Blog

Our housing market is currently healthier than the majority of our nation.

Mandi Henriod with Intercap Lending explains in detail some things you need to be aware of if you’re going to purchase or refinance in the next 90-180 days.

The real estate market is on a much stronger footing which will serve it well in any future recessions.

Thinking of selling your home? It can be overwhelming during good times, not to mention the uncertain times we’ve experienced lately. It’s surprising how our housing market has reacted to COVID-19 over the last couple months.

The National Association of Realtors has released their annual report of Home Buyers and Home Sellers.  There’s some interesting information here that we felt was pertinent and worthy of sharing. We’ll cover this in two parts.  First will be the Home Buyers. • So The first thing I noticed here was that 78% of non-home owners […]

The National Association of Realtors has released their annual report of Home Buyers and Home Sellers.  This is our second segment, if you missed the Home Buyer report, please visit www.SternTeam.org, there’s a lot of valuable insight.  Today we’re going to cover the NAR’s 2019 profile of home sellers. • Remember that the typical home buyer […]

Today we want to introduce to you The Stern Team’s Love it or Leave program, the ultimate buyer protection plan for uncertain times.   Buying a home is a big decision, and one that you literally have to live with.  We strive to find you the perfect home, a home that you will love for years […]

How is COVID-19 Affecting the Mortgage Market? Today we want to talk about the mortgage market and how COVID is changing the mortgage landscape. JPMorgan Chase just announced that it has stopped accepted HELOC applications as of April 14th, 2020. Of course, they’re calling this a temporary pause. In addition to that, JPMorgan Chase is requiring 20% […]

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, […]

We hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy.  COVID-19 continues to be the topic of conversation and the dominating force in our lives.  With all the volatility in the stock market and uncertainty about the length of time this may last, a lot of folks are rightfully concerned about another […]

Learn about our “Virtual Home Buyer Program” We realize that it’s a different sort of time, but the real estate market continues to be going strong! Serious buyers are out there and taking advantage of this opportunity to find their perfect home! We always strive to offer only the best in client experiences so we […]

Fannie Mae Assistance Options for Homeowners Impacted by COVID-19 Today we’re going to talk about Fannie Mae assistance options for homeowners impacted by COVID-19. A recent article put together by PRNewswire stated that Fannie Mae wants to help ensure families are given options in these uncertain times in the case of job loss, a reduction in work […]

How Can We Continue to Support Our Local Economy? Today we’re going to talk about the back doorway we can help our housing market.  That’s by helping our local economy which in turn keeps our housing market healthy.   With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Salt Lake County and our neighboring counties Health Departments are prohibiting restaurants, […]

Sequestered at home? Get moving! One of the ways I’m getting through this crazy time is first, keeping a schedule and second making sure that schedule includes an exercise routine.  I’ve been working out with my trainer Steve Pizza the owner of SLC Strength and Conditioning for a number of years. I asked him what […]

How Will the Fed’s New Interest Rate Affect Home Mortgage Rates? What does the Federal Reserve cutting its target interest rate to near zero percent mean for mortgages? This is the second emergency rate cut in two weeks and brings the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25%. It’s designed to stimulate the economy […]

First and foremost we are taking the COVID-19 pandemic very seriously. We are seeing a lot of communities come together and help for those unable to do so for themselves.  We love to thank each of you for pitching in. However, if you are one who is in the high risk category, you are in […]

Home Improvements You May Want to Avoid Are you thinking of putting your home on the market? Making some upgrades is a great way to boost its value and make it more sellable, but not all upgrades are created equal. In fact, some improvements won’t increase your home’s value, and today I have an article […]

An Important Message on Buying New Construction Have you thought about buying a new construction home? If so, there are five points you need to be aware of:  New construction homes aren’t always listed on the MLS. Quite often, home builders have agents working as on-site salespeople in order to increase their control of the transaction […]

2019: A Market Year in Review Here are the numbers from the Wasatch Front in 2019: – Single-family home sales: 38,024 – Condo and townhome sales: 10,305  – Average home price: $376,000 (a 7% year-over-year increase) – Average days on market: 51 (a 16% year-over-year increase) – Absorption rate: 4 months (a 20% year-over-year increase) […]

6 Things Sellers Should Always Remember to Do Selling a home can be a complicated process. As such, there are a few things that many home sellers simply forget about as they prepare their home for sale. Here are six things to keep in mind when selling your home: Focus on staging. You may already like […]

3 Tips to Keep Your Home Decluttered Forever When it comes to decluttering, Marie Kondo is all the rage right now. She’s the Japanese lifestyle celebrity who has the miraculous ability to help people declutter their homes for good. What’s her trick? Only keep the things that spark joy or keep you happy.  Here are […]

This Is How Long a Pre-Approval Usually Lasts If you’re hoping to buy a home, it’s smart to ponder the question, “How long does a pre-approval last?” Even after you’ve received a lender’s stamp of approval for your financing, weeks or even months could pass before you actually buy a house. Will that pre-approval you […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

What All Homebuyers Must Know About New Construction Properties Have you thought about buying a new construction home? If so, there are five points you need to be aware of:  1. New construction homes aren’t always listed on the MLS. Quite often, home builders have agents working as on-site salespeople in order to increase their control […]

The Latest Real Estate Numbers Along the Wasatch Front We’re back with another update on the Wasatch Front real estate market. In the third quarter of 2019, we saw a significant jump in sales. Year to date, we’re up 2.1% with over 37,700 homes sold so far in 2019. The average price for all home types […]

5 Tips for Becoming More Financially Responsible Do you want to improve your finances? Many do, but maybe you don’t know where to start.  Well, promoting your own financial health all starts with measuring some basic skills. First, learn how to budget. Budgets can be boring, but they are the cornerstone of financial responsibility. They can help […]

3 Things to Remember When Building a New Home Inventory has been shrinking recently, which has a large number of buyers building new homes, instead. When buyers do this, though, they need to ensure that they’re being well-represented. There are three reasons this is so important:  1. The on-site agent is working for the builder. The person […]

Should You Buy a New Home or Sell Your Old Home First? Most home sellers are also homebuyers. Because of this, the inevitable dilemma of which transaction to complete first comes up. Buying first is ideal because it allows you to take your time and there are much fewer hoops to jump through. Most people […]

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 […]

The Latest Q2 Stats From the Wasatch Front What do 2019’s second-quarter statistics say about the Wasatch Front market?  Home sales are up 4% compared to last year, with over 13,000 single-family homes, townhomes, and condos being sold. Year to date, sales are down 2.5% with nearly 24,000 total homes being sold. The good news […]

4 Key Trends Homebuyers & Sellers Should Monitor in 2019 The simple truth is that markets are like the weather—you can’t predict with absolute certainty how they will act, but you can get a sense of the direction that the winds of change are pushing things.  The economic research team at Realtor.com pored over a […]

5 Different Ways Real Estate Deals Fall Apart Buying and selling real estate can be complicated and there are a lot of opportunities along the way for transactions to fall apart. Here are the primary reasons that real estate deals fall apart based on our experience: 1. Pre-contract deal-killers. The first stage of a transaction occurs before […]

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 […]

The Latest Developments From Our Wasatch Front Market What do our first quarter statistics tell us about our Wasatch Front market? And how do these numbers stack up against last year’s Q1? We’ll answer both of those questions in today’s market update.  Let’s jump right in:  By the end of 2019’s first quarter, our market […]