We just got back from the Real Estate Marketing and Technology Training class in Las Vegas.  It was actually pretty good training.  It looks like Realtor.com has been listening to the discontent that agents had been expressing.  They have addes some great features to Realtor.com, of course, they come at a price.  That is the nature of the beast! There was a lot of information.  My problem is that we got up at 5:00 am to drive to Las Vegas, did the class and drove home, so my already mushy mind is really gonzo!  They are working to make it so that realtor.com will be available to all internet enabled phones and pda's.  The windows based phones and pda's are already enabled, they are working on blackberry, and some of the others.  I will be honest, I have a Blackberry, so I stopped listen... 03/25/2008

I really think that Spring may actually be here!  It is an absolutely gorgeous day!  With the arrival of Spring, are you ready?  Have you changed out the photographs of your listings that still show snow on the ground?  I am going to wait another week or two so that I can also take photographs with leaves on the trees.  It is a good time to refresh your photographs of your listings and make it appear that your houses haven't been ignored since Winter.                                                                     If you live in an area without snow, it may be a chance to make sure that you get photographs with a green, instead of a dormant lawn, and again, leaves on the trees.  It is all about attracting interest from buyers and anything that we can do to show homes in their best l... 03/23/2008

It is a fantastic weekend to come and visit Cedar City!  The weather is absolutely gorgeous!  It definately feels like Spring!  Some of the things that pertain to Cedar City, and what is going on is now is the time to sign up for the Utah Summer Games.  The games themselves run from June 5th to June 22nd.  There is also a photo contest for those shutterbugs out there,  the topic is Cedar City and Iron County.  June is also the beginning of the Shakespearean Festival.  That festival runs into October.  Also of note Outdoor Life ranked Cedar City #15 in it's top 200 towns for outdoorsmen.  These are just a few of the many things going on.  For more info check out the City's web site cedarcity.org.  If you do come up, give us a call!  Come for the weekend, you may end up staying a lifetime!  03/21/2008

I don't normally like to blog on Religious themes.  I believe strongly in my faith, and respect everyone's right to do the same.  I just wanted to take some time to express my thoughts on this sacred time of year.  This is perhaps the most sacred time of year.  It is the the time of the year that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins.  Whether you consider yourself a believer or not, I would hope that we would all take a moment away from our daily activities this weekend to say thanks. There are many ways to say thanks, simple service to one another is a great way.  For He said: 'When ye have do it unto the least of these my bethren, ye have done it unto me.."  Saying a humble, sincere prayer thanking him for the incredible things that we have in our lives, is anoth... 03/20/2008

Darcy and I are helping another Agent in the office with her clients while she is on vacation.  It is a lot of fun, it almost feels like it did a couple of years ago when everyone was so busy that they just did real estate.  We ended up writing offers on two houses today, finding out at the time that one of the properties may have a multiple offer situation.  Talking to the rest of the agents in the office, they too have noticed that things seem to be picking up and going in the right direction.                                                                 I hope that people are beginning to understand that real estate is still a good investment for the long haul, especially right now in most markets.  With prices being down from a couple of years ago.                                 ... 03/20/2008

It is late and I shouldn't even look at stories about the housing market on MSN, but it is kind of like passing the scene of a car wreck, you know you shouldn't but you slow down and look anyway.  I guess that it's human nature to possess tha morbid curiosity.  In skimming through the story on MSN (my version of slowing down to look, not stopping and staring), they said in the article that at least the housing market isn't as bad as it was in the Great Depression. I would hope not!  I hope that we never see things come to a halt like they did during the depression.  There are people losing their homes now, but not in the percentages like the Great Depression and values haven't dropped th 88% that the MSN story quoted them dropping in 1933.  As one of the links it does have an article po... 03/13/2008

Is anyone else getting sick of the daily price changes at the gas pumps?  I wish that the stock market went up that fast!  The daily price change is really getting old.  I know that are prices here in Cedar City are actually a little below the national average, but that is counter balanced by the fact that our wages are about 80% of the national average.  It wouldn't be such a big deal to me if the big oil companies weren't posting record profits each and every quarter.  I could almost accept the cost per barrel is up were it not for that fact.  If the economy is going bad, I think that we can directly point a finger at big oil.  Gas prices never drop as quickly as the cost of crude oil, but is sure rises as the cost per barrel go up.  And they say that the Real Estate and Mortgage indu... 03/12/2008

