Hello everyone! This is Ann Zieve from the Keller Williams Success Realty and the Northern Utah Home Team here to give you my weekly market update, and today we’re going to take a look at some market statistics and we’re also going to talk about land because we definitely noticed a trend of people buying land to build a home after not finding the perfect home that they’re looking for because of the competitive market we’ve had all summer.
So first let’s take a look at the market statistics, and as we’re entering the middle of November we are quite to the holiday slowdown, but we definitely are heading that way when you look at our market statistics. Everything is down from where it was at the summer height. We have new listings are down, prices are even down and new home solds are also down. About the only thing going up is inventory of homes and days on market. This is all to be expected this time of year, but what a great summer we had. Just take a look at those statistics.
All right, well let’s take a little look at land. So a lot of buyers when they can’t find the perfect home that they are looking for with existing homes, they turn to buying land and building their home, and what are some considerations if you’re buying land? One thing you want to look at is where are the utilities? If there is other homes in the area, there’s a good chance the utilities are right there at the road, and you’re not going to have the expense of bringing utilities down the road, but if there are other homes in the area, you might have to get a good idea of what it’s going to cost to bring the utilities down the road. You’re also going to want to know whether water and sewer are available in the area, or if you’re going to be looking at the expense of putting in a well and septic, and especially with the septic you have to do soil tests to make sure that the soil can accommodate it.
The other thing you’re going to want to look at is the terrain, is it going to be flat and easily built upon or is it more hilly and going to require maybe some excavation or clearing before you can put your home where you want it on the land. You’re also are going to want to think about what is your intended use of the land. Are you looking for some great views, and if so, how will you need to orient your house to take advantage of those views and are there other obstructions in the way? Are you looking for horse property or other livestock property? In that case you’re going to want to be sure you understand the city and county zoning requirements for that land.
You’re also going to want to make sure you have a good idea where the boundaries are. They might be obvious because of other properties around, or they might not be so obvious and you might want to consider doing a survey before purchasing that property. You’re also are going to want to make sure you understand HOA and CCR requirements in the area. If there is an HOA or CCR requirements, you might have limitations on the size of the home you can build and other architectural considerations, so you’re definitely going to want to take those into account before building, and you’re also going to want to know is the property even buildable. We hear so many stories about people buying a property, and then they find out later that they can’t build because of some problem. So you’re going to want to check with the county and maybe talk to a builder up front to see if this property really is going to be buildable.
So let’s take a look at some specific land. Well, here’s a piece of property listed at $100,000 in Pleasant View. It’s in a desirable location. You can see there is already established homes around it, and it is at the end of a cul-de-sac. There are no CCRs or HOAs to consider here for building, and you can see that the terrain is very flat, so the cost of building is going to be less expensive than if it was hilly. You do have some great mountain views and valley views though, so this would be a great place for a home and utilities are right at the street. So this is definitely something to check out if you were thinking of buying land. And that takes care of this week’s market update. If you have any questions or need any additional information, feel free to give us a call, a text, or an email, and we’re happy to answer your questions and help you buy a home, sell a house or invest in real estate. Until next week, keep living smart.