May 2021 St George Market report

Wow…this report leaves me speechless. Check out this graph from April 2019 to April 2021.

The graph below is specific to the Greater St George (residential) area.

Lava Bluff is a 55+ age-restricted community located in Hurricane, Utah. While this is “Hurricane,” the location is more on the outskirts placing this community in closer proximity to the St George side of town. Nightly rentals are NOT allowed within this community.

Coming from I15, you will find this quiet smaller community of Lava Bluff just past the Quail Lake turn and just before the Sand Hollow turn off, positioning you front and center for ease of access to our recreational lakes. If your pastime desires are off-roading, hiking, or trails…you are in luck! Beyond your front door is the gateway to the outdoors.

Have a look out the living room window…take in the views and how close the beautiful mountains are. Shopping and gas stations are down the street; a little further will place you in Hurricane town. Lava Bluff features ease of access to anything you’d like while being on the quiet side of the hustle and bustle.

Inside the home, you’ll appreciate the brand-new carpet, new flooring in both bathrooms, and the open and spacious floorplan. The kitchen features ample counter space and room to move around with working space in each station. The dining area just off the kitchen at the front of the house hosts windows on all sides, allowing you to take in the views and observe the neighborhood activity.

The living room at the front door allows for mountain views and space for gatherings (assuming the world will return to normal), then a secondary living room (or flex room) will serve perfectly for TV watching, an office space, or both. Down the hall, you’ll find a second bedroom across from the main bathroom, and you’ll be amazed at the size of the owners' bedroom. The ensuite bathroom is roomy and has beautiful new flooring. All owners will appreciate ample counter space, natural light, and an easy step-in shower.

Head out through the laundry room and notice the added storage. You’ll appreciate the carport with attached two-room flex space. Use one side as a shop and the room as a hobby room. Windows in each space bring in natural light to space; tinker with any of your projects. Perhaps you will use the outdoor rooms to store your garden tools because the backyard offers a fabulous amount of space. The generously appointed backyard will offer so many options. If you’ve got a furry family member, but you still wish you could have a garden…you’re in luck! This yard will offer the space you need for whatever you would like to do.

Here is a direct link for this listing--if the home should go pending, this link will automatically update:

www.flexmls.com/share/4f9GO/52-N-3910-W.-Hurricane-UT-84737

Make an appointment to see this home today. For a private showing, contact Paula Smith, listing agent of RealtyPath St George. 435-773-3751 If you’re already working with a buyer's agent, request them to call for an appointment. Don’t delay; homes in Lava Bluff don’t come up on the market often.

I am Paula Smith, Associate Broker with RealtyPath of St George. I have been a licensed, full-time real estate agent in Southern Utah since 2006.  I have been selling residential real estate during all of the changes in the market, as well as witnessing our St George area grow to become one of the fastest-growing cities in America. I keep my finger on the pulse and not only pay attention to what is going on, and I've accurately predicted future market conditions.  

Allow me to be of assistance and earn your business. If you’ve got a home in Southern Utah that you’re thinking of selling and you’d like a property market report, I can send that to you.

If you're ready to buy or sell, I'm prepared to make it happen.  435-773-3751

 Find Paula Smith on Facebook

This is St George, Utah real estate housing market report, reviewing home sales for July 2020 and comparing sales from previous years.

If only we could place the housing market in a syringe and offer total COVID19 immunity to the public, the way the housing market is seemingly immune—we'd be set! The St George housing market is doing fantastic. It's a wonderful venue for sellers, not as enjoyable for buyers. The inventory is as low as I've seen it (maybe ever), and demand is full throttle. Iced with extortionary low-interest rates, it's almost unbelievable.