I think of the impact that baseball has had on Cedar City, Utah, I think of all of the youngsters growing up playing baseball.  The skills that they learn carry over into life.  Teamwork comes to mind first and foremost, the baseball diamond is the place where you can be as great as you want to be.  It also teaches that hard work and dedication pay off with improved ability.  It also teaches humility, even the best hitters only hit the ball about 1/3 of the time. But in Cedar City we have great Little League facilities.  With two diamonds dedicated to just Little League Baseball, each summer we host tournaments, all star games, and the Utah Summer Games.  The Utah Summer games is an Olympic styled competition that draws competitors from all over not just Utah.  We also enjoy great softb... 03/11/2008

There is a meeting Thursday night in Cedar City to discuss the construction of a new Recreational Center and Ball Fields.  We have already passed a RAP tax to fund such a Center.  The issue of how and where to proceed seem to be the focus of the meeting.  Such a Center would be a boon to our community.  We have recently constructed a beautiful new library, and the Rec Center would be such a good complement to it.   I will be anxiously watching to see what happens.  This project would really make our little city a gem for home buyers.  We have some great parks already in the city, and this would honestly be frosting on the cake!  Our golf course stays busy, as it should, it is set in a beautiful location.  I personally would like to see another golf course to go along with the Rec Center... 03/11/2008

It is nearly time for the greatest tournament in all of sport.  I can say that because I am not a huge basketball fan, but the NCAA Tournament is the best tournament in sports.  This is the only tournament that literally every participant has a chance to win the National Championship.  They may not have great odds, but in theory, every participant has a chance to win it all.  This isn't like any other major sport, I guess that the NCAA baseball tournament is similar, it just doesn't get the publicity. Real Estate is similar in some aspects, every agent has an opportunity to succeed.  There are certain factors to increase one's odds, education, training work ethic, etc..  It is really one of the careers that everyone, if they work hard enough can make their own future happen.  Any agent ... 03/10/2008

The basketball season is winding down, and teams are jockeying for play off postion.  I hate to say this, but it really is the only time of the year that I get excited about it.  I will watch a game now and then but now is when it gets interesting, and not only in the NBA; it is the best time of year, because the NCAA tournament is due to begin any day now.  This got me thinking, basketball is truthfully a ballet in sneakers (if $200 dollar shoes can be called sneakers), I was thinking about players that I really enjoyed watching and the way that champions raised their games to a championship level.  One of the players that I can honestly say that I may never see anyone play the game better is Michael Jordan.  There may be players that become his equal, but for my money, no one will eve... 03/06/2008

Now may be the best time in the last several years to build your dream home in Cedar City!  We have a large inventory of building lots with incredible variety as to location, size and other intangibles such as views.  As I mentioned in a past blog, builders are bidding around $75 a finished square foot, and they are really looking for work, so it may be the best time in many years past and future to build the home of your dreams! If building isn't what you're looking to do, there is still a great inventory of already built new and resale home in our market.  The time is right for buyers to really do what they want to do, whether it is buy a new house, or build the house that they have dreamed of!  Come let us help you fulfill your dream! 03/06/2008

It is late, I was thinking that I needed a pick me up from the current events that I have seen in the major media.  I was reading on the internet and came across a quote from the former heavy weight boxing champion Jack Dempsey: "A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can't."  Unfortunately, I think that some of us find ourselves in that situation, or at least what seems like that situation.  Whether it is the economy or the market, we need to find a way to get up from the blows that they deal to our careers.  Life is full of stories about people that overcome great obstacles, I am sure that for every know story, there are hundreds of untold stories about everyday heroes that overcome great odds to succeed in their lives.  I guess that is the challenge that we face if we are in... 03/05/2008

