Educated Excellence

Johnathan Ward and his family needed more space. They had been in their home for seven years and the home was now filled with four young children — not to mention Johnathan and his wife.

With the help of Utah County-based Realtor® Kenny Parcell, Johnathan and his wife sold their home and moved to a new home in South Jordan.

“It was the perfect situation for us,” Johnathan says. “We tried to make a rational decision. We took a good look at where we were financially — I even spoke with my employer and others about the future — and felt the time was right to move.”

Johnathan knows he could have tried to time the market even better and wait for prices to drop, but he realized that was a tough game to play.

“Timing the market is next to impossible,” he says. “We took an educated guess and found a home with good value at an interest rate we felt good about. We recognized it as a good opportunity and we took it.”

Plus, not gambling on holding out longer means Johnathan and his family are already enjoying their new home.

“For us, it was the perfect time to buy a new home.”

Taylor’s Take
If anyone doubted the strength of the Utah housing market, this summer’s strong performance made the case that we are well on our way to a full recovery.

June home sales were up 42 percent from the year before (sales jumped from 394 to 558). If we compare January to June, sales rose from 214 to 558, a 161 percent increase. That’s a nice trend.

Sales are up — and up huge — while prices are down but only down a reasonable amount. So, is all this a strong signal that the slump is over? The answer is more than just a yes or no. The answer is … it depends. It depends on how you define value. Value is the issue because home buyers want value for their money. Maybe the real question is, “Are buyers finding value and can they expect to hold that value in the future?” The answer is yes.

Todd’s Take
Worried about your home equity line of credit? Many Utahns are getting notices from large banks that their lines of credit have been frozen or cut due to decreasing home values. Before you panic, the good news is that credit unions can help. Often, credit unions can be more flexible in their loan requirements and can loan up to 95 percent of the home’s value. Typically, big banks will only loan up to 75 or 80 percent of the value.

If your line has been cut or frozen, it doesn’t mean you are out of options or can’t refinance. With today’s low interest rates, now can be a great time to consider combining balances or readjusting your rates. Look at all options. Just because a big bank won’t open up a line of credit for you, it doesn’t mean that someone else isn’t there to help.

Shop around.

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