This recipe is causing prices to trend upward, and some are trending fast. Coveted home features are high in demand and low in availably creating instant bidding wars and higher pricing. Coveted features include a larger lot, private lot, backs to open space, view, large garage, open floor plan, newer, pool, single level, and of course, lower price points are desired. Under $300,000 sells instantly (but typically without most of the coveted features mentioned above). Nightly rental or vacation rental homes for sale are a popular investment these days. With cheap money, it can make a strategic investment, especially for those who would like a second home in St George and would like to offset their expenses for owning a second home.

Let's have a look at the graph below.

Escapes at Entrada

This rare lot is now available and one of only a couple of lots that back to a common area offering panoramic views that will captivate you from every window. The views don't stop there, though. The views begin as soon as you turn into Entrada's Kachina community. The guarded access will have you pause momentarily, long enough to be mesmerized by the beauty that IS Entrada. The Red Mountains to the left and right, along with stunning landscape offering a natural, well-manicured, and colorful sight to call home. Utah vibrant bright blue skies above and the bold red mountain backdrop, it truly is a spectacular sight.

This is the May 2020 housing market report for the Greater St George Utah area, specific to residential homes. This report will look at April sales and statistics, which places us in the middle of the COVID crisis.

Sales are lower, and as a result, inventory is higher—however, we are faring well. For the past couple of years, the St George housing market tends to spike from March to April, but this COVID year we did experience a decline. These results should not come as a surprise, considering the situation of the world having travel bans and lockdown. It was interesting to note, however, that each week our "pending" homes have been quite strong, and ultimately selling 252 homes confirms strength and resiliency. Take a look at the current previous 3 years:

I do expect to see a decent spike in May for home sales, and I expect to see these numbers to remain strong through the summer. If you look at our black line of sales going back to April 2017, you can see that we have peaks and valleys throughout the entire year, but for the most part, our sales are steady. We do not have a time in St George Utah when homes do not sell, and apparently, a pandemic is also immune.

The St George Utah real estate market is selling. Prices seem to be holding firm. I've noticed buyers commenting that prices are dipping, but a pricing decline is very typical for our market, this time of the year. We have the Parade of Homes every February, and an increase in prices systematically coincides with that event. Within a month or two after the Parade, for homes that did not sell, over-inflated prices tend to reduce to their fair market values (hence a noticeable "decline in prices" may be observed). It is my opinion that the generalized statement of "I see prices coming down" really has nothing to do with COVID, but more to do with what is typical for April and May in St George. In a couple of months, we will have a better understanding of any significant pricing moves that could be related to the economy. However, at this point, I cannot attribute any radar blip pricing declines to the pandemic.

Year to date activity (from 1/1/20 to 4/30/20) compared to the same time last year, shows that the Greater St George (residential) is down only 1% over last year (there were only 20 sold homes separating the YTD from the previous year at the same time). The average sale price was UP 8% (again, using the same data YTD compared to the prior year same time). At this point, I'm simply not seeing any indicators that the market is doing anything but holding strong. I've had a few buyers that mentioned they plan to wait until prices decline before they purchase. Hopefully, they love their current quarantine headquarters...because I feel they'll be hunkering down for a while before pricing may decrease. At this point, I think that we will finish out the year with strength and values continuing to trend upward, gently.  

Sellers that have urgency may be more motivated to bargain, but that will apply to any time of the year (crisis or otherwise). The number stressed sellers are going to be few and far between, so buyers will have to surrender to fair market prices at this point. There are some deals to be had, but they are more like diamonds in the rough, and you will be better paired with a skilled agent who can spot the deals. Waiting for prices to dip on a particular home is like waiting for the pinata to burst…once it goes--- you're going to have some serious competition.  Multiple offers are still common, even during the pandemic. I see no real indicators at this point that leads me to believe any shift is close.  We currently (as of today) have 452 PENDING homes! Since March 1st, there are 377 pending. That demonstrates incredible strength. I suspect many of these will close in May. Time to close has been slightly delayed, with banks and lenders being overwhelmed and running minimally staffed.

I've got some pinata candy on the way…anyone looking for a fantastic view home in Entrada? How about a smaller 2-bedroom home in Sunriver (priced under $275,000)? Check out a couple of my newest listings, below.

