Multi Family Home Sales in Logan Improving

Home Sales of Multi Family Homes in Logan, Duplexes, Triplexes, and Fourplexes are improving. They are definitely not outstanding, but over the last three months they have been up compared with the rest of the year.

There are currently 9 Duplexes for Sale in Logan, and 26 Tri and Fourplexes for Sale. This includes most of the Multi-Family properties for sale in Cache County. Outside of Logan there are three additional duplexes for sale found in Smithfield and Hyrum, and one additional fourplex for sale.

In the last year 15 Duplexes in Cache County have sold. With the current 12 on the market, this gives Cache County 9.6 months of inventory at the annual rate. But, during the last three months 5 Cache County Duplexes have sold. This is just 7.2 months of inventory at the past three month pace.

Inventory of tri and four-plexes has also seen improvement, but the numbers are still pretty dismal. Cache County currently has 27 tri/fourplex properties for sale. In the last year, just 13 of these properties have sold. This is more than 2 Years of inventory! But, over the last three months there have been 4 fourplexes sold, which lightens the blow a little bit and brings the active inventory down to 20 months.

Overall there still just isn't a lot of buyer activity for investment properties in Logan. By far, duplex purchases have been the most popular. It's a tough market to try and sell four-plexes.

You can view all the MLS listed Duplex's, Triplexes, and Fourplexes for sale in Logan here.

Cache County Sellers are Getting Closer to Ask Price

Cache Valley home sellers have been getting 6.5% less than their original list price when selling their homes the last two months. This is closer to the original list price than we've seen in a while.

This tells us that either home buyers are offering more, or else sellers are now more realistic with their original list price. From April-September, the average sales price of Cache County Utah Real Estate was more than 10% less than the original list price.

Short Sales in Logan Utah

There are currently 12 Short Sales in Logan Utah, and 35 in the smaller Cache Valley cities. This is up slightly from last month. Currently, 6.37 percent of all active listings are Cache Valley Short Sales.

Five of the current Logan Short Sales have already been approved by the bank. This means the purchase transaction shouldn't be much different than an ordinary transaction from the buyers standpoint. The other 62 Cache County properties listed as short sales still require bank approval before closing can actually take place. This means the real estate transaction could take many months, or may not actually even happen at all if the bank isn't willing to allow the short sale.

Here are the five Cache Valley Short Sales that have supposedly already had bank approval. Two of these are huge houses in the North Logan/Hyde Park area.

Click this link to view all Cache Valley Short Sales for Sale.

November Home Sales up 37% from 2008

Cache County home sales were up 37% compared with November of last year when just 51 residential homes in Cache Valley sold. So far, 81 Cache Valley homes have been reported sold by the MLS.


The huge increase in home sales can largely be attributed to the scheduled expiration of the first time buyer tax credit. Although it has been extended, many people purchased Logan real estate because they were trying to beat the expiration.

With many of the homes purchased by first time buyers, the median price of homes sold in Logan was also substantially down. The median sold price was just $150,000, the lowest it has been in years.

Even though home sales were up compared with last year, they were down compared with October. The amount of homes for sale in Logan only declined slightly during November. At November's home sales rate, there is currently 9.3 months of active real estate inventory in Cache Valley. The actual number of homes on the market has gone down, but as a ratio the inventory is up.

Hyrum Utah Homes for Sale less than $150,000

Hyrum Utah is a unique community in Cache Valley. It offers some of the most affordable homes for sale in the valley. There are many starter homes for sale in the Hyrum Area.

Currently there are 16 homes for sale in Hyrum for less than $150,000. There are also a few condos as well. Many of these homes are newer homes on the east bench of Hyrum, although some are also old farm homes in the older portions of Hyrum. Hyrum also offers condos for sale in the Elk Mountain neighborhood.

Here are some of the best deals of Hyrum homes for less than $150,000:

There are just two homes for sale in Hyrum for less than $100,000. One of them is a manufactured home, while the other is actually a partial ownership cabin up blacksmith fork canyon. This price of just $33,000 is really misleading to viewers on the MLS, as it appears that a 3,800 square foot home is just $33,000.

Visit Hyrum Utah Real Estate, for more information about Hyrum Utah Homes for Sale for less than $120,000, Hyrum Utah real estate market statistics, or more information.

Have You Lived in Your Home For Five Years? 6,500 Reasons to Upgrade

Have you lived in your current home for atleast 5 Years? Have you thought about upgrading or downgrading into a different residence?

If so, right now is an awesome time to upgrade. There are tax credits available for home buyers, there are screamin deals on many Utah Homes for Sale, and mortgage interest rates are incredibly cheap.

