No More Fear - Utah is Doing Okay!

While the national mortgage mess is very serious and poised to get worse, I am alarmed at the lack of good information available to Utahns about our local situation. Local papers and news shows are underreporting the Utah situation and this lack of good information is alarming Utahn's unnecessarily.

Utah is a well-managed, fiscally conservative state. Because of this, and because of a recent (within the past 2 years) correction in stagnating home prices, we are still enjoying appreciation in most areas.

Yet I get the same questions all day long from frightened homeowners wondering if they will somehow be affected by the same dire economic forces that are ravaging the housing situation in places such as Detroit, Ohio, and California. The answer is yes and no.

Here's the difference between us and them: We are still enjoying appreciation here (with the notable exception of Salt Lake City and the Provo areas) which means that if a homeowner needs to sell their home quickly, they can without worries about being upside down (owing more than the home is worth). The spring weather and low interest rates have brought out droves of buyers. As a Real Estate Broker in Utah, I've never had such a busy February!

Examine your local market conditions before buying into the scary national stories about what is happening to other homeowners in different situations than ours. If you are thinking of moving or refinancing, do your homework and find the right professionals to navigate you through the process. There are a lot of well-qualified, diligent people in this state standing ready to assist us to stay strong and prosperous together through rocky times.

Isn't that what Utah's always been about?

Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker