Logan Real Estate Market Looking REALLY Good

The Logan Utah Real Estate market is looking really good. It's partially due to the homebuyer tax credit, but might also be partially due to an improved economy and more optimism for the future of Utah Real Estate.

During April, Cache County Real Estate sales were up almost 18% compared with last April. They were up almost 16% compared to the good sales numbers we had during March. So far, 95 residential homes on the MLS have been reported as sold.

In the near future, don't expect home sales to slow down. Right now there are 227 residential homes for sale under contract in Cache County. While some of these will fall through, that represents a substantial number of closings that will happen over the next few months.

The prices of homes that have sold in recent months is down, this is in large part due to the large number of purchases involved with first time home buyers. The average price of the homes sold during April was $163,795, down 6.48% from last years average price.

For other positive news, real estate inventory is also down, finally. This is in large part due to the increased buyer activity and the large number of homes that are under contract. It's possible that a lot of sellers took their homes off the market when didn't sell during the tax credit time. There are currently 774 Cache County Homes for Sale. And this actually includes a good number of "phantom listings" where the homes don't actually exist. This is actually less homes than were for sale during May of last year when the Logan area had 787 residential homes listed.

After seeing these numbers, I am very optimistic about the future of the Logan housing market. It looks like things have really turned around and are headed towards a balanced, normal, real estate market.

Logan Utah Real Estate December Numbers

Logan Utah Real Estate sales during December were almost identical to a year ago. From the MLS Listings sold during December, there has been reported one more home sold, and the average and median prices of homes sold was just slightly down.

December of 2009 had 62 residential homes in Logan listed on the MLS sell. These homes had a median sales price of exactly $150,000 and an average price of $172,734.

At this time last year, there were 61 Logan UT Real Estate listings reported as sold. These homes had a median price of $151,840, and an average price at $161,499. The average price is almost $10,000 higher this year, in large part because there were two Cache Valley Homes priced above $450,000 that sold in 2009, while there weren't any homes that expensive that sold last year.

There are currently 693 homes for Sale in Cache County Utah. This is the lowest level of inventory since February. There are 9 more homes on the market right now than there were a year ago. At December's home sales pace, Cache Valley has 11.24 months of inventory. Until this goes down home prices will remain soft.

December is the first month in quite some time that is mostly unaffected by stimulus. Although the government tax credits were extended, and still in effect, they were late enough that there were likely very few closings during December that were a direct result of the new $6,500 tax credit.

If this is any indication of future home sales for Cache County, statistically we can expect a similar year for real estate in Cache Valley.

Logan Welcomes Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals

A new real estate brokerage has entered Cache Valley, Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals. The offices of Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals are conveniently located on the south end of Logan by the Logan River Golf Course.

Cornerstone is a full service real estate brokerage that only hires high quality, dedicated, professional real estate agents. Cornerstone Real Estate also uses the most innovative technology to assist in marketing, transaction facilitation, and client communication. It is looking behind the real estate paradigm of yesterday, and embracing the real estate world of tomorrow.

Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals offer services too:

Prospective Home Buyers
Home Sellers
Owners Selling by FSBO
Real Estate Investors
Distressed Homeowners
Rental Property Owners

For more information about the Logan Utah Real Estate Services of Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals LLC. visit their website at www.UtahCornerstone.com

The Logan Utah Real Estate Market is Slowing... Why?

The Logan Utah Real Estate market is slowing. Not stopping, just slowing. September 2007 market the first time in 7 months that there were less than 100 single family homes sold in Cache County. In 2006 there were 126 homes sold in the month of September vs. 96 this year. A decrease of nearly 25%.

Inventory of availabe homes for sale is also on the rise. As of October 5th there were 503 single family homes on the market in Cache County. In June there were less than 400. At the same time, demand for Logan Utah Houses for Rent is extremely high.

In my opinion the slowing is coming from:

1. Nationwide media and market speculation. The national media constantly brings up the fact that foreclosures are at all time high and that home prices are declining in major markets. This is true, but not the case in Cache Valley. We must realize that real estate is a local thing. Prices are not dropping here, and the rate of foreclosures is far below the national average. Many buyers feel that they can wait a little longer for prices to drop and then can get a better deal. For Cache Valley I recommend buying when you find the right house. Prices will be fairly stable here for the next few months.

2. A trickle effect from struggling national markets. The "crisis" markets do have an effect on our market. Many people wanting to move here from California, Las Vegas, etc. would buy here, but they cannot sell their houses. This especially effects the high end and luxury home markets. I have clients from these markets who have had their homes on the market for over a year. They have dropped the price $50,000 and yet the house still won't sell.

3. The mortgage meltdown and sub-prime crisis. Interest rates are great right now if you have good credit and documented income. You can get a 30 year fixed mortgage for near 6%. But, the window of opportunity has closed for people with questionable credit and very little money to put down. It's a small percentage of home buyers, but it does nevertheless decrease the demand for housing.