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4th Quarter Utah Market Report
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4th Quarter Utah Market Report
- The number of homes for sale in the final quarter of the year was 14.4% lower than in the same period a year ago and 21.3% lower than the third quarter of 2019.
- The average home price in the region continued to rise in the fourth quarter, with a year-over-year increase of 9.5% to an average of $403,186.
- Inventory levels remain low, even in the face of modestly increasing market time.
Wondering what this may mean if you’re looking to buy or sell? The market looks different throughout the year so you’ll need a season-specific game plan. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
SunCrest Market Update- January
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Where did 2019 go? As we close out the year that was, we’d like to thank you—each resident of SunCrest—for all your support as we provide these monthly updates. Your comments, messages, and social and real life interactions keep us going. Now that 2019 is over, let’s look back at the SunCrest real estate market last year.
Total SunCrest Properties Sold: 182 (Highest in over 10 years)
Composition of Properties: 111 Existing homes, 64 New homes, 7 vacant lots
Highest Sold Price: $2,000,001
Lowest Sold Price: $281,500
Median Sales Price: $529,000
Most Active Sales Period: 3rd Quarter – 56 Closed transactions
Median Sales Time: 21 Days
We thought it would be fun to create a profile for the “average” SunCrest home sold in 2019. Not that there are any “average” homes in our neighborhood, but based on the data here’s what that profile would look like:
Built 2011
4.14 bedrooms
3.18 bathrooms
2.45 garage
.21 acres
Price – $553,373
$144 square foot
44% finished basement
42 days average time to sell
Our Take:
What a year! While it was a very active year for SunCrest real estate and we find it informative and helpful to look back, we also recognize that each home sale and purchase are a unique case. It’s always best to take a hands-on approach and assess each home for its own merits. Averages can also be misleading, as there are always wide exceptions to it—that’s how averages work, after all. Things like timing, condition, location, and quality all have an impact on buying and selling and you can get frustrated pretty easily if your home sale or purchase don’t seem to be fitting the “average” experience. Having a hyperlocal expert in your corner who knows how to spot out of average opportunities can help turn any transaction to your benefit.
Our SunCrest Market Update is a hyper-local analysis of the most up-to-date information regarding the SunCrest real estate market. The previous month’s SunCrest housing information and future editions are released monthly.
SunCrest Market Update-December
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- Price – The average and median sales price of SunCrest homes has gone up consistently over the last 5 years, but we actually don’t see any appreciable spike in price in January.
- Days on market – One thing is for certain, putting your home up for sale in April has historically led to a quicker sale, but that advantage has been steadily decreasing for five years. Since 2015, homes listed in January have been selling nearly as fast. In 2019, homes listed in April sold only 5.5 days quicker than January. A stark difference from 2015 when the difference was 91 days.
- Negotiation – The data didn’t reveal any significant difference in price negotiation. Whether a home was listed in January or April, when we compared the original asking price to the final sold price, it varies from year to year without consistent pattern.
Our Take:
The Realtor.com study and our own data prove it: winter is definitely not a bad time to buy and sell a home. In most cases, you just need a season-specific game plan. Depending on your circumstances, winter might actually be the best time to buy or sell in SunCrest. Working with an experienced agent or team who can help guide you through the home buying or selling process can help you make the smartest selling or buying decisions in any season.
Our SunCrest Market Update is a hyper-local analysis of the most up-to-date information regarding the SunCrest real estate market. The previous month’s SunCrest housing information and future editions are released monthly.
This is SunCrest
The sun comes up over the mountain and shines on the gambel oak around you. The Salt Lake Valley has disappeared beneath the inversion, but in SunCrest, the sky is bright and blue. What will you do today? Sled with the family? Snowshoe down your favorite trail? Stop by the community clubhouse for the neighborhood mixer? Winter, spring, summer, fall—there’s always something to do. This is SunCrest. This is the SunCrest lifestyle.
Thank You SunCrest!
Wow – this was our biggest year yet! The continued generosity and support from our community to our annual Warm Winter Clothes Drive is nothing short of amazing. Your donations (hundreds of items!) benefitted The Family Support Center’s Midvale Life Start Village, a non-profit that provides housing and self-sufficiency program for homeless parents in Salt Lake County. Every item you gave will help someone stay a little warmer this winter.
We are moved by the personal stories you shared with me and Robyn. You told us about special trips to stores to buy items, making items when you’re able to find a minute or two, or saving stuff in basements, closets, and garages throughout the year for this drive and it always touches our hearts. We are so grateful for your continued partnership and support.
