13-Month Median List & Sales Price

5-Year Median List & Sales Price

13-Month Median Days On Market

5-Year Median Days On Market

Monthly Homes Sold Comparison

Year-To-Date Homes Sold Comparison

#1: Pay your Credit Cards Down Below 20%

Many people use their credit card on a monthly basis. They buy groceries on it, put gas on it, and then pay it off every month. The trouble with this is that if your credit card balance is above 16% of your total limit, this can lower your score. It doesn’t matter if you pay it off every month or not. It’s a simple calculation of current balance divided by limit.

#2: Ask for a Credit Limit Increase

Having higher credit limits, even if you don’t intend on using them, shows you’re more financially healthy. Raising your combined credit limits from less than $2,000 to over $10,000 can have a quick effect on your score, upwards of 15 points.

#3: Check and Remove any Credit Discrepancies

Did you know that 75% of Americans have at least one discrepancy on their credit report. With the prevalance of common names and human data-entry error, it’s easy and probable that you’ve got negative information reporting on your credit report that’s not even yours. This can be easily fixed by writing a letter to the credit bureaus and disputing the discrepancy.

Lenders require an offer to purchase as part of a complete short sale package, so this is often the final piece of information needed to initiate the process. The problem is, that due to the potentially lengthy process of a short sale, the buyer may not wait around until you receive an approval from your lender on the sale. Since you’ve most likely taken your home off the market and made plans to move, this can put some sellers into a tail spin.

So, what does happen when a buyer backs out of a short sale contract? Depending on how far along you are in the short sale process will determine your options.

Before Short Sale Approval

If a buyer backs out before the short sale has been approved, many short sale negotiators will wait to alert the lender, as this will delay the process of getting an approval. Since nearly all short sales have backup offers in place (including yours), you will simply move to the next offer down the list, let them know they’re now in first position, wait for the approval, then negotiate your approval with the new buyer.

After Short Sale Approval

If a buyer backs out after a short sale approval, you are most likely under contract and moving along with your due diligence period. Buyers may back out based on due diligence, appraisal, or financing at this point, just like any other contract. If it’s within the guidelines of the contract, they’re free to do so. If it’s not, you’ll get to keep their earnest money deposit as damages.

In either scenario, if the buyer backs out, you will need to have any subsequent offers approved by your lender, but the timeline for this should be much less, as they’ve already reviewed all of your information, and you and the new buyer already know what their approved amount is. The bottom line is, don’t stress. These things happen during the process and it doesn’t mean everything is for naught. It’s a hiccup, not a derail.

Mona Stevens 

With professional negotiation skills, agents are able to help clients obtain better results in the sale or purchase of their home.  CNE^® agents have a powerful competitive edge because of their ability to 1) communicate effectively to uncover more information, 2) help clients understand their options, 3) work collaboratively with others, and 4) resolve deadlocks.  CNE^® agents have a thorough understanding of how to negotiate effectively to help achieve their client’s goals.

The Real Estate Negotiation Institute is the leading negotiation training and coaching company in the real estate industry.  Tom Hayman, the CEO and Co-Founder of the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, is a professional negotiator with 35+ years of negotiation experience, including 25 years with The Procter and Gamble Company (Fortune 50 company).  Hayman asserts “Any Buyer or Seller who hires a CNE^® agent can feel confident they have one of the best trained negotiators in real estate.  They should achieve superior results and have better resolution of all issues when represented by a CNE^® agent.”

For more information visit www.theRENI.com.

Below is a graph of the average sold price of a single family home in Salt Lake County over the last 11 years.  If we ‘fit a line’ to the curve, we can see that it is most likely that we have hit the bottom.

The overlaid straight line is a tool to predict the future.  We will not be able to declare that we are offically out of the housing mess here in Utah, but if I were a betting on it, I would say that now is the time to buy real estate.

Take notice that the total number of homes sold is heading up already and the inventory of homes for sale is down.  This translates to fewer homes available; more people want to buy – classic supply and demand turning back in favor of selling;  This can also translates to values slowly moving upward.  I am receiving multiple offers on most of my listings as are most of the agents in my office.

Now looking at the year over year numbers:

• 21.6%  - February 2012 sold homes were up over February 2011 – (643 from 529)
• 2.6%  - Median price drop  - (from $195,000 to $190,000) – homes are 2004 price levels
• 30.9% - Days on the Market (DOM) are down  - (from 107 days to 74 days)
• 5.7%  - Utah’s unemployment rate is down.  (last August it was 7.6%)

So, the graph shows we are bottomed out.  The days on the market shows that things are heating up.  The increase in the number of sold homes is there and lastly, the number of homes in the market is down.

If you are thinking of selling, it has become a much more friendly sellers market, we need inventory, that absolutely works in your favor.  If you are thinking of buying, now is the time.  And don’t forget, interest rates are at an all time record low…amazing.

Mona Stevens

801-550-8010

Main Street also climbs Capitol Hill one block to the west. The entire Salt Lake City metro area is impressively seen from Capitol Hill, and the Great Salt Lake glistens miles to the west.  If you own a home up here… everyone will want you to host the party!

The east bench is bordered to the north by Federal Heights and to the south by Interstate 80. Points of interest for this neighborhood are the Hogle Zoo, Red Butte Gardens, Foothill Shopping Center, and This is the Place Heritage Park.