From Deseret News archives:
Dixie housing: Is the bloom off the rose?
But with runaway price appreciation, even modest homes in Washington County are becoming expensive.
Many homeowners are wondering how long the party will last. According to some experts, it may be over already.
Home prices in St. George increased an average of 35.27 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared to the same quarter in 2004 giving the city a No. 4 ranking for appreciation among 275 U.S. cities, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
"People who have been here 25 years feel like they haven't had any appreciation since they've been here," said James Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, who completed a study on St. George growth for the Deseret Morning News. "Now all of a sudden they've got all this appreciation in the last couple of years."
But Andrew Leventis, an OFHEO economist, said rates in excess of 25 percent to 30 percent are unsustainable over the long term. To date, St. George has witnessed three consecutive quarters of house-price appreciation rates at 30 percent or more.
Allan Carter, director of developer services for Southern Utah Title Co., which tracks overall sales of property and homes throughout Washington County, said you don't have to look far to see that real estate price growth has slowed.
"As you go up in the price of a home, it is taking longer and longer to sell," Carter said. "For example, if you've got a home to sell at $1 million right now, it will take you 27 months to sell it. In November, it took nine months to sell that same home. We have a huge glut of overpriced homes on the market."
By the end of this year, Carter expects 6,000 more building lots to be recorded in Washington County, a 62 percent increase over the 3,710 lots that were platted in 2005.
"We will need 3,500 of them," Carter said. "Already we are seeing a deduction in pricing on lots of about 10 percent. There are selected areas where lots will fall 20 percent."
Comments
- Utah soldier is laid to rest 8:10 p.m.
- D.A. retires, leaves mixed legacy 8:07 p.m.
- House bill would boost costs 8:06 p.m.
- $47B in suspect Medicare claims 8:05 p.m.
- Little things count in Cougar victory 8:04 p.m.
- Snowstorm hits Utah; 1 dead in crash 8:03 p.m.
- 2A title: Broncos' slippery win 7:33 p.m.
- 1A championship: Rich undefeated 7:29 p.m.
- Few call Venice home 7:27 p.m.
- Volunteers are needed 6:50 p.m.
- Apostle's wife felt comfort in attack
- Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
- Short-handed Jazz fly past Sixers
- D-Will home for daughter
- Bench proves fruitful for Y.
- Utes excited for 'dream' game
- Snowstorm hits Utah; 1 dead in crash
- Born of water and the spirit
- GameDay in Fort Worth
- No. 22 BYU holds off pesky Lobos
- SLC council OKs gay rights policies
356 - Editorial: Mormons and gay rights
199 - Senators want food tax restored
164 - Will state consider gay rights law?
148 - Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
129 - Letters: Strange breed in Utah
129 - No. 22 BYU holds off pesky Lobos
129 - Utes remain silent about BCS
120 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
113 - Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
105
If you are looking for a bird on the cheap, the following specials from...
Maybe someone out there can help me understand how raising the state...
Hurricane is a team with a lot of heart. It's their time. They've worked so...
41-14 Wow - So this is what it feels like to be a Cougar fan.
I'm proud of our Hunter boys. What a great season, great lessons and much to...
How does Scammed know that DHS hasn't helped snare a dozen or more attack...
Nobody is going to give Utah State a chance against Boise, but I think we'll...
So what you are telling me is that we DO need a government to do all these...
This is really cool.
Jealous? Yeah, I'm jealous, I'd rather have a sloppy win from missed kicks...
From the tone of the comments, people in Utah are content to be uneducated...
Trains don't blow their horns to disturb the peace. It's federal law that...



You can be the first to comment on this story.