$6,500 Stimulus Tax Credit Incentive

Until the end of April, you may be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit. This Credit is available for all buyers making less than $220,000 per year, who have lived in their current home for five out of the last eight years.

Lots of Selection and Sales on Northern Utah Homes
There is an oversupply of large homes in Northern Utah. In Cache Valley, there are 220 properties for sale larger than 3,000 square feet. This is 11.58 months of inventory. There are 93 Box Elder county homes for sale bigger than 3,000 square feet, or 18.6 months of active inventory. Weber County has 511 properties for sale, or 11.93 months of inventory, and Davis County Utah has 700 properties larger than 3,000 square feet for sale, 8.52 months of inventory based on the last six months of home sales.

Mortgage Interest rates are dirt cheap.

Mortgage Rates for conventional mortgages are currently less than 5%, for 30 year fixed mortgages right now. 15 year fixed, and 5-year ARM's are even less expensive. At a 5% interest rate, a $250,000 loan has the same monthly payment as 2 $200,000 loan at a 7% interest rate. If you have a mortgage, you're going to get a lot more home for your payment with the current rates.

Moderate Homes are actually selling.

If you do own a home, you probably need to sell before you can buy. The good news is that starter and more moderate homes in Northern Utah are actually selling. Prices of these homes aren't as high as they were a couple years ago, but sellers of these types of homes are usually getting close to what they are asking. For homes less than 2,000 square feet, Davis County has just 4.86 months of inventory, Weber County 7, Box Elder County 7.18 months, and Cache County just 6.15 months of real estate inventory.

Selling your current home in this market is possible. With this new tax credit, you actually have until June to buy, you just need to get your new property under contract by the end of April.

If upgrading is something you have thought about, call a Cornerstone Real Estate Agent today to discuss your options.

October Home Sales Up for Cache Valley

October was actually a pretty good month for home sales in Cache Valley. There were nearly a hundred homes sold (99 so far, but there are always some Realtors who are slow to report their end of month sales).

Cache County Home Sales were up 10% from September, and up 6% compared with October of last year. October will be the third best month of the year for Logan Ut Real Estate.

One of the primary reasons that home sales have improved has to be the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit, which was scheduled to expire this month. It has since been extended through April of next year, but the expiration of it did spur many first time buyers into taking the steps too purchase now.

Some statistical evidence that supports this is the fact that during October, we had the lowest average monthly home sales price since May of 2006, and the smallest average square footage of homes sold since March of 2003!

While home sales were up, the amount of inventory on the market is also down. At October's home sales pace, Cache County now has seven and a half months of active inventory.

It's still a good time to buy homes in Cache Valley Utah

Cache County Home Sales for Third Quarter

Home sales in Cache County during the third quarter were down by about 5% compared with the third quarter of last year. They were up compared with last quarter, but that's a poor indication as to what is happening with the real estate market because Cache County real estate is so seasonal. The third quarter is traditionally the strongest period for Home Sales in Cache Valley. Home sales during the third quarter have continually dropped for the last four years.

Even though home sales were down during the third quarter, the trend does show improvement. They are considerably, "less down" than they were during the first half of the year. During the first two quarters of 2009, Cache County home sales were down by double digits.

Prices of homes sold in Cache County during the third quarter is also down. The median Q3 sold price of $166,727 is less than the median sold price of 2007. This doesn't necessarily mean that home values are less than they were in 2007, but it does show that a large percentage of the Homes in Logan Utah that are selling are of the more affordable variety.

Overall the recovery of the Logan Utah Real Estate market appears to be slower than in other parts of Utah. Areas like Utah County, and Davis County Real Estate have seen third quarter improvements compared with last year.

Cornerstone Real Estate sees increase in sales while other Brokerages see Decrease

One of the owners of Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals, Robert Brown, ran some stats comparing the top Logan Utah Real Estate Brokerages.

These numbers show home sales stats so far through this year, compared to the entire year for 2008. So far, Cornerstone Real Estate already has more homes sold than it did all of last year. Most of the other Cache Valley brokerages appear like their sales totals will be significantly down.

Over the last year, Cornerstone is the leading brokerage for home buyers. Cornerstone has already closed more than 100 buyer transactions this year.

Foreclosure Rate Increasing Cache Valley

• Foreclosure rate inching upward in Cache Valley

  The number of short sales and the rate of foreclosures are increasing in Cache Valley. The Herald Journal interviews Ty Haguewood of Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals.

  tags: foreclosures, short, sales

  • Foreclosure rate inching upward in Cache Valley
  • With the economy still struggling and layoffs on the rise, the risk of foreclosures is rising.
  • According to figures from First American CoreLogic, a company that collects real estate statistics, the foreclosure rate in the Logan area rose from 0.42 percent to 0.84 percent during the past year.
    