Homes Listed by Paula Smith RealtyPath

Are you interested in other statistical information? I'd love to hear from you, especially if you're out of the area—how is your market doing?

I am Paula Smith, Associate Broker with RealtyPath of St George. I have been a licensed, full-time real estate agent in Southern Utah since 2006. I have been selling residential real estate during all of the changes in the market, as well as witnessing our St George area grow to become one of the fastest-growing cities in America. I keep my finger on the pulse and not only pay attention to what is going on, and I've accurately predicted future market conditions.  

Allow me to be of assistance and earn your business. If you've got a home in Southern Utah that you're thinking of selling and you'd like a property market report, I can send that to you.

If you're ready to buy or sell, I'm prepared to make it happen.  435-773-3751

 Find Paula Smith on Facebook

THIS HOME IS NOW SOLD

1630 E. 2450 S. #90
St George, UT 84790

Price: $329,000
MLS 20-212909

Bedrooms: 4
High Ceilings, Beautiful Backyard
Bathrooms: 2
Garage: 2
Square Footage: 1,904

March 2020 St George Real Estate Market Report

What an unusual time we are facing in the world today. The pandemic is something everyone has considered, but few have planned. We are still quite early into the ripple, and the full extent of the effect may not be realized for several months. Perhaps it will be a small blip on the radar, or maybe it will spiral. I suspect the result will be somewhere in the middle. My thoughts are that the housing market will momentarily lose some traction, but I do not suspect that we will see anything genuinely significant. Honestly, I'm wondering if this could be the calm before the housing surge. People are taking a life break, spending time with family or alone, and likely reflecting on life. Those who have been considering changing their current situation, moving across town or cross country may decide at this moment….(or once we are in the clear) to act now on these pent-up plans. Others may be financially forced into it, job or pay loss may result in forced sales and relocation. With ridiculously low-interest rates, stocks that were seeing all-time highs (I'm sure many people moved their profits to a more stable portfolio at the first sign of this impending trouble)…I don't know—I think we may see a bit of a frenzy when the wave recedes.

THIS HOME IS NOW SOLD

SunBrook St George Utah Home For Sale

2127 W. Azzurro Drive
St George, UT 84770

Price: $335,900
MLS 20-211537

Bedrooms: 3
High Ceilings, Beautiful Backyard
Bathrooms: 2
Garage: 2.
Square Footage: 1,665

First and foremost, Happy Holidays! From my family to yours, we wish you good health, happiness, and prosperity for the season and the new year. If you’re on my newsletter mail-out program, I hope you’ve been enjoying those. I have been trying to complete them every month, but as you already know—maybe it’s going to end up every other month in my busier seasons. Calendars are being mailed out this week to you, and I’ll have the first 2020 newsletter by the end of January.

I’ll be doing an end of the year statistics report, but I wanted to look at where things are as we head into the final weeks of 2019. Here are the “get to the point” stats for those who aren’t in this for the long read.

• Median list price YTD is up 7.46%. 
• Median SOLD price YTD is up 6.56%. 
• Average sale price, YTD, for Greater St George, for 2019, is $364,010.
• Median Days on the Market (DOM) it up a bit (YTD) at 29 days compared to November, 2018 YTD of 25 days. 
• Up (YTD) 5.1% for active listings. Currently, we have 875 listed (Greater St George). 
• Sold listings are up 3.1% (YTD up to November 2018 vs. 2019); we have sold 3,737 as of today (Greater St George). 
• Pending listings are up 6% (YTD to November), and we are 18 days into December, and 369 homes are pending. 

THIS HOME IS NOW SOLD

3563 E. Hidden Springs Drive
Washington, UT 84780

Price: $315,000
MLS 20-209991

Bedrooms: 3
Beautiful, Private Backyard
Bathrooms: 2
Garage: 2.
Square Footage: 1,686