Realtors see ray of hope among dismal housing market | ksl.com

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Home sales have hit a record low, but Utah Realtors say there is a ray of hope for the local market.

According to the Utah Realtors Association, homes are starting to sell again, and August was a pretty good month.

But it's still a buyers' market, and many sellers are finding they have to put up some bargain prices to get their homes sold.

Like many other homeowners in Utah, Krista Numbers has learned that selling a home right now isn't all easy.

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"You're competing with a lot of things — like short sales, and bank-owned, and foreclosure — so you have to be aggressive," she said.

And that's what she did. Also a short sale, she put her home up for a bargain price and got a buyer in just a few days.

Numbers has no doubt it's a buyers' market out there, and that brings some hope for the future. "All across the valley we are finding that there are some fantastic homes out there," she said.

Overall, Utah Realtors say that's bringing a positive trend for Utah. While sale prices are still low, the increase in activity means there are signs that our local market is on the gradual road to recovery.

"We're seeing more confidence in the market, and we're seeing people get out there and take advantage of the positives out there — like affordability," said Deanna Devey, with the Utah Association of Realtors.

Realtor Vann Larsen says the good news is homeowners can make that quick sale if they're willing to face the facts.

"The sellers aren't going to get what they thought their home was worth a few years ago, but those values were inflated," he said.

That is the bad news. The median price for homes sold is down about 10 percent from last year.

Still, Numbers says if her family can just stick it out, things may work out better in the long run.

"The thing that I have definitely learned with this market is you have to roll with it. You're buying high and selling high, or you're in a market where you're gonna sell lower and you're gonna buy lower," she said.

There were also fewer homes on the market in August than a year ago. Overall, realtors say since prices didn't get as inflated as they were in other parts of the country, things are improving faster. Still, it's a buyers' market out there, as the conditions very slowly improve for sellers.

Email: manderson@ksl.com

via ksl.com