One factor is the continuous decline of foreclosures and short sales and in turn, this has left fewer homes available for the long-term. That is good news!
Washington County home values have COME UP nearly 20% since 2011…also great news! But because they’re up, some Buyers are getting priced out of the market, which in turn slows the total # of sales down. But it’s healthy for the market as it prevents another outlandish housing bubble like 2005. And Washington County cannot face another housing bubble – it’s unacceptable! The decline in home sales year-over-year is actually a sign of a healthy, self-balancing real estate market!

Are 4.2 million buyers about to purchase real estate?

However the big question is what’s next. After doing some research, I found the following:

In 19 of the top 20 major metropolitan areas nationwide, more than 5% of all residents planned to buy within the next year.
10% of renters nationwide (yes that’s HUGE) said they would like to buy in the next 12 months.
If every one of those people surveyed actually did purchase a home, it would represent 4.2 million first-time buyers. More than DOUBLE the 2.1 million first-time Home Buyers in 2013!

Yes, it’s crazy when you really think about the possibilities. Even MORE WILD? That 57% of Baby Boomers want to sell the home they currently own, which means they would replace it with another, and 25% say they’d like to purchase a 2nd home. There is going to be a lot of activity ahead for the market!

If you have any more questions, feel free to call or e-mail us with anything Also, don’t forget to utilize our FREE MLS home search and home value report links on our website. And our full, detailed St. George Real Estate report is always available 24/7 so you can be the smartest kid on the block! Check it out here: St. George, Utah Real Estate Report

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

St. George Real Estate: Can You Trust Zillow to Estimate Your Home’s Value?

There are SO MANY great St. George area homes for sale! Click here to perform a full home search. If you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation to see what Buyers are actually paying for similar homes in our market. You may also call us at (435) 767-9821 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today, on GoStGeorgeTV, we’re going to answer the question: “Can I trust the Zillow home price estimate?”

Zillow has become a wildly popular online tool to get a quick estimated value of home values. We estimate that eight out of ten Sellers we work with first go to Zillow to get an initial estimate for their home. With so many users, so many millions of homes, and having those homes spread across the entire United States, is it possible that the site could have inaccurate estimates? We’ll take a look at the three traditional values for a home and compare them with the Zillow value.

1. The first value is the assessed value. This is the value that the Washington County assessor uses to determine how to tax your property. The assessed value typically falls on the low-side of a home’s market value. Not always, but most often. This value actually has little to do with your home’s true value.

2. The second value is the appraised value. This value is based on the opinion of a qualified appraiser who will come out to inspect your home and establish a very analytical and scientific estimation. This value is often established during the mortgage origination process, but may be updated as the home undergoes renovations. While this value may not reflect “true” market value, it’s still incredibly important as it has the potential to make, or break, a real estate transaction.

3. The third value is the market value. Definition: What a Buyer is actually willing to pay for your property! The market value is the most fluid value because it is dependent on the state of the current real estate market. The market value is what the buyer is willing to pay for your home. Everything else is, quite frankly, quite irrelevant.

These three traditional values are well established in the real estate realm. Recently, the “Zillow value”, or just about any other FREE online home value estimate, have emerged as a fourth value. Zillow, and these other systems, are what is called an “automated valuation model” that takes neighborhood statistics and tax data to determine a value of your home. Because Utah is a “non-disclosure state”, sales prices are NOT available to a company like Zillow.

And because they lack that actual sold data, it’s highly likely that using Zillow as your guide will cause you to either, A. Overprice your home and sit for MONTHS, or..B – underprice your home and leave money on the table…yikes! I encourage you NOT to trust it as a tool to estimate your home’s value. If you want to play around with it, go for it! As a matter of fact, here’s OUR “AVM” (automated valuation model) site, feel free to play around there! www.DixieHomeValue.com

Now, if you are looking for an accurate assessment of your home, I encourage you to reach out to credible real estate professional to receive the most accurate pricing of your home.

If you have any more questions, feel free to call or e-mail us with anything Also, don’t forget to utilize our FREE MLS home search and home value report links on our website. And our full, detailed St. George Real Estate report is always available 24/7 so you can be the smartest kid on the block! Check it out here: St. George, Utah Real Estate Report

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

St. George Real Estate Market: Can You Really Trust the News?

There are many great St. George area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (435) 767-9821 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What is the REAL Current State of St. George Real Estate Market?

