You’re Invited to Our Death By Chocolate Party! We have a very important message for you today. We want you to come to our Death By Chocolate party on March 7th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. “Join us on March 7th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.” This is a party we put on […]
Winter Is as Good a Time as Any to Buy or Sell For today’s topic, we’re going to discuss the benefits of buying or selling in the fall or winter. Contrary to what you might think, the passing of the summer season doesn’t necessarily equate to stagnation in the market now. There are great tax […]
Will the Wasatch Front Continue to See Growth in 2015? We have been having a great 2015 so far, and wanted to let you know today what to expect in the coming year, because a lot of our clients have been asking us. First, let’s talk about interest rates. They have been historically low for […]
Will I Pay Less Commission If I Find My Own Buyer? There’s a misconception among many sellers out there that any commission they pay to their Realtor will be reduced if they’re able to secure a buyer on their own. At the heart of the real estate transaction, the goal is to obviously find a […]
Today I look at the broader question of “Will Housing Prices Cancel Out Low Mortgage Rates?” I stumbled upon a great Realtor.com article that I’d like to share with you. This article covers the national economy and the real estate economy.
Why Work With Us? Why should you join The Stern Team? We asked our own team members why they joined us and why they’re still with us so you could get an idea of what we’re all about and what you can expect if you came onboard. Mike Wolters, our operations director and listing […]
Why Was Your Offer Rejected? If you make an offer on a home on The Wasatch Front, there’s always a chance it will get rejected. To decrease the chances of getting your offer rejected, we are going to give you four different reasons why your offer could get rejected. Your offer price was too low. […]
Why Should You Get a Home Inspection? I find most folks are willing to take a used car to a mechanic to look it over before they purchase the car. They probably spend about $150 to do this, and the car may cost between $5,000 and $10,000. So, why wouldn’t you consider having your home […]
Why List During the Holidays? Summer is now in the rear-view mirror but despite what some believe, the end of warmer weather does not mean our market has completely cooled off. Selling your home over the holiday season is often a smart move for sellers savvy enough to take advantage. Not only is there less […]
Why Is Homeownership so Affordable in 2015? Today I want to talk to you about the affordability of buying a home in today’s market. As we take a look at the Wasatch Front through the history books, let’s first examine the affordability of a home in 1989. In 1989, the average price of a home […]
Why Does Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts Trust The Stern Team? Recently, my team and I received a fantastic endorsement from Gary LeVox, lead singer of the Grammy award-winning country music group, Rascal Flatts. Gary is a respected artist who approaches his craft with the same heart and passion that my team and I have […]
Why Do Deals Fall Apart? Unfortunately, real estate deals don’t always make it all the way through closing. There are a number of reasons they can fall apart, and today we’d like to share five such reasons: 1. The buyer and/or seller encountered pre-contract problems. This includes issues like a lowball offer, an extensive list of […]
Why are We so Excited about Real Estate in 2015? Thanks for joining us once again, as we continue to give you the most up-to-date information about real esate on the Wasatch Front. This time of year, all of our clients have been asking us what to expect in 2015 from a real estate perspective. […]
Why Agents Choose to Work on The Stern Team At The Stern Team, we believe that when we take care of other people’s needs, our own needs are taken care of too. We have a big focus on making sure our client experience is exceptional. We do the same for our agents. With The Stern […]
Who’s Responsible for Keeping a Property Show-Ready? Home sellers and their agents want their properties to remain show-ready at all times while they’re on the market; but ensuring that this is the case can be a chore—especially if said sellers have already moved out. Whose job is it to pick up the newspaper, shovel the […]
Who Pays Closing Costs in Salt Lake City? Today, we’re going to talk about closing costs. What are they, and who pays them? Closing costs are fees that are associated with the closing of the transaction. That’s when the title of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. Closing costs are incurred […]
Which Updates Won’t Add Value to Your Home? When updating or renovating your home, you may be under the impression that making major renovations to your property will net you more money on the appraisal. This may not always be the case. In fact, some improvements may not increase your home’s value at all, leaving […]
Where Buyers and Sellers Stand in Our Market What’s been happening the last 60 days across the Wasatch Front market? Single-family homes are entering market much more slowly than buyers would like. Only 1,532 have been listed since January 1st. Compare that to the nearly 25,000 homes that sold in 2016 and you can understand their […]
