Rockwell Square in Draper

If you are one of the seeming few who have stopped by Rockwell Square in Draper lately, you might be wondering where all the other buildings are that were supposed to be built. I wondered the same thing until I dropped in the other day and took a look at the place.

First, let me say that I really like Rockwell Square. I live nearby and drive past them everyday. I love the location, the building, and especially the future plans for the adjacent land. It was thought to be rumor at first, but now I hear it is actually true that all the land east of Rockwell Square will be turned into a large Draper park, possibly eventually serving as the main park for the city. There is just one spot of the land that will not be set aside for park and that is the part where the old houses currently sit. One of the local homebuilders has purchased that land and will be putting a few homes there.

As for the rest of the development, it will still happen. It might not happen this year, but they claim it will still happen. That pesky little thing called the economy got in the way the last time they tried to build out the entire development. Then as if that wasn’t bad enough, there was trouble with their bank when they wouldn’t allow financing unless a certain portion of the building could be filled. Well they weren’t selling so they couldn’t move forward. But now things should be moving since they switched banks, and FHA lending has been approved.

With that knowledge, I encourage y’all to stop by and take a look at the inside. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how upgraded and spacious they are. For the price, there really is no reason these condos haven’t been filled already. You’ll notice the sign outside says they start at $189,900, which is really incredible considering what they started at back when the economy was good.

So check them out at the corner of Bangerter Highway and 13800 South.

Tags: Rockwell Square, luxury condos, home buying, real estate

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You can now search for Utah real estate on TheUtahRealEstateBlog

Since this is a real estate blog, I’ve decided to add a ‘Search For Homes’ option in my far right sidebar. I’m by no means doing anything radical, but I realize that most people out there looking for real estate websites like to be able to view homes too. I mean, there’s only so much of my writing that somebody could stand.

So head on over to the right of your screen and click on little mountain icon that says ‘Wasatch Front Home Search’. I have also added some featured listings and other real estate resources for a more complete real estate blog/website experience.

I hope you like the new feature!

Tags: Salt Lake City Utah homes,Utah home search,Wasatch Front MLS, Utah real estate, real estate

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View Real-Time Utah Real Estate Market Statistics

If you are into numbers, graphs, market statistics, etc., then I have got the site for you.

Altos Research provides very informative real-time market information for any city in the Salt Lake City Metro area. When you visit the Salt Lake City Metro page on their website, you’ll be shown various charts that show exactly what is happening in our market. You’ll find:

-Real Estate Price Trends

-Housing Market Conditions

-Home Sales and Demand Trends

-Median Price Per Square Foot

-Number of Homes for Sale

If you click on ‘Explain this’, it will tell you a little more about what the numbers are, and if you are really impressed by what you see, you can subscribe to more in-depth reports.

I also like the ‘Map It’ feature, where you can see the market statistics on a map of the Salt Lake City Metro area.

It’s a really great tool for anyone interested in real estate – you don’t even have to be a numbers person.

Tags: Altos Research,Salt Lake City real estate,real estate,Salt Lake City market data

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Debunking the Mazda Myth

There is a presumption swimming around in the heads of some people out there that we in real estate like to call the Mazda myth (Mazda as in the car company). This myth is prominent among individuals who have bought a car, but never a home. As I’ll explain, these buyers think of home prices and payments in terms of car prices and payments, which usually leads to mistaken assumptions about how much home they can actually afford. This post is not meant to make light of these people, but just to clear up some erroneous ideas.

Let’s say you just went out and bought a nice new Infiniti G35 for $35,000. I have no idea if that’s the true price for a G35, but just play along. You sit down with the dealer to discuss financing and after all is said and done, it is determined that your monthly payment will be $700. You do the math in your head just for fun, and find that $700 is 2% of $35,000.

So then a few months later you are looking at homes on the internet because you are sick of renting, and you come across a home that you really like. The asking price is $250,000. You try to compute in your head how much a monthly payment would be on a home like that, and your only point of reference is your car payment. You deduce that since your car payment was 2% of your car price, your mortgage payment will probably somewhere around 2% of your home price. You again do the math and you learn that 2% of $250,000 is $5,000. Wait…$5,000??!!

You say to yourself that you could never afford a mortgage payment like that!

I’ve you’ve ever thought like this, you’ve been lured in by the Mazda Myth. In reality, your mortgage would be much less. The terms of the loan are different, and you have to take into consideration things like principle, interest, taxes and insurance. My loan officer friends are much better at explaining all this than I am, but I’ll tell you now that you won’t be expected to pay $5,000 per month for a $250,000 home.

For many renters, it’s entirely possible to purchase a home and end up paying the same as what they were paying for rent. When you remember that mortgage interest is not taxed, whereas you pay rent with after-tax dollars, you’ll find that some of the steeper rents out there are so not worth it. Add to your rent price what you would save in taxes if you had a mortgage, and you can afford more home than you think.

It’s all simpler than it sounds, and the point is that some people don’t bother looking for homes because they don’t believe they could afford it. To you, I say that a brief visit with your mortgage professional can’t hurt. You will find out if you can buy a home or not, and if you can’t, your agent can let you know what you need to shoot for.

I’d be happy to answer any questions that you might have about all this. Click on the contact tab at the top of the page and I’m at your service.

Tags: Mazda Myth,rent vs. buy,real estate, Utah real estate

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