  • This is still well below the national rate of 2.86 percent, but experts believe the trend isn’t likely to reverse for some time.
  • Kim Datwyler, executive director of Logan-based Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation, also says that the region “hasn’t topped out” when it comes to foreclosures.

One advantage we have in Cache Valley is that the price of homes hasn't declined much since the peak of the housing boom. People that have owned their homes for a few years nearly always have the option of selling, and can afford to sell. In other portions of Utah, Short Sales are a much larger percentage of the overall real estate market.

Cache Valley has more than 40 Short Sale Homes

The number of homes requiring short sales continues to rise for Cache Valley. There are now more than 40 listed properties that require bank approval. Prices are dropping on these properties, especially the more expensive ones. Currently the most expensive Short Sale Home in Cache Valley is priced at $475,000. A few months back there were a half dozen homes more than half a million.

Overall the number of real estate listings in Cache Valley is dropping. An increased number of short sales tells us that prices are declining and more borrowers are seeing hard times.

September Home Sales and Prices Down for Logan

After the best month in the year, Cache County home sales were down a little in September. Just 88 homes have been reported sold compared with 116 in August, and down from 100 of September of last year.



The average price of homes sold during September was also much lower than it has been in recent times. The median sold price of Cache County Homes was just $154,000. This means that half of the 88 properties sold were less than $154,000.

Cache County currently has 755 homes for sale. This includes homes for sale in Logan Utah, North Logan Homes, Providence Utah Homes, Smithfield Utah Homes, Hyrum Utah Homes, Nibley Utah Homes, and the more rural areas of Cache Valley. At Septembers Sales pace, Cache County has nearly 9 months of active inventory.

Winter is approaching and home sales are typically much slower during the colder months of the year. October and November should still be pretty good months for home sales with the expiration of the first time buyer tax credit.

Logan Utah Homes for Sale - 762

Just a quick update on the Logan Utah Real Estate market. The number of Logan Homes for Sale continue to decline. There are currently 762 active residential home listings in Cache County.

Of these Logan Homes for Sale, 693 represent single family homes. 60 are condos or townhomes. 40 of these Logan Utah Homes for sale are Short Sales. This is the highest amount of Logan Short Sales since I've kept track.

The average price of these homes for sale is still high. The median list price of Cache County homes is $199,250 while the Average price is $256,835.

Click this link to view all Logan Utah Homes for Sale

Equity Now – How to Use Federal First Time Buyer Tax Credit as Down Payment « Utah Homes for Sale – Real Estate Market Conditions

• Equity Now – How to Use Federal First Time Buyer Tax Credit as Down Payment « Utah Homes for Sale – Real Estate Market Conditions

  Equity Now Program Allows First Time Home Buyers to effectively use the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit towards closing costs.

  tags: equity now, first time buyer, tax credit

  • The new “Equity Now” program essentially allows first time buyers to get a small Utah Housing Loan that will be paid back using the $8,000 in grant money.

    The Equity Now loan isn’t limited to just $8,000 either. It can actually be used for up to 6% of the amount of the primary loan. It is really just a second mortgage and has almost nothing to do with the tax credit.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Home Run Part 2- $4,000 for New Construction Homes

• Home Run Part 2- $4,000 for New Construction Homes

  The home run grant for new construction properties is back. It's a little less per person, but more people will be able to benefit from it. Here are a few highlight details of Home Run Part II.
  

  tags: New Construction, Homes, Utah, Stimulus, home run, 4000

  • 1,950 home buyers will get to take advantage of this home buying incentive.
  • The Guidelines between this and the first Home Run Grant program are mostly the same.
  • The main difference is that buyers can receive grants for homes that will be built.
  • Married couples must have annual incomes of less than $150,000, singles less than $75,000.
    
  • Buyers need to use a Utah Housing Corporation approved lender.  The lender arranges for the grant money.
    
  • Utah housing will provide a “grant commitment” which will be good as long as the home is completed by June 30th of next year.
  • If the property is an existing home, that has neverbeen lived in, then the the buyer has just 10 days to use.
    
  • This should be a good boost to the economy for Utah Builders.
  • These grant certificates will likely run out quickly, so if  you want to buy one of these homes, start looking now. Find Homes for Sale in Utah.
    