Shout out to the SunCrest OA for allowing donations to dropped off at the clubhouse.
With all the gratitude we have, THANK YOU.
15122 S. Eagle Chase Drive
💰 $430,000 | 📐 3,336 sq. ft. | 🛏 6 beds | 🛁 3 baths | MLS: 1646157 – Windermere
Every home has a story…
Every home has a story, and this one is pretty special. We’ve been lucky enough to watch the story of this home unfold. We were here when it was built. We saw it a few years ago when it was updated with fresh paint, carpet, and landscaping. Then we saw the owners raise their kids in a flowing floor plan, the private backyard, and with a love of the SunCrest Community. Today, we’re writing the next chapter. Yes, that floor plan still flows and has proven to stand the test of time-we think open concepts will always be in style. However, the last few years have added a whole new finished basement, including 3 new bedrooms, a full bathroom with custom cabinets, wet bar, and an unbelievable oversized entertaining area that extends nearly the full depth of the house. Best of all, the story becomes yours to write as the movie projector and screen all stay for you to enjoy. The backyard is ready for kids full of curiosity, four-legged adventurers, or overflow for those summer BBQs. It abuts natural vegetation, so you get the ultimate in privacy and peaceful serenity. One part of the story that stays the same is the stellar location, where summers are spent at the neighborhood pool and winters at the community clubhouse with friends or family, or even our snowshoeing one of the local trails. Winter stories always end with tales of clean air as SunCrest sits well above the infamous valley inversion. LIfe is full of stories, come and write yours here.
SunCrest Market Update-November
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Where Exactly Is Your Home "Listed" For Sale?
When you hire a real estate agent, your home is typically listed on the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Here in Utah, we use the Wasatch Front Regional MLS, or WFRMLS. The MLS is one giant database of all the homes for sale in an area, listed by licensed agents who pay to have access to the MLS. This is obviously one advantage over listing your home for sale by owner, as there are thousands of eyes on the MLS each day.
Do You Have to List on the MLS?
Historically, home sellers could opt out of being listed on the MLS. Although very rare, some sellers had their reasons. Celebrities, for example, may not want their home and address posted on the internet. In most cases, however, it presents a huge advantage to a seller to have their home in front of as many other agents as possible. Additionally, the MLS is searchable by the general public, although agents do have access to much more enhanced information and more specific search capabilities. The big third-party real estate websites also scrape the MLS and give sellers extra exposure there.
Recent Trends in the MLS (What in the World is a Pocket Listing?)
Recently, we've been seeing agents delay or opt out entirely of adding homes into the MLS. Instead, they have been marketing these homes to their own private network. This often includes sending around the listing to other agents, sending an email blast to a curated list of potential buyers and home investors, placing a sign in the yard with a "coming soon" sign, flyer distribution, and other marketing tactics outside of the Realtor-run MLS. This tactic of marketing only to a small pocket of interested buyers has been dubbed a "Pocket Listing."
Recent Changes In Pocket Listing Policy
This month, we attended the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference in San Francisco. This yearly gathering is the largest annual event for real estate professionals, with hours of education, technology, and policy updates. This year, Pocket Listings were a hot topic. In an effort to create a more transparent and open market for real estate, the National Association of Realtors board recently passed a cooperation policy to limit the practice of Pocket Listings. It compels agents to add their homes to the MLS within one business day of any action announcing that it's for sale. If a yard sign goes up, or an email goes out, it has to be listed on the MLS within a day (with a few exceptions).
Our Take: What Does This Change Mean To You?
Proponents say that keeping one big database in the MLS allows agents to better serve their clients, and ultimately puts your home in front of the most amount of buyers possible, creating demand that ultimately gives you the highest sales price. Opponents believe there is great value in letting you "test run" the market with a Pocket Listing before going public with it. Here's the deal: we think you should decide. There's no one size fits all approach, but we think you should not only be aware of what your agent is doing, but also work with them to make the right call. Consumers should be able to dictate how their home is marketed, and having a conversation with your agent will help you do what's right for your particular situation.
Our SunCrest Market Update is a hyper-local analysis of the most up-to-date information regarding the SunCrest real estate market. The previous month's SunCrest housing information and future editions are released monthly.
