First of all I hope that those holiday preparations are well advanced and everything is set for some great family times ahead in the next few days.

If you've been thinking about selling your home, but have put the decision off until the New Year, I've been tracking some important information about our local real estate market that I felt couldn't wait until 2017 before I passed it on to you.

Our multiple listing service (MLS) provides me with a daily market overview and I've noticed something really significant with inventory of available homes for sale right now.

While there's always a traditional fall off in numbers as the holidays approach, active listings (the red line) are at the lowest level we've seen in well over a year.

At the same time, however, sales are holding steady right now. This may even surprise you, because it is a total myth that people aren't interested in buying at this time of the year. Unfortunately many sellers subscribe to this view and temporarily leave the market at a time when it would highly benefit them to maintain the listing.

What this means is that, right now, there's a fantastic opportunity out there with buyers still extremely keen to purchase asap and a reducing supply of homes for them to choose from. So there's less competition among sellers and much better potential for a more robust asking price.

Why lose this some of this advantage when other sellers wake up to this good news in the first few weeks of the New Year?

Contact us today for an informal discussion of what best to do in your individual situation.

Happy Holidays 

While no-one wants to see mortgage rates climb as they have recently, there's a danger of losing sight that they are still providing a fabulous opportunity to lock in a low rate for the life of the home loan.

We have, of course, gotten very used to 30 year fixed interest rates around 3.5% but, as we've always been keen to point out, this was never a sustainable situation and what we are seeing at the moment is arguably a market correction process, as economic confidence begins to gain pace, making bonds, the fortunes of which mortgage rates are closely associated with, a much less attractive safe haven investment.

Now we are seeing 30 year rates moving above 4% and, naturally enough, buyers are concerned about purchasing now and then rates suddenly start to move south again.

Unfortunately no-one can predict with accuracy what is going to happen, one way or another, but it's a very reasonable thought that, from an historic perspective, rates are still offering excellent value.

If we go back 10 years, to when the market was very bouyant and house prices were pretty similar to today, the average 30 year fixed interest rate, according to Freddie Mac, was 6.24%.

And if we go back a couple of years, another very busy time in real estate, we can see that the average 30 year fixed rate in 2014 was 4.17%. Therefore press speculation that the real estate market is in some sort of nose dive just doesn't hold up, if we look back in time.

We have a much healthier economy and jobs market, which is of course going to help to offset these interest rates.

Many congratulations if you bought your home when rates were at rock bottom. If you weren't so fortunate, please don't lose sight of the fact that, at the moment, rates are still great value, if you take a wider view.

As always, we'd be delighted to answer any questions you may have about the current market so don't hesitate to contact us today. We can also put you in touch with the area's top mortgage professionals too.

A recent report from Corelogic highlighted the impressive equity gains for Utah homeowners in recent times.

The report looked at average equity gain per homeowner between June last year and June this year, with an average improvement of $19K.

To put this in a wider perspective, the national average for the nation in that period was $11,152. Along with most Western states, Utah is well ahead of most of the the country.

The report also pointed out that there has been an amazing turnaround in home equity over the past few years, since the dark days of recession.

Measuring home values against mortgage debt, total home equity across the nation stood at $6.1 trillion in June of 2011. By June this year, it had risen to $12.7 trillion.

These are incredibly significant statistics and speak volumes for the current health of the homes market.

When you're seeing equity rising at these sorts of levels, you have every reason to be more confident and, of course, you are able to consider more options for your future.

Equity can be put to work in a huge variety of ways, and it promotes home sales both up and down the housing chain, as some people will take the decision to downsize and pocket some or all of their equity.

I think one of the key points arising out of these figures is to recommend that you seek a valuation of your home if you have not done so for a few years. You could clearly be in for a very nice surprise.

Why not start by using our instant home valuation link or, better still, contact us today for a more detailed assessment of what your property is worth, taking all the variables into account. 

Shortage of available homes for sale in this area continues to be an issue, potentially reducing your chances of finding the home that is exactly right for you.

With mortgage rates still so very low, now is unquestionably the right time to move and we have some great brand new homes available right now in Cedar City's Hunter Glenn - a growing subdivision only a short distance from town.

You could even be living in a your new home in time for the holidays!

Starting at $200,000, there are several plans you can choose from or we can arrange for something to be custom-built to your exact specification.

There are also 40 lots listed at $35k.

Why not take a look at some of the great options currently available at Hunter Glenn, click the links below to see/discover more and contact us today to arrange the earliest possible viewing. 