30-year fixed-rate near 5 percent

• 30-year fixed-rate near 5 percent

  Mortgage Rates are down again, making the next few months a truly remarkable time for first time buyers to get into a house. Lowest rates imagineable, and $8,000 to buy a house. It will likely never be this good again, so act now, government tax credit expires at the end of November.
  

  tags: mortgage rates

  • The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.08 percent with an average of 0.7 point, down from 5.14 percent a week ago and 6.35 percent a year ago

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Logan Summer Home Sales Numbers on Par With 2008

Summer is the busiest time for real estate sales in Cache Valley. From June 1st through the end of August 2009 home sales were almost identical to home sales numbers in 2008. The difference, is in the type of homes that sold.

The average sold price for Cache Valley Homes in 2009 was down 6.28%. The median home sold price was down 4.52%. This doesn't necessarily mean that home values are down this much, what this shows us is that the lower priced homes are the ones selling.

I broke home sales down into four categories typical for Cache County Homes. These are generalizations, and just categories put together by price. Homes less than $120,000, I considered Low End Homes. Homes for Sale between $120,001-and $180,000 are Starter Homes, $180,001-$250,000 are Moderate Homes, $250,000-$400,000 are classified as High End Homes, and Homes above $250,000 I classified as Luxury Homes.



This year home sales of the "Low End" and "Starter Homes" were up by about 10%. Many of these home sales can be attributed to the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. Home Sales for All other price ranges was down. Only 3% of the homes that sold during the summer were "Luxury Homes," however, nearly 12% of the active Logan Home Listings are in the Luxury Home price range. This represents a huge surplus in the Luxury inventory.







As you can see, from the current homes for sale in Cache Valley, there is a much smaller piece of the pie for the Low end and starter homes compared with the homes that have sold during 2009.

If you are ready to buy or sell a home in Cache Valley, contact a Cornerstone Real Estate Agent today.

Logan Real Estate Sales Up in August

August was the best month for Logan Utah Real Estate in more than a year. 112 Cache County Homes have already been marked as sold on the MLS. Year over year August Home Sales are actually up by 6.25% compared with last August.

In addition to a rise in home sales, we have also seen a decline in the number of homes for sale. There are currently 780 homes for sale in Cache Valley. At August's sales pace, Cache County has less than 7 months of active inventory.

This is good news for Cache Valley Home owners. The reduction in inventory will help home prices to stabilize.

Good Time for Home Buyers - Herald Jouranal Article quotes Cornerstone

• Good news for buyers

  Cornerstone Real Estate was quoted in the News as the Logan Utah Real Estate Market Experts. Funny thing is that this article took one stat from the FFHA and made false assumptions that Logan's home prices were up. That just isn't reality. That stat was taken from Mortgage Loan Values as well as Home purchases during the second quarter. The actual price of homes sold was substantially down in Logan, not up. If you bought a home a year ago and are planning on selling now, don't expect to get more than you bought for (unless of course you got a screami'n deal).
  

  tags: logan, herald journal, buying

  • Buyers of relatively inexpensive houses like the Knights are helping keep Logan’s housing market moving, said Ben Brown, owner of Logan-based Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals. The cheap stuff is getting snapped up, he said.
    
    “First-time home buyers are what drives any market,” said Brown. “The government hit it right on the nose with incentives. In our market it’s worked extremely well.”
  • According to data from the Multiple Listing Service, the average sale price of a home in the Logan area in June 2008 was $193,919, while in June 2009 it was $174,894 — a 10 percent drop. Sale prices were about 6 percent lower in July 2009 than in July 2008.
    
    Speaking of the lower-than-$200,000 market, Brown said, “It’s just recovered quicker and never dropped as severe” as higher-end housing.
    
    Sales of homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 range remain slow, said real estate agent Alan Barker, contributing to a flood of available properties. The approximately 850 houses on the market in June was double the number in the summer of 2007.
    
    Sales the first few months of the year were off 20 to 30 percent lower then in 2008. Activity picked up in June and July when about 200 homes sold. Still, the inventory backlog is seven to eight months, Brown said — not as bad at the 12-month inventory of a few months back but still significantly off the four to five months of a normal market.
    
    “There’s still enough inventory that prices aren’t going up anytime soon,” said Barker. “It’s good news for buyers.”
    
    
    It is still great news for buyers. I predict that the housing market will continue to move and inventory will decline through November. I think real estate this winter will be very slow though, especially with the end of the first time buyer tax credit November 1st.

Mortgage Rates Will Likely Rise by the End of the Year

For most of the year, mortgage interest rates have been at their lowest ever. One of the main reasons they've been so low is because the Fed was buying Treasury bonds. At the latest Federal Reserve Policy Meeting, this is what they said:

• Recession Ending, Rates Left Alone
  The Feds efforts to artificially reduce mortgage rates will end in October. This means if you want a sub 6% interest rate, you'd probably better act quickly.
  tags: mortgage, interest rates
  • The Fed said, “Economic activity is leveling out.” It added that it expected inflation would remain “subdued for some time.”
    
