Is It Possible to Predict the Future of the Real Estate Market?

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.​

  

Is It Possible to Predict the Future of the Real Estate Market? 

As always, we're here to give you some quick tips to help you make informed decisions in the St. George marketplace. Today, we share 3 tips to help you make accurate real estate predictions in our area.

1. You can't (technically) predict the market!! Wait...what? It's true, there is no crystal ball you can look into and get all the answers about a given market. Markets are inherently unpredictable, but there are certain things you can look at to get a general idea of how things will shape up.

2. Follow affordability trends. When the housing market gets really affordable, it's going to crank up. When it hits an affordability ceiling, you'll see market activity crank down. If this happens, you'll either see prices fall off or sales slow. TIP: Affordability is suffering again in Washington County, so watch that closely.

3. Follow people who study real estate FOR A LIVING! Follow the Warren Buffets and Donald Trumps of the world, and read about entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And yes, you should follow us and our blog, radio shows, etc! After helping families buy and sell over 600 homes, (nearly 100x what the average homeowner will do on their own), it’s quite possible that we have some pretty darn solid perspective on where the St. George Real Estate market is going! 

Specifically, If you want to hear our take on where the St. George market is heading, check us out on KDXU 890 AM radio Thursdays at 8:30 AM. You can hear myself and Mike McGary talk about what's happening in our market, trends we're seeing, and other data to help you make informed buying and selling decisions!

If you have any questions, or would like real estate assistance of any kind, we're always available via phone or email, and we would love to hear from you! Thanks, and remember: We know this town!

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?

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.​

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!