At times it is difficult to remain upbeat and positive about the economic outlook.  The news media is constantly harping about a coming recession, and there are no shortage of experts looking to gets some camera time to tell us that things are coming to a screeching halt.  Closer to home, my fears are deepened when I found out the several builders in the area have laid off their crews.  A couple of major home builders in the area are fighting just to stay in business.  It saddens me, one because every employee that isn't working is undoubtedly getting deeper into the red with each day that they don't work.  It also saddens me, that these aren't new companies, these are for the most part, pre boom companies, with many employees and years of experience.  I hope that we are in fact, turnin... 03/04/2008

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, or if it is just in our market, but interest rates seem to be creeping up everyday.  At least the mortgage brokers that send us a daily email their rates have gone up everyday this week.  Those buyers that are still sitting on the fence waiting for prices to go down even more, are risking a higher payment due to higher interest rates, in effect wiping out any potential savings they think that they will realize by waiting to see if prices will drop any further. Darcy was at a training this afternoon and the opinion in our office is that things are moving enough so that on average, prices should stop dropping and the near consensus was that over the next 12 months we should see prices rize 0 to 5%.  This is good for sellers, but it is also good for... 02/26/2008

Hello again!  Well the sun is out and there is once again this week some great new listings on our Multiple Listing Service.  As I have mentioned before, we have some great starter homes and some wonderful brand new "move up" homes.  One thing that I haven't mentioned about many of our homes is that several come on half acre and larger lots.  Many areas allow for horses, thus giving one the option of a mini ranch.  There are several areas that have been built as mini ranches with 2 1/2 acre and larger lots.  So if you are looking for a place for horses, or you just don't want neighbors right on top you, give us a look.  This week is an especially nice week to do so, we still have some snow on the ground, but the temperatures are climbing into the 50's.  The one drawback is that there ar... 02/26/2008

Great news!  The inventory of starter homes seems to be growing daily with several great options coming on the market today.  The economy is still doing well here in Cedar City, as the factories are still challenged to fill their staffs.  The wages could be higher, but that could most likely be said of every city in the country!  The move up and executive homes also have a great selection that also seem to be growing daily.  Those homes tend to stay on the market longer than the starter homes do, but that are selling.  We are enjoying the benefits of another wintery storm front.  The good news with that is that we should have plenty of water to drink come summertime, whenever that may arrive!  Just kidding, we know that at our altitude we could have snow well into the Spring months.  Th... 02/22/2008

As many of you know I am a baseball junkie.  I can't get enough baseball.  I read an article somewhere on the internet where a computer program was fed statistics and computed that Derek Jeter was the worst fielding shortstop in the major leagues.  Sportswriters have voted him 3 gold gloves during the course of his career, yet the computer doesn't lie, or does it?  I am not going to argue that Derek Jeter is the best shortstop in baseball, and I am sure that he has plenty of detractors, playing for the Yankees and all.  In fact, I am not sure that he is the best shortstop on his team, but he is the starting shortstop.  The thing that makes this entire argument ridiculous is that it doesn't factor in the plays that he makes that no one else does.  I do think that he isn't the most gifted... 02/21/2008

I have blogged several times on the availability of great starters and especially "move up" homes in our market.  I have been neglecting the one area that we really have a great variety to choose from, land.  Whether it is large parcels or smaller builiding lots, we have a great inventory.  There is a good selection of building lots available in the more exclusive areas and in almost all of the other areas in the city or out in the county. We, ourselves have several good listings of raw land and subdivided lots, some of which would be good investments over time.  So if you're looking to build, Cedar City is a great place to do so!  Come on up and see if you want to build your own ranch, estate or just house!  Now is a great time to build that dream house in Cedar City.  Have a great week! 02/20/2008

I don't know how many have seen the Time Magazine article from 2/19/2008 saying that now is the time to buy a house if you're a 1st time home buyer.  With prices and interest rates low, if you have good credit, there is no reason to wait.  I am not going to quote the article, you can read it for yourselves www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1713483,00.html I found it an interesting read, and like it or not, it is the best time to buy if you are planning on staying in the home at least 5 years.  This goes along with what a lot of Realtors have been saying and writing for weeks, now is the time!  Before you lose the advantage of a lower payment should interest rates rise, buy a house!  If it looks like I believe that you should look at buying, you're right, but now one of the inves... 02/19/2008