    The Fed said it will keep the short-term key interest rate near zero, but it will end its program to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury bonds by the end of October. Buying bonds was one of the Fed’s efforts to drive down the cost of home mortgages.

Active Cache County Listings down to 808

The number of active listings of homes for sale is dropping steadily.
We're now down to 806 active homes for sale in Cache County, down 50
homes since the peak less than a month ago. Less inventory is
essential for pricing stability. This is good news for home sellers
and real estate owners in general.

While the number of home sales is rising, the number of homes requiring short sales has risen. There are now nearly 40 short sale homes in Cache Valley.

July Home Sales Down for Cache County

Real Estate in Cache Valley saw a slow down in July compared with June, and year over year sales were down by 27% compared with July of last year.

The good news is that it looks like active inventory may have peaked and is on its way down. There are currently 833 home listings in Cache County including: Logan Utah Real Estate, Providence Utah Real Estate, Smithfield Utah Homes, Hyrum Utah Real Estate, Nibley Utah Real Estate, Hyde Park Utah Real Estate, Richmond Utah Real Estate, Lewiston Utah Real Estate, and the other outlying towns in Cache Valley Utah. At one point during July there were 855 residential listings for sale.

Despite the fact that listings are down, there are still too many for a healthy real estate market. At July's sales pace, Cache County has more than 9 months of inventory.

Prices of Cache Valley Real Estate have also declined. The average price of homes sold during July was $181,135, down 5.77% from July of last year. The median July sold price was $170,500, which is actually the highest single month median this year. The average home sold at $81 per square foot.

June Cache Valley Home Sales Up

June was the best month for home sales in Cache County Utah in nine months. Nearly 100 residential properties sold. Home sales were up by 26% compared with May, and even up 6% compared with June of last year. This is the first time Cache Valley year over year sales have improved in 2009.

While home sales are up, prices are down. The average price of homes sold in June was $174,894. Down nearly 10% from the average sold price a year ago. Cache Valley Homes sold for an average of $81 per square foot.

Home sales are improving, but there are still too many homes for sale in Cache Valley for prices to appreciate. There are currently 845 residential listings on the for sale on the MLS. This is nearly twice as many homes as there were just two years ago.

Logan Duplexes Didn't Sell During the First Half of The Year

Like most Cache County Real Estate, multi family property sales are down this year. 

In fact, duplex sales during the first six months of 2009 are almost non existent despite the fact that rents are up. Only 6 duplexes and 5 fourplexes sold between January and June. Duplex sales were down by nearly 79% compared to last year. 

There are currently 14 duplexes, 7 triplexes, and 28 fourplexes for sale in Cache Valley. 

2009 Cache County Land Sales

Half way through 2009 it is clear that demand for Cache Valley Land is way down. 

For all parcels of land,  sales are down 58.44% compared to the first six months of last year. For residential lots on less than half an acre, land sales are down 42.86%. Prices of the residential lots selling is significantly down as well. The median price of lots less than half an acre sold for $48,950, down 11.4% from last year. 

Expect land prices to continue to drop. There are currently 209 residential lots listed for sale in Cache County on less than half an acre. This doesn't include the hundreds of available lots that aren't listed. At the rate lots sold in the first half of the year, Cache County has more than 5 years worth of listed inventory. Until things drastically change, only the most affordable land will sell. If you're looking to buy land, don't be afraid to offer low.

Cache County Home Sales down 25%

2009 is half way over. Home sales in Cache County are clearly down. Over the past six months sales of Cache County Houses are down 25.16% and Condo sales are down 24.56%. Average and median prices of homes are also down. The median sales price dropped by 5% and the average sales price was down 6.73%.

One interesting disparity is the difference between home sales more and less than $200,000. While homes priced less than $200,000 were only down 15.54%, home sales for prices above $200,000 were down by more than 41%. Home sales were also significantly down in Wellsville, not because Wellsville is less popular this year, but because most of the Wellsville Homes for Sale are too expensive. 

Logan Short Sales on the Rise

It looks like the number of Short Sale Homes in Cache Valley are on the rise. There are currently 38 active properties in Cache County listed on the MLS that require bank approval. Just two months ago there were just 25. With 848 active residential homes for sale in Cache County, 1 in every 23 homes for sale requires a short sale. Compared with the rest of Utah, this number is actually very low. 