Warm Winter Clothes Drive
We’re excited for our 6th annual Warm Winter Clothes Drive. Over the past 5 years, you — our SunCrest friends and neighbors — have donated over 2,500 warm winter clothes items to the local communities where we live, work and play. We are humbled and grateful for your response to our call for help. You have made a difference to families who need you. THANK YOU!
This year, we’re excited to partner with The Family Support Center’s Midvale LifeStart Village, a non- profit that provides housing and self-sufficiency program for homeless parents in Salt Lake County. Winter brings bitter temperatures, so let’s team up to keep them warm!
We are asking residents to donate new or gently used warm winter clothes including:
WINTER COATS | JACKETS | WINTER GLOVES | WINTER HATS | WINTER PANTS | WINTER BOOTS
Here’s how you can donate:
* Email info@suncrestlifestyle.com with “PICKUP” in the subject line and we’ll pick it up! Don’t forget to put your address in the body of the email.
* Bring your donation to the “Light Up The Night” SunCrest Tree Lighting ceremony Friday November 15th, 2019 from 6PM-8PM.
* Drop off any item from the list above, into the blue donation bins at the SunCrest Community Clubhouse, now through November 30th, 2019.
Thank you! Scott and Robyn
3rd Quarter Utah Market Report
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3rd Quarter Utah Market Report
- …Home prices continue to appreciate at significant rates. I (Gardner) still expect to see some moderation in price growth as we move through the year and into 2020, but Utah will clearly continue to outperform the nation as a whole.
- The number of homes for sale in the third quarter was only 2.6% higher than in the same period a year ago but was 11% higher than the second quarter of this year. There continues to be significantly more choice in the market, which is good news for home buyers.
- The average number of days it took to sell a home … rose eight days compared to the third quarter of 2018. The Utah economy is still outperforming almost all other states and this will continue to drive housing demand.
Wondering what this may mean if you’re looking to buy or sell? The market looks different throughout the year so you’ll need a season-specific game plan. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
SunCrest Market Update-October
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Do homes sell in the winter?
We totally get it. The snow starts to fall, and especially here in SunCrest we go into hibernation mode. When people ask us if homes still sell in winter, we’re not bashful in saying yes! The best time to buy or sell is when you’re ready, not any one day, month, or season. Here are a few advantages to selling in winter.
Less Competition
We looked at historic trends over 1, 3, and 5 years. There are simply less homes available for sale in winter so your home will have less competition. And the data also reveals something interesting about the sales price. On average, homes sold during the winter receive offers that are closer to their listing price. Overall, less homes are sold, but those that do sell have a shorter escrow period which may suggest that winter buyers and sellers are a lot more serious about making that sale happen.
Job Transfers
Many companies work on a calendar year basis, and a new year brings new opportunities. It’s not uncommon to see future transferees schedule trips to visit and scope out neighborhoods. As Silicon Slopes continues to boom and the prison site redevelopment turns into reality, SunCrest stays poised as “must see” for many future Utahns. Job transfers don’t wait for sunny weather.
Inversion
Almost like clockwork, when the inversion rolls in, our phones start ringing with some folks looking for a reprieve from that “Utah inversion.” As emphasis and awareness of clean air escalates, outside of Park City, SunCrest is quickly becoming the go-to spot for fresher air and bluer skies.
Time Off
Buying or selling a house takes time. Searching online, scheduling walkthroughs, or sprucing up your place can take a minute. The end of year holiday break, or the quiet winter months without all the commotion of summer, sometimes offer just that—time. We also find that when residents have friends or family up for the holidays, these people see the magic of SunCrest and start asking around about homes available.
Taxes
Winter home buyers may be motivated to capture the tax benefits of buying a home before year-end. Home buyers can write off some of the expenses of their home purchase on their taxes. Some tax deductible benefits may include mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance premiums, and real estate taxes. As always be sure to seek appropriate legal advice regarding your particular tax situation.
Our Take:
Homes sell all year long, and winter is definitely no exception. Yes, the market looks different so you’ll need a season-specific game plan. And yes, you’ll need to be smart about negotiating unknown items like sprinklers, landscaping, and air conditioning. But if you know what you’re doing, winter might actually be the best time to buy or sell in SunCrest. Working with an experienced agent or team who can help guide you through the home buying or selling process can help you make the smartest selling or buying decisions in any season.
Our SunCrest Market Update is a hyper-local analysis of the most up-to-date information regarding the SunCrest real estate market. The previous month’s SunCrest housing information and future editions are released monthly.