When Should Sellers Respond to Offers? The question of when you should respond to an offer as a seller is one we get quite frequently, especially in a market like this. Most agents are advising their clients to hold off on responding to offers until after the first weekend they’ve listed, in which an open […]
What’s Happening in the Wasatch Market During COVID-19? Since Governor Herbert declared a State of Emergency for Utah in early March: • 4,195 homes became active. • 5,294 have moved into under contract statuses. • 5,601 have sold. Active listings are down 22.5% year-over-year. • 8,370 beginning January 1st, 2019. • 6,493 beginning January 1st, […]
What’s Going on With Interest Rates? Today I want to tell you the truth about interest rates and how they affect home sellers and buyers in the current market. Interest rates have been on the rise over the last couple of months, and we shouldn’t be surprised by this. In fact, most experts have been predicting […]
What’s the First Step an Empty Nester Should Take? Today, we’re going to address a problem we’re seeing here on the Wasatch Front. Many empty nesters – couples whose kids have moved from the house and are looking to make a move – have been hesitant to sell their homes in the last 6 months. […]
What’s Happening with Salt Lake County Real Estate? Today, we’ll talk about keeping score. We’re a little over halfway through 2015, and it’s been a record sales year for housing across the Wasatch Front. In Salt Lake County, home sales are up 18% from 2014, and the median sales price for single-family homes has risen […]
What to Expect When You’re Inspecting Today I am joined by Fred Larsen from Pillar to Post Home Inspection to answer some common questions about home inspections. So what should you expect when you’re inspecting? The most common issues found during home inspections are water related. Water can get into the house by grading and draining […]
What Should You Know About TRID? Today, we’ll talk about the TRID Mortgage Disclosure Form, which affects both buyers and sellers. This new integrated disclosure rule is the Federal Government’s attempt to clean up and simplify the mortgage closing process. It helps make things easier to understand for buyers. The rule has a good basis, […]
What Sets Realtors Apart From Normal Agents? Some people think that all real estate agents are Realtors. What makes a Realtor different than a real estate agent? A career in real estate is complicated enough, and many brokerages require their agents to become Realtors, but it’s not legally required. So, your Realtor is a real estate […]
What Sellers Must Disclose About Their Listing Whether you’ve lived in your home for a few years or a few decades, you know all about its quirks, its best features, and its flaws. When you decide to sell your home, some of this information might be necessary for you to share with buyers in the […]
What Not To Do When Selling in Salt Lake County Today, we’re going to talk about what not to do when selling in the surrounding Salt Lake County area. First of all, don’t set an unrealistic price. The market is hot right now, so it can be tempting to set an extremely high price for […]
What Makes Us Johnson and Johnson’s Preferred Real Estate Team? We’re proud to be able to share another great endorsement for The Josh Stern, this time from Tommy and Joe Johnson of the “Johnson & Johnson” morning radio show. Here’s a snippet of what they had to say: “Josh sells a home, on average, almost […]
What is the Starbucks Effect? I recently came across an interesting article on Zillow that was talking about the strange effect that Starbucks was having on home values across the country. The article basically stated that if you lived within a quarter mile of Starbucks that your home value would’ve appreciated by 96% from 1997 […]
What Is a Bridge Loan? What is a bridge loan? Bridge loans are popular when you are purchasing another home before selling your current one. In that scenario, there are two common ways to find the down payment for the new home. One way is financing through a bridge loan and the other is a […]
The real estate market is on a much stronger footing which will serve it well in any future recessions.
What Does Reduced Home Affordability Mean for You? Home affordability is shrinking rapidly, according to research by Arch Mortgage Insurance. In the first quarter, affordability (defined as the size of the monthly mortgage payment needed to buy a home) dropped by 5%. This was mainly due to the increase in mortgage rates. As a consequence, more people […]
What Do Interest Rates Mean to You as a Buyer in Salt Lake County? Today, we’ll talk about what rising interest rates mean for you as a buyer in the Wasatch Front. We know that the Federal reserve Chairman, Janet Yellen, has increased the Federal Reserve rate. What we also learned at that time was […]
What Can You Expect in the Coming Months on the Wasatch Front? With summer coming to an end, many buyers who wanted to find a home before school starts have left the market. Because of this, sellers have a tendency to leave the market as well – they feel it’s better to wait until the […]
What Can You Do to Prepare Your Home for Sale? Today we’re going to discuss six ways to get your home ready for sale this spring: 1. Let natural light in. Open up your blinds, windows, and let that natural sunlight in. 2. Renovate what’s outdated. If your kitchen or bathroom is stuck in the 1980s, it’s […]