Buying Utah short sale homes can sometimes be a great way too get a deal on properties. It can also be a huge hassle and waste of time you could be spend buying other homes for sale. 

New Housing Stimulus for Utah? There Might Be a New Home Run Grant

• Utah Lt. Gov. Herbert eyes boost for housing - Salt Lake Tribune

  • Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said Tuesday he is considering a second round of state stimulus to the housing market, similar to the $6,000 Home Run Grant incentive to homebuyers that helped generate $376.7 million in home sales in the past three months
  • The specifics of the new stimulus program are still being worked out
  • one possibility the group is considering would be a smaller grant that could be given to more people and could potentially include the purchase of existing homes.
  • Another option would use state funds to provide an advance on the $8,000 federal tax credit to first-time homebuyers, who would then have to repay the state when the federal money arrived.
  • The Home Run Grant Program, proposed by Huntsman and approved by the Legislature earlier this year, used $10 million in federal stimulus money to entice prospective homebuyers into purchasing a never-lived-in home.
  • An economic analysis of the program projected that it would create more than 7,200 jobs, generate nearly $240 million in wages and $20 million in property taxes.

827 Homes

There are now 827 residential listings for sale in Cache County.

May Home Sales Down for Cache County

Surprisingly, home sales in Cache County declined in May compared with April. There were just 73 homes sold that were listed on the Logan MLS. This is also down 38% compared with May of last year when 118 residential homes sold. 

The median price of homes sold during May was $165,000, the average sold price was $180,114. A large percentage of home buyers right now are first time buyers, and they are purchasing the more affordable homes. Overall, for the homes that are selling, prices have been fairly stable in Cache Valley.

Cache County currently has 816 residential homes for sale. The median list price of these homes is $209,000 and the average list price is $265,366 far more than the average prices homes are selling for. 

Cache County Real Estate Inventory by Square Footage

I decided to run some numbers, to see if there was a noticeable housing slump in different sized homes rather than just price ranges. Sure enough there was. Bigger homes in Cache County Utah definitely are having a lot more time selling.

This Graph Shows the comparison between homes sold over the past six months, and the number of homes on the market in each square footage category. Cache County Homes between 1500 and 2,500 square feet clearly are selling the best.

It's definitely not a good time to have to sell homes bigger than $4,000 Square Feet in Cache County.

So the $8,000 Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs

HUD is really having a difficult time figuring this one out and have flipped flopped over whether or not bridge loans can be used for the $8,000 tax credit. It looks like they have decided now that they can be used, as long as the buyer still puts down 3.5% of their own funds for down payment on FHA loans.

• REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-HUD: Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs

  • HUD: Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs
    FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.
    
    Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Logan Open Houses

Open House Saturday

If you're one of those people who are curious about what homes are for sale in Logan Utah, but don't necesarilly want to commit to or be pressured by a Logan Utah real estate agent, then attending open houses is the right step for you.�

Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals are hosting multiple Logan open houses on �Saturday May 30th. Homes will come in all shapes and sizes. Stay tuned and visit Cornerstone Real Estate's Northern Utah Real Estate site to see the specific homes that will be open.�

More than 800 residential homes for Sale in Cache County

It's official. There are now more than 800 residential homes for sale in Cache County Utah. This is a record high, and it is not a good time to be selling a home if you don't have too. Great time for buyers though. Lots of selection and lots of incentives to buy. View all homes for sale in Cache County Utah.

April Cache County Home Sales Number

April was the best month for home sales in Cache County Real Estate thus far as 78 Residential Cache County Homes sold. This is up by 15% from March. From Year over year results, April home sales were actually down by almost 20% compared with April of 2008.

Most of the homes sold during April were of the more affordable variety. The median price of homes sold was $159,900 while the average price was $175,151. The average price of Cache County home listings is $264,419 and the median price is $209,000. There are are currently 787 home listings in Cache County, the most ever.

Record Number of Homes on the Market in Cache County

As I checked the MLS this morning, there were 775 residential homes for sale in Cache County Utah. According to my records, this is almost a record high. Last October we got up to 778 residential homes for sale. This is good news for buyers, but not good news if you're trying to sell a home in Cache Valley.
If the number of homes on the market continues to rise, expect declines in home values for most price ranges in Cache Valley. If the number of homes on the market starts to decline, we may have hit bottom.

