Jeremy’s 4-Minute Tour of St. George, Utah!

I want to take you on a brief tour today to show you all that St. George has to offer.

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.

Here’s a transcript of the video:

As a lifetime resident of St. George, one of my favorite places is the remarkable Town Square, the epicenter of downtown’s energy and the location of the Ironman 70.3 finish line. 

Today, I want to give you a brief tour of all this wonderful city has to offer and show you why people continue to flock here from all over the world. 

St. George is the county seat and the largest city in Washington County. The area is also known as Utah’s Dixie. Why? Many of the first pioneers in the area were cotton farmers from the South who settled here.

St. George has a long, rich history even before the 1860s. It used to be a major stop on the Old Spanish Trail, and a home to Native Americans dating back 2,000 years. 

Right now, there are 90,000 residents in St. George. We stopped by to ask Mayor Jon Pike why he thinks so many people love living in St. George. 

“We really do care,” says Mayor Pike. “We have an attitude of service. That’s why we’re here. This city is owned by the people who work here; it’s theirs. They are the stockholders, in my view. I’m here to do the very best job I can to serve them.” 

The city is nestled in a picturesque valley surrounded by lava rock, sandstone, and other formations. St. George boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year, which is perfect for recreational activities.

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St. George is perfect for outdoor recreational activities.

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There are four championship golf courses within city limits, as well as miles of hiking and biking trails, parks, and festivals. Some popular events at St. George include the Ironman, World Senior Games, and the St. George Marathon. 

We took a moment in our tour to talk with Stacey McAfee, who was showing her niece around town and hanging out at the Town Square—which, again, is one of my favorite places. Stacey says, “St. George does a great job with parks, splash pads, and things to do with young children. My four-year-old requested that we come to this splash pad today because he loves the river and the water. It’s hot here, so we like to get in the water and cool off.”  

Education has always been a priority for the St. George community. There are 12 elementary schools, three intermediate schools, four middle schools, and five high schools—with more on the way.  

St. George is also home to the 111-acre Dixie State University campus, which has an enrollment of 8,500 undergraduates.  

The accredited and expanding Dixie Regional Medical Center is another great benefit to the area. This state-of-the-art facility offers rehabilitation services, sports medicine and training, outpatient surgery, and the neuroscience institute. It is the top major medical referral center for northwest Arizona, southeast Nevada, and southern Utah. 

In the first quarter of 2017, the unemployment rate in St. George dipped down to 3.4%, which is the lowest we’ve seen since the beginning of the recession. In 2016, the average monthly wage was $2,813. 

This July, there are 1,097 homes for sale and 70 for rent, which puts us firmly in a seller’s market. The median listing price is currently at $289,000. 

So, with mild weather, beautiful scenery, a progressive business atmosphere, educated workforce, low crime, and close proximity to Las Vegas—not to mention the gateway to National Parks—it’s no wonder why St. George is one of the fastest-growing areas in Utah. 

If you have any questions about St. George or if you know someone who’s thinking of moving to the area, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

END TRANSCRIPT. 

Thanks for going on the 4-minute tour with us! We love, love, LOVE this town and hope you do too. Don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at sales@gostgeorge.com or a quick jingle to 435-216-3888 with questions about real estate, schools, bike trails, or even our favorite St. George eateries!

I have my Washington County Property Tax Notice…Now what?

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.​

You've probably received your Washington County Property Tax notice in the mail by now. It’s one of those things that gets tossed aside into the “I’ll deal with that later” pile, right? I get it.

But since you’re inevitably going to wonder if they’ve overcharged you for property taxes at some point, I’m going to address it with you now! Here are the 3 key points you’ll want to consider:

1. Is the assessment accurate? You have to keep in mind that the value you see on your assessment is not the value of your home. This number is not what someone would pay you for your home if it were on the market. I would actually go so far as to say that 90% of assessments are probably a bit low. Meaning that your home is actually worth MORE than they’ve assessed you for....SHHH…I won’t tell the County if you don’t!

2. What should you do if it's inaccurate? If you think your assessed value is too high, get on a home evaluation site (Dixiehomevalue.com) and compare their value to what you received. If the difference is too great, you can contest it. Reach out to us and we can produce a price analysis that you can take to the assessor's office when you appeal. If you need to appeal, go to the Washington County website:(http://www.washco.utah.gov/assessor/boe.php).

3. What is the benefit to you financially? If you appeal and the county assessor accepts your appeal, for every $1,000 that they have over-assessed you, you will get $12 back in the form of a credit. So, a $10,000 over-assessment will get you $120 in credit.

Most of you don't need to worry about these things, but if you have any questions about your property tax notice, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to resolve any issues you may be having.

Until that time, or our NEXT video – onward and upward!

How Does Your Home’s Value Compare To the “Peak?”

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.​

Welcome back to another edition of GoStGeorgeTV, we have a really exciting episode today. We are going to talk about, and actually show you, where home values are in Utah and across the Country compared to 10 years ago at the “peak” of the real estate bubble.

A lot of crazy things have happened with the economy in the last 10 years - Ponzi shemes, government bailouts, and even a major recovery of home values across the Country.

Before we can even talk about where values are TODAY, understand the following:

•  St. George area home values fell an average of 35% from 2006 to 2011. “Average” meaning that in some St. George neighborhoods values fell as much as 50% or more!
•  As implied above, 2011 was the absolute “rock bottom” of the market in terms of home values. Yes, you can now consider 2011 the “good old days” of buying.. :)

In the video above, you will see that home values in the states colored dark blue have actually climbed back to peak levels seen 10 years ago. States like Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, and Nebraska all fall into this category.

On the other side, in the States marked by the color orange home values are still 15-20% below their peak. Nevada is 35% below their peak and Arizona is at 27.4% below peak home value ranges.

As for Utah, we are still 9% below our peak values, which is actually a very healthy number. If you want more info on “why” it’s a healthy figure, give us a ring!

An example: If you have owned a home in St. George that was valued at the peak for. Say, $400,000…the home is probably worth more like $360,000 now. If your home was valued at $200,000 in the “peak”, it’s probably closer to $180,000 today. Now these are not EXACT figures, but it’s a good rule of thumb.

However, we are starting to notice a much larger increase in home appreciation as of late. In the last year, homes have appreciated by 5.5%, and they have appreciated by 1.5% in the last month alone.

The most important thing to remember when interpreting this data is this….

 All real estate is local!

So local, in fact, that each neighborhood right inside of a single City could be experiencing different home value “symptoms.” Many factors can affect home values on your street so don’t be shy about reaching out for assistance! Trusting Zillow or Google to give you a clear view of your home’s true market value is, well, not reliable. We produced a previous episode about it HERE.

If you've got questions about your home’s value or anything else real-estate related, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to offer you a free, no-obligation home value assessment!

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.

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.