The housing market and Ivory Homes in the news November 2007

Transcription

1 The housing market and Ivory Homes in the news November 2007 Utah Real Estate Healthy A different Kind of Market Top 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions with Highest Rates of Housing Appreciation Is Buying a Home in Today s Economy a Good Idea?...4 Population Surge Breaks Utah Record...5 Rocky Mountain High: Salt Lake City Has a Housing Boom Should I Keep Renting Until Prices Go Even Lower? Should I Wait Until Interest Rates Go Even Lower to Buy a Home? Sneak Peak: Analysts Say Market and Local Economy Bode Well...9 Utah Adds 10 People Per Hour...10

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7 Is Buying A Home In Today's Economy A Good Idea? National Association of Home Builders Saturday, 24 November 2007 (NAPSI) - As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments for individual households. "Why?" you may ask. After all, the headlines say the housing market is down and out, with defaults rising at an alarming rate, and mortgage markets so frozen that buyers can't get a home loan at any price. What buyers need to realize is that housing markets, like all markets, inevitably have their ups and downs. And homeownership has a track record that is virtually unmatched by any other purchase in terms of its real benefits. Despite the turmoil in mortgage lending, if you have good credit, a job and steady income, you will find there is still plenty of mortgage credit to be had at good rates. For well-qualified buyers, rates are running at near historical lows. Homeownership's Real Value Here are a few examples of why, dollar for dollar, homeownership is a solid stepping stone to a future of financial security and the single largest creator of wealth for many Americans. Over the long-term, real estate has consistently appreciated, even through periodic adjustments in local markets in response to economic conditions. On a national level, home appreciation has historically increased 5-6 percent annually, report economists at the National Association of Home Builders. Five percent may not seem much at first, but here's an example that will put it into perspective: Say you put 10 percent down on a $200,000 house, for an investment of $20,000. At a 5 percent annual appreciation rate, that $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. Earning $10,000 on an investment of $20,000 is an extraordinary 50 percent annual return. In contrast, putting that $20,000 down payment into the stock market and getting a 5 percent gain would only yield a $1,000 profit. Compared to Stocks Looking at it another way, over a longer period of time, if someone put $10,000 into the stock market in 1996, the average annual S&P return would make that investment worth $21,500 today-an increase of $11,500. The median home price in 1996 was $140,000. Today, that same home would have gained nearly $100,000 in value. Don't miss out on the benefits of homeownership; visit www. nahb.org/timetobuy.

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9 Rocky Mountain High: Salt Lake City Has a Housing Boom Ten Cities That Are Riding High in Real Estate Despite the Bust By DEBORAH ORR Forbes.com Nov. 20, 2007 Special to ABCNEWS.com Home prices nationwide posted their biggest drop in 16 years last month, according to the National Association of Realtors. But someone forgot to tell the folks in Salt Lake City. There, the median home sale price jumped 21% in the second quarter this year, versus the same period last year. It's not that Salt Lake City is entirely immune to the national housing downturn. In fact, new housing permits are down this year, and there is a glut of Macmansions, says John Taylor, investment specialist at Commerce CRG, a unit of developer Cushman & Wakefield. But with more people moving into the area, thanks in part to a percolating job market, demand for affordable existing homes is still healthy, while commercial construction is up 40% from last year. Apartment vacancy rates are less than 2%, and longtime residents worry about a land grab from commercial property investors flocking in from California and Las Vegas. "We are in the middle of a construction boom," says Taylor. Salt Lake City isn't the only anomaly. Prices are rising in other parts of the Rocky Mountain states, parts of Texas, the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. Other markets defying the national meltdown include Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, Salem, Ore., and Farmington, N.M. What gives? For starters, these places missed the get-rich real-estate frenzy of recent years, says Lawrence Yun, economist for the National Association of Realtors. Prices aren't falling because they didn't rise that much to begin with. The median price of a single-family home in Sarasota, Fla., in June was $311,000. Compare that with $228,000 in Salem, which realized a 16.7% increase in property values in the second quarter of 2007, versus the same time frame in Yun believes states like New Mexico and Utah are finally, albeit belatedly, enjoying the run-up in property prices that began in California and swept through Nevada in the last few years. According to Taylor, Salt Lake City has typically been more affordable than many other parts of the nation, but as property prices fall in the rest of the country, the gap has closed. In the second quarter of 2007, the national median existing single-family home price was $223,800, down 1.5% from a year earlier. The median price in Salt Lake City, however, is now up to $233,100. Where The Work Is Percolating local job markets get some of the credit. (In fact, the more resilient property markets tend to be in places with above-average job growth.) Technology has been a driver in booming real estate markets like Spokane, Wash., and Salem. Sales and service sector jobs are revving up growth in Allentown, Pa.

10 Another factor: the sun. In a study predicting population growth through 2020, Wharton professors Albert Saiz and Peter Linneman name the I-85 corridor between Raleigh, N.C., and Atlanta as having the greatest potential for future growth because of its long stretches of good weather. Americans are increasingly prioritizing such quality of life factors in their decisions about where to live. And where the people go, the job markets now follow. Also on the list: New Mexico, Arizona, parts of Texas and Salt Lake City. Of course, even in locations where home prices are still sizzling, there are no guarantees that the current national housing slump won't creep into the neighborhood. The devastating drop in real estate in parts of Florida, California and Michigan have made potential homeowners skittish in general. A whole layer of subprime borrowers are facing financial ruin and foreclosure. It's difficult to envision a scenario that sees them rejoining the real estate market in a meaningful way anytime soon. Rocky Mountain High: Salt Lake City Has a Housing Boom

11 SHOULD I KEEP RENTING UNTIL PRICES GO EVEN LOWER? National Association of Home Builders Normal View Tuesday, 13 November 2007 The best way to play it safe is to actually buy a home. Here s why: studies show that owning a home is the best way to build household wealth. The sooner a person owns a home, the faster they begin to build up equity and wealth. When you buy a home, you are also purchasing price stability, knowing that you will pay the same monthly payment for the life of your 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. Now consider the current rental market. While home prices have been moderating, rents continue to rise. Where is the economic security in not knowing how much your rent will increase in the next three years? You don t receive any tax benefits from paying rent, nor do you accumulate any price appreciation, as you would if you owned a home of your own. All of the economic fundamentals show that this is a good time to buy a home. And continuing strength in rental demand signals that there is upward pressure on rental apartments. The real risk isn t in buying a home, it s continuing to rent. SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL INTEREST RATES GO EVEN LOWER TO BUY A HOME? National Association of Home Builders Normal View Tuesday, 13 November 2007 Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages currently stand just above 6 percent and are extremely favorable for buyers. In fact, they are hovering near 30-year lows. But waiting to time the market is a dangerous and losing game. Even those who follow the market for a living can t figure out when interest rates will bottom out. If they could, they would all be multi-millionaires. Also, home prices don t necessarily move in unison with interest rates. So, if you decided to roll the dice and wait to purchase a home, and the price were to actually drop $10,000 from where it is today, you could still end up losing money. How? If interest rates were to move up by a half-a-point during this period, the savings on the reduced home price would be more than offset by the higher monthly payment you would be making over the life of the loan. In short, the smartest and safest time to buy is now. We know that interest rates are low today. We know that home prices are down. We know that there are plenty of homes on the market to choose from. We know that sellers are willing to bargain. And we know that builders are willing to offer attractive incentives to get your business. Any, or all of these favorable variables could change for the worse six months from today.

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