It's a great time for first time buyers, or buyers looking to move up. There are a lot of excellent deals out there, especially when you consider that interest rates can be obtained for less than 5%. It's nearly impossible to time the bottom of the market, so start looking now before you miss out.
Search Cache Valley Homes for Sale
Logan Utah Homes for Sale
Hyrum Utah Homes for Sale
Nibley Utah Homes for Sale
Providence Utah Homes for Sale
North Logan Utah Homes
Hyde Park Utah Homes for Sale
Smithfield Utah Homes for Sale
Richmond Utah Homes for Sale

Smithfield Utah Homes - 2009 Smithfield UT Home Sales Numbers

The first third of 2009 has seen a large decrease in home sales, and average prices of homes sold in Smithfield Utah. Smithfield Utah Home sales peaked in 2006 when 140 residential homes sold.

So far this year, only 22 homes have sold in Smithfield Utah. The median sales prices of these homes ($150,000) is far less than the median price of homes sold last year, ($174,950) and the median price is more than $65,000 less than the median list price ($215,000) of Smithfield Utah Homes.

There are currently 76 Smithfield Utah Homes for Sale. This is a years worth of inventory at 2008's sales pace, and even more at the pace set during the first four months of 2009. Six of these listings include Smithfield Utah Condos.

Click this link for more information about Smithfield Utah Real Estate.

Cornerstone #1 Brokerage for Buyers in Cache County Utah

Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals may not be the largest brokerage, it doesn't have the most agents, and certainly doesn't have the most listings, but in the last six months, more buyers have used Cornerstone than any other real estate brokerage in Cache County.

Buyers use Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals because we give them the power. We give Cache Valley Home buyers the tools they need to make informed decisions regarding home buying. We also provide prompt and professional service.

Here are the stats for Cache County Home Sales over the past Six Months:



To use Cornerstone Real Estate's home search tools, visit one of our websites:

Cache Valley Homes
Logan Utah Homes
Providence Utah Homes
Hyrum Utah Homes
Smithfield Utah Homes
Utah Real Estate
Utah Homes for Sale

Home Sales Statistics for Hyrum Utah

Hyrum Utah Homes

The Hyrum Utah Real Estate Market has a little bit different pattern than most of Cache Valley. Home sales in Hyrum actually peaked in 2005.



Of the homes sold during the first four months of the year, the median price was $145,500 and the average price was at $140,153. These are substantially less expensive than the active average list price of $203,298.



To view all current Hyrum Utah Homes for Sale this link will take you to Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals effective search results.

1st Quarter 2009 Months of Inventory Price Break Down

This chart shows the months of active inventory of homes for sale in Cache County in comparison to the sales statistics for the first quarter of 2009. January and February were the slowest month for Home Sales in Cache County in nearly a decade. During this time period homes priced between $140,000-$159,999 sold at a "neutral market pace" and sold in less than 7 months. All other price ranges are experiencing a buyers market. Sellers with homes priced above $350,000 are experiencing a very heavy buyers market, and there are multiple years of inventory.

Cache County Home Stats for March - Homes less than $200,000 are selling quickly.

Home Sales are up in Cache Valley for March compared with February, especially for homes less than $200,000. More than half of all the Cache County Homes sold in March were priced between $140,000 and $200,000. Nearly 77% of the homes sold were less than $200,000.

On the market right now there are 733 residential homes for sale in Logan. Only 46% of these listings are priced less than $200,000. The largest section of homes for sale are priced between $200,000-$250,000, more than 17%. Just 32% of the active listings are priced between $140,000 and $200,000.



It is still a buyers market overall in Cache County, but the starter homes are selling quickly.

Google Street View is in Logan!

One of the hard parts about searching for Logan Utah Real Estate online is that while you can view the homes for sale, including pictures of the house, it's been nearly impossible to get a feel for the neighborhood without actually visiting the house.

Well, Online Logan real estate searches just got a little bit more effective. It's taken some time, but Google Street View has reached Logan Utah, and Cornerstone Real Estate has these features implemented in its real estate search sites.

Now when you look for Homes for Sale in Logan Utah, you can actually view the neighborhood, find nearby attractions, and take a virtual walk through the place that you might call home. This tool is really pretty amazing. Check it out.

View Larger Map

Not all Cache County Homes have been added yet, but so far we can search most Logan Real Estate, Providence Real Estate, Hyrum Real Estate, Nibley Real Estate, Smithfield Real Estate, and the major roads on highways on the outlining areas of Cache Valley.

Luxury Home for Sale in Logan

This Home in Logan is INCREDIBLE. It offers 6,200 finished square feet of the finest materials. Huge great room with vaulted ceiling, skylights, and majestic fireplace. The master suite is pure luxury with large bathroom closet and fireplace. Kitchen has huge island with granite countertops and high end appliances. Basement offers full apartment, also with granite countertops. It also has a magnificent theatre/game room with plenty of room for all your friends and family. Call Chris Tolman (435) 232-8442 to arrange a showing.