As we “march into March”, I want to remind you regardless of what you are hearing in the news about the real estate market, it is the media’s job to embellish reality! If St. George real estate is warming up, the media defines is as a “meteoric rise.” And if it’s cooling? Same pattern, just opposite direction.

So my job is to interpret the truth of the St. George real estate market, then report that to you regularly!

The reality is that the St. George market is “strong to neutral”, meaning that the market remains normal and healthy!

Currently, Washington County has a 10 months’ supply of homes which means that it would take 10 months to sell every one of those homes. This may be a bit larger of a number in comparison to last year at this time where there was an 8 ½ months’ supply of homes, but it’s MUCH better than say 4-5 years ago when there were 2x as many homes on the market.

So what does that mean for you and your personal situation?

The answer to that question varies greatly based on what price point your home falls in. For instance, if you’re selling a $200k home, it’s going to be MUCH easier than selling a $1 million home where there are far fewer Buyers, and the Buyers at that price point are much more meticulous in their home search.

Want to see exactly how easy (or difficult) it would be to sell your current home?
Here are up-to-date figures for every city in Washington County by price range: http://www.soldinstgeorge.com/our-market/

It is also worth noting that last month, 254 homes sold in Washington County. What does that mean? We typically see 300-400 sales in the peak months of March, April and the Fall season, with the peak of summer and winter being slower times. Does that mean you shouldn’t/couldn’t sell or buy in the “off seasons?” Hardly. Summer and winter may be SLOWER, but not “dead.”

As we move forward into the Spring, if you have individualized real estate questions about what your next step could or should be, don’t trust CNN or other news networks!

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

Low Interest Rates and Low Inventory in St. George: Now's the Time to Sell!

Today I want to address a question that always comes up in the beginning of spring. But before I answer that, I wanted to point out our blog’s free home search. This can be utilized at any time and you will be able to view every home available on the market. EVERY home! We also provide a home value tool that tells you what your home would sell for in the current market. Check it out just to the right of this article.

The question I was referring to pertains to selling your home now or waiting until later in Spring. You do need to consider that Spring comes very early in St. George due to our climate. Which means Buyers are ALREADY HERE whereas they’d be waiting 60 more days in other markets.

Another thing to consider is, of course, your personal situation; if you want to sell your home and be gone by a certain time, you need to realize that it takes an average of 108 days to sell a home in Washington County (77 with the Larkin Group but who’s counting?) If you want to move out in 108 days, you would need to list your home today.

Now if you wanted to move out by the end of summer, maybe your time to list is 60 days from now. Do remember that it takes just one Buyer to purchase your home; if that Buyer comes around next week and your home isn’t on the market, you missed them.

Finally, right now is a great time to sell due to the low interest rates for Buyers. We know for a fact that rates will increase over time so holding out for a better rate is the equivalent of rolling the dice in Vegas. Not a highly predictable strategy.

However, your goals are unique and specific so we will engineer a plan that’s suits you best.

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

2014 St. George Real Estate Market: What's the Future Benefit of Your Home?

Looking to buy or sell a home in St. George, Utah? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (435) 767-9821 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of GoStGeorgeTV! I’m your host, Jeremy Larkin and I am so excited about the information I will be bringing you. Every two weeks, I will be sending you a market report or important tips that will help you maximize your opportunities as either a buyer, future buyer or homeowner here in Washington County.

Another great feature of our blog is our free home search. This can be utilized at any time and you will be able to view every home available on the market. We also provide a home value tool that tells you what your home would sell for in the current market.

2014: Year of Growth

Everywhere I go, I am always asked about the current state of the market. To be honest, there is no simple answer. The answer always depends whether you will be buying or selling. However, 2012 was considered a “recovery” year for the St. George market, 2013 was considered a “stabilization” year and now we are banking on 2014 being a really strong “growth” year. What I mean by a “growth” year is that home values are still very strong, interest rates are still very low and buyers in the marketplace. 2014 has the potential to be a good year to both buy and sell!

Five Month Supply of Homes

When we look at our current inventory, I like to put it into a numbers perspective. The numbers do matter! Currently, there are about 1,400 homes on the market; this consists of homes, townhomes and condos. This translates to a five month supply of properties or absorption rate. Basically an absorption rate is how long it would take to sell every home on the market if no one else listed a home. This is a very neutral number sitting right in the middle of the market leaning towards the favor of buyers or sellers.

Our contact info once again, (435) 215-4333 or email us: larkingroup@gostgeorge.com.

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