With all the foreclosure activity we have seen since the housing market started slipping, mortgage insurance companies have really suffered. Mortgage insurance is essentially “foreclosure insurance” for banks. When a home buyer purchases a house with less than a 20% down payment, they are usually required to pay for a policy of mortgage insurance to [...]

Continue reading about Mortgage Insurance Changes Will Reduce The Amount Buyers Qualify For

Alan Barker on September 29th, 2010

Facts are facts. And right now home sales in Utah are substantially down compared to what they normally are at this time of year. The Utah Association of Realtors recently conducted a survey among recent home buyers, to find out their attitudes towards buying, and not buying Utah real estate. The report wasn’t very specific, [...]

Continue reading about Why Utahns Aren’t Buying Real Estate Right Now

The foreclosure situation in Utah is not looking good. According to RealtyTracs numbers, Utah ranks 6th nationally in terms of percentage of foreclosures. What’s most alarming, is the fact that foreclosure activity during August was up by 25% compared with a year ago. One in every 236 Utah homes saw some sort of foreclosure filing [...]

Continue reading about Utah Foreclosures Up 25% « Utah Homes for Sale – Real Estate Market Conditions

Alan Barker on September 22nd, 2010

Before I ever got my real estate license, I was always interested in HUD homes. I didn’t really understand what they were, but just new that they were foreclosure homes that were usually in disrepair and could be purchased for less than other real estate. One deceiving thing I learned about HUD homes is that [...]

Continue reading about Number of HUD Homes in Logan Utah Increasing

Alan Barker on September 16th, 2010

It looks like the number of short sales and foreclosure homes are on the rise in Cache County Utah. Right now 5.2% of the current homes for sale in Logan UT,  are listed as short sales. This is up nearly a percent and a half from July when just 3.62% of the homes for sale [...]

Continue reading about Cache Valley Short Sales on The Rise

Alan Barker on September 15th, 2010

The slow real estate market has increased the number of homes for sale in Logan UT that are offering lease options.  Right now there are 22 lease option homes for sale in Logan. A couple years ago, I assisted some sellers with a lease option. At that time there were only three other homes being [...]

Continue reading about Number of “Lease Option” Homes in Logan Up

Alan Barker on September 14th, 2010

We all know that Logan is one of the safest places in the world. In general people are very honest and crime is minimal. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to be cautious and that everyone is honest though. There is crime here as was demonstrated by the theft of a scooter by one [...]

Continue reading about Logan is Safe, but it’s Not Perfect

Alan Barker on September 9th, 2010

It appears as if the Logan Real Estate market is still declining. Since the expiration of the home buying tax credit, home sales have been substantially down compared with previous years, and the number of homes for sale has increased. There are currently more than 900 MLS listings, and we might see only 900 total [...]

Continue reading about Price Your Home Ahead of The Curve to Get Top Dollar

Alan Barker on September 9th, 2010

It looks like it finally happened. Mortgage interest rates actually stopped declining. There is no new record low this week. It appears as if last week was the time to buy or refinance for anyone wanting the best interest rate ever. Now, interest rates aren’t bad, they are still just about record lows, and are [...]

Continue reading about Mortgage Rates Are Up From Last Weeks All Time Lows

Alan Barker on September 3rd, 2010

Who is the number one brokerage for Cache County Real Estate sales? Being that this is a Cornerstone Real Estate blog, you’re probably not to surprised that Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals are the undisputed, #1 brokerage for total residential home sales in Cache County. Here is the year to date break down, if you want [...]

Continue reading about #1 Brokerage for Logan Real Estate