February Real Estate Numbers for Cache County

The Good News is that Home Sales were up in February compared with January. The bad news is that they were down by 32% compared with last year. Just 43 residential real estate listings in Cache County were reported sold.

Currently there are 725 residential homes for sale in Cache County. This is a really high number for this time of year, prices will remain soft while buyers have so much selection. There are more than 200 more active listings on the market right now than there were last year.

Interest rates are still incredibly, low and the new $8,000 tax credit should make a big difference in stimulating buyer demand. Real Estate in Logan Utah should really improve in March.

Open Houses: Saturday February 28th

There aren't many Open Houses in Cache Valley. Especially this time of Year.

This Saturday, February 28th Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals will be holding a mass Open House with over 15 Cache Valley Homes open to the public. These homes range from $99,000 to more than half a million. They are found all over Cache Valley including: Homes in Hyrum, Logan, North Logan, Nibley, Millville, Providence and Smithfield Utah. Some of these homes are already priced below market value and are waiting for an offer. You can view these homes online, with pictures, addresses, and detailed information.

Then find out specific times fore each home by visiting UtahCornerstone.com

$8,000 for First Time Buyers if you buy by December

As part of President Obamas homeowner plan, first-time home buyers can receive up to a $8,000 tax credit that can be claimed on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns if they buy before December of 2009.

This will be given as a tax credit even if the buyers tax liability is less than $8,000. Unlike the old $7,500 plan, this tax credit will not have to be repaid. Only first time home buyers will be eligible for this tax credit. Taxpayers are considered first time buyers if they have not owned a real estate in the last three years. They also have to commit maintain this home as their primary residence for three years.

There are income restrictions for qualify for the tax credit, but it likely won't effect many first time buyers in Logan. Buyers gross income must be less than $75,000 for individuals or $150,000 for married couples.

This is going to greatly stimulate the Utah Real Estate economy.

So first time buyers, it's time to consider purchasing real estate in Utah.

The best way to get started is to start searching Cornerstone Real Estate's online search site, and get prequalified by a quality mortgage lender.

Logan Unemployment #2 Nationally

More people have jobs in Logan Utah than just about anywhere in the nation.

According to an article in today's Deseret News, unemployment in Logan is at 2.8% compared with 7.2 percent nationwide.

With the rest of the economy slowing down, Logan is actually seeing some growth, says Sandy Emile, president of the Cache Chamber of Commerce and director of economic development for Cache County. "We have two hospitals that are both in growth mode."

Even though Utah State University announced this week that it will put all its employees on a one-week furlough to save money, "its Innovation Campus is still putting out new jobs and hiring people," she says. And "there is more interest in the past month from residential developers considering starting up again."

Economic growth is down, from 4.5 percent to 2.3 percent, "but in this economy, you say, 'Thank you,' " Emile says. "I'm not saying we're out of the woods, but our juices are flowing again."

Still, she adds, "I don't think we've hit bottom yet." The Logan area has seen some layoffs, and "many businesses are in hiring-freeze mode, mainly just watching to see what the economy is doing. But manufacturing entities aren't closing. It's more like they're dropping down to re-situate themselves.

This is also is good news for the Logan Utah Real Estate market. Home values are more stable when the economy is moving and foreclosures are also much lower than state and national averages.

41 Homes Sold in Cache County in January

Home Sales were at the lowest number they've been in nearly 8 years for Cache County Real Estate.



The median price of homes sold was also down to $156,000, but the average price of Cache Valley Homes sold was at a five month high of $194,038.

There are currently more than 700 different residential properties for sale including 627 single family homes with a median list price of $228,000 and 64 condos for sale with a median list price of $138,900.

It's clearly a buyers market in Logan Utah. There are many good deals out there including short sales and foreclosure homes. Visit Cornerstone Real Estate's website to search Logan Utah Homes for Sale.

New Smithfield Listing

This is a great Smithfield home in a nice neighborhood close to the Birch Creek Golf Course. It has Excellent Views. To arrange a showing, call Taylor 435-770-7169.

Powered by: ClassifiedFlyerAds.com

Logan Utah Predicted to be #8 Nationally in Housing Appreciation

Only 17 US real estate markets are predicted to appreciate in 2009 according to housingpredicter.com. Logan Utah is among them ranking #9. This criteria is determined by income levels, employment trends and changes, school enrollment, business trends, regional political influences, real estate sales history and current housing market velocity. The factors are all considered to come up with each local market forecast.

This is good news for the Logan Utah Real Estate market. Even if home prices did drop slightly, it is a great time to buy with interest rates as low as they are.