1665 N 3475 W Cedar City (pictured above) - $259,260

1733 N 3450 W Cedar City - $259,000

1707 N 3450 W Cedar City - $209,900

We've just received the August Iron County real estate market stats from the Utah Association of Realtors® and, once again, we are seeing strong confirmation of the present seller's market in the area.

There were significant increases in all key sales categories. Median price was up by 18.8% last month, compared with August 2015, while average sales price also showed a sizeable 12.7% year-on-year rise. Right now, median prices in Iron County are higher than they have been for well over six years!

These impressive figures very much reflect the current buyer enthusiasm in the market, as mortgage rates continue to be pinned at or near to multi-year lows.

There is a wide awareness that such rates cannot and will not last forever, with buyers keen to lock in low rates while they still can. Not surprisingly, therefore, August also showed a 12.5% rise in closed sales over the same period last year, as well as a 16.2% increase in pending sales, boding very well for September's figures, when they are produced.

With such sustained high demand, it's not surprising to learn that the average number of days a home is on the market before it sells has dropped by 7.1% in a year.

On the flip side of things, but still favoring the seller in many ways, inventory of available homes for sale in the area continues to be an issue, with a 1.1% decrease in numbers and another 1.6% fall in the months supply of inventory, compared with a year ago. Sellers are therefore still able to benefit from reduced competition and the consquential ability to robustly maintain asking price. This goes a long way to providing the answer as to why the average percentage of list price received remains very high, and slightly increased on last year, at 95.7%.

There was, however, positive news for inventory in that the number of new listings in August rose by 44% on the same month last year. If this continues, then it will help to address the shortages, which ultimately aren't good news, as poor availability of homes in specific sectors can cause buyers to lose motivation and hope that they will find the home they want.

In real terms, however, we can see that there is still an overall downward trend on inventory, so sellers who wisely choose to list now will still be able to derive a full range of benefits from this situation.

And if you are thinking of putting off your home sale until the New Year, please bear in mind that last fall and winter were unusually busy and there is no reason to imagine the situation will be any different in 2016. This is still a great time of year to sell, with exceptional buyer sentiment, low mortgage rates, and especially when you also consider the added uncertainties that a New Year and a new administration in Washington, irrespective of who wins the election, will bring.

Why not contact us today to explore your best options.

When choosing a real estate agent, it's really important to look at client reviews.

The key reason for this is that any agent can tell you how good he/she is, but the truth is always most evident in testimonials from past clients.

So, without adding anything more, we thought we'd simply let our clients do the talking today and give you some idea of the great things they say about us:

"After listing my property with Jared Zimmer he had it sold within a week. I had previously tried to get it listed with 3-4 different well known real estate offices in Cedar City with no success."

"Thanks to all of you for your organization and timeliness with showings, paperwork, signing, etc. It made for a way smooth process."

"They make what can be a stressful situation very pleasant and easy. They are truly great at what they do!"

"Great people who really know the ins and outs of real estate transactions."

"We will definitely be returning clients and highly recommend them."

"His staff kept in contact with me and kept us informed on what was happening every step of the way."

"I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Jared and his office have handled multiple purchases for me and I have been very satisfied."

"Jared and team were knowledgeable and responsive to our needs."

"We love the level of communication and attention we receive."

"We had our house listed for six months with a different agent and no success. We listed it with Jared and he had an offer to us within three weeks. We had our house sold in two months."

Our grateful thanks to our clients for these, and many other, wonderful recommendations. To see more please click here and here.

Why not contact us today and find out more about how we can deliver in the same way for all your real estate needs.

I recently saw a very interesting news item concerning the increased purchasing activity of first time home buyers.

According to a recent Zillow survey, it appears that 53% of all sales so far this year have been to first time buyers.

While this is a national statistic, and there will be regional variations, it does now seem that we are finally witnessing a major return of the first time buyer for the first time in many years.

The figures are further reinforced by the number of new home starts, which reached a multi-year high in July. This is traditionally a strong first time buyer sector.

The importance of this trend cannot be overstated. A vibrant entry level for home ownership resonates positively throughout the entire purchasing chain, facilitating greater sales fluidity.

Clearly one of the key reasons behind the first time buyer renaissance has to be the continuance of near historic low mortgage rates. Right now is a great opportunity for buyers to lock in a low rate for the life of the home loan and it seems this is great advice being taken up in very large numbers.

If you're considering selling your home and especially if your property might appeal to the first time buyer, there is clearly a great opportunity here, made even more attractive by the continuing shortage of available homes for sale in this area.

We're anticipating another very busy fall sales period this year, as mortgage rates continue to stimulate high demand, so don't waste a second and call us today on (435) 327-2090 to discuss your best options.