Ring In The New Year With Some Good News

Upcoming year is bright — especially for first-time homebuyers

The year 2008 is over, and most of us won’t miss it. It’s like saying goodbye to in-laws after a week-long stay. Not to worry — 2009 is looking bright.
Here are a few reasons to be optimistic about the near future.

• It’s a great time to be a first-time homebuyer. Housing prices are more affordable than they have been in years — and first-time homebuyers don’t have an underpriced home to sell. First-timers made up a bigger share of homebuyers in 2008 than the previous two years, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Source: Todd Hatfield, assistant vice president for mortgage development, Family First Credit Union

• Local financial institutions will continue to have money to lend throughout 2009. Conservative lending practices, favorable rates and a liquidity base primarily comprised of member deposits will help. Plus, tumbling stock prices have prompted investors to put more of their money into savings accounts, further strengthening institutional liquidity.
Source: Todd Hatfield, assistant vice president for mortgage development, Family First Credit Union

• Local financial institutions, including Family First Federal Credit Union, have mortgage lending options that are flexible and receivable. In addition to conventional mortgage loans and FHA loans, there are still USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) options where 100 percent financing is available. However, it’s restricted to certain geographic areas and neighborhoods. Check with your mortgage lender for locations where USDA loans are available. The designated areas change regularly.
Source: Todd Hatfield, assistant vice president for mortgage development, Family First Credit Union

• The housing market is stabilizing. Home prices are only down 3 percent from last year, while many other markets are seeing double-digit drops.
Source: Taylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of REALTORS®

• Utah continues to have a high demand for housing. Utah added approximately 80,000 residents last year, which equals about 25,000 to 30,000 households. Utah County also ranks as the ninth youngest county in the nation (median age=24.4 years), which means this demand will be around for years to come.
Source: Taylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of REALTORS® UV

The Good News section is sponsored by the Utah County Association of REALTORS® (www.ucaor.com • 801-226-3777), an organization dedicated to helping REALTORS® deliver the highest quality professional service to their clients, and by Family First Credit Union (www.familyfirstcu.com), a credit union dedicated to providing a comprehensive set of financial services to members.

UTAH — Rah! Rah! Rah!
• CNBC ranked Utah as having the third strongest economy and as being the third best state to do business.

• The Pew Center on States 2008 names Utah as the best managed state in the country.

• Forbes placed Utah second in the country for its strong business climate.

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