Ever working to collaborate with other local ventures that see the value in this city, our head honcho has been doing a touch of blogging for Utah Style & Design website. At the front end of each and every month, you can click your way to whatever it is we've got to speak on that month. Thus far, we've covered listing myths, finding your space, and a few things that make a neighborhood stellar. This month: charts and graphs...but without charts or graphs. Read below for some happy news on the market [or head to the Utah Style & Design website].
As a realtor, I’m privy to countless questions from unsure buyers and sellers. Among them, however, are two of the most common: “How’s the real-estate market doing? Is now a good time for me to buy/sell?” They’re good questions. Necessary ones, even. Nobody wants to walk into a disaster when they decide it’s time to make a move. But my answer to these question rarely wavers. Having done this for 12+ years, my opinion is humble, but well-informed: I think it’s almost always a good time for both. Salt Lake City is a real-estate powerhouse; every market sees ups and downs, be they seasonal or situational, but I’m always busy. My COLLECTIVE real-estate plate is full during every time of year, and now is no exception. And maybe that’s just me...but there is some pretty solid evidence to back me up here:
1. Numbers don’t lie, and neither do I.
Let’s break down the basics first, shall we? When we’re talking real estate, there’s a simple definition of the term value: it’s what a ready, willing, and able buyer agrees to pay for a property. And when we’re talking current values in Salt Lake City, there’s one simple truth: they’re on the rise. According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors [a gang worth paying attention to], “in the third quarter of 2014, the median Salt Lake single-family home price increased to $257,000, a 1% rise compared to a median price of $255,000 in the third quarter of 2013. Many zip codes in the Salt Lake area continued to see modest home price increases.” In addition, the same wise board of folks claims that, “the median condo price in Salt Lake County climbed to $176,000, up 4% compared to a median price of $169,000 last year.” This is, quite simply, good news in the form of numbers.
2. Everyone else sees our value, too.
As the owner of a company whose website regularly brags about the surge in creativity and growth our fantastic city is experiencing, it’s no surprise that I might see the increasing value of Salt Lake. But cityhomeCOLLECTIVE isn’t alone in the praise of our salty state; it seems as though each time I flip through a well-known, nationally-circulated magazine, I’m reading more and more about SLC and Utah, in general. In 2012, Forbes Magazine ranked Utah the “#1 Best State for Business”, the same year that MSN Money called us the “#1 Most Livable Future State”. We came in first place when National Geographic ranked the best hiking cities in the U.S. in May of 2012. And The Advocate ranked us 6th in their assessment of the “Gayest Cities in America” in January of 2013. Folks, the perks of living here are officially public, and people the world over are starting to take notice. That’s nothing but good news for our real-estate market.
3. We can continue to raise the value. All of us. Every day.
We’ve all seen missed opportunities at some point. Perhaps you were offered a shot at some investment in a different market--a Williamsburg brownstone, or a place in Portland, Austin, Silverlake--and you passed it up. The explosion that is Brooklyn snuck up on you, simply because you weren’t there to see first-hand what was happening. You couldn’t foresee what those areas were bound to become. But we’re here for this one, and we can have a direct impact on the turn that our property values take. Every new restaurant, every creative venture, each well-done remodel or update--it’s all contributing to a city on the rise. My advice? Get in while you can. Invest in what you know. Be a financial backer of your own city. Work with others to increase the value yourself. If you don’t, others will...but it’s happening, either way.
Here’s the bottom line: facts are facts. Real estate statistics are on the up and up, but we’ve got more than numbers telling us what to do here. We’ve got a burgeoning creative mecca, a slice of outdoor heaven, and a sturdy economic status. The growing wonder that is Salt Lake City is no longer a kept secret, and if others have become aware of our value, we should pay closer attention ourselves. Every neighborhood goes at its own pace. Every street has its special perks. Every structure/building will head north at its own time, but one thing is certain: Utah is on the rise. And there’s no better place to bet on than your own beautiful backyard.