Park City Housing Facts

There's new info:

http://www.parkcityhousingfacts.com/

Check it out!

The Haven!

If you are trying to sell your home...please read this!

Here is a great link to an article on preparing your home to sell! Check it out...and if you are looking for a Realtor just send me an email and I can hook you up with a local professional!

http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/ht/homeprep.htm

Our Sanctuary Model Home is now Available...Check it out!

Updated Pricing and More!

We have some new pricing at the Retreat, as we only have 4 more available homes until our new release scheduled for the end of November.  These prices are so low I can't publish them but email me and send them to you!  Also we have sold our second model and moved into a Haven Floor Plan so if you have been waiting to see that one furnished now's the time!

Again, email me at nikki.keye@raineyhomes.com for the latest pricing or you can also call me at 435-658-2300.

Get your $4000.

Yes, we have already had one of our homeowners take advantage of this Grant...$4000 for FREE! Check it out:
http://b2b.utahhousingcorp.org/cgi-bin/R?P=HOMERUN2_INFO

Become a fan...

Check out our new facebook page...become a fan! Look to the right and click on the link!

Facebook, Twitter...I'm going crazy!

It's amazing the variety of social marketing is available these days...I have created a new facebook page and hooked it up to twitter! Holy Cow, I am totally integrated which doesn't mean much except confused! I also set up TXT "iutas 68" to 368266 for signs so people won't even have to leave their car to get the price of our homes...CRAZY!

CFL Bulbs...

I attended a class today about energy efficiency and new construction and it prompted some thoughts about how little things really add up!

I have attached an excerpt from Consumer Reports Mag I have been keeping around because it had some really good things about energy efficiency in it and sure enought a thought to share!! Email me with any questions you may have!

Thanks,
Nikki


**OH BY THE WAY, we install 10 CFL Bulbs in all our homes at the Retreat!

The most affordable time to buy??

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/18/real_estate/most_affordable_cities/index.htm?postversion=2009051907

Memorial Weekend Fun

We are hosting a Bike Race today! Yep, that is right here at the Retreat we are expecting around 100 bikes show up and race around our .90 mile loop here. I hope to have some fun photos to upload later today. You can check out more info at this link:

http://jordanellecriterium.blogspot.com/

Updated Photos!

Yes, the snow has finally melted and we went out and took new photos!!
CHECK IT OUT:




Call with questions or further interest!
Nikki or Jeff
AIM Realty
435-658-2300
theretreat@raineyhomes.com

Updated Availability List!

Well, it has been exciting around here because....we have a homeowner living at the Retreat and have put 3 more homes under contract! I have attached an updated list for your review!

FHA Loan Limits and New Home Run Housing Grant

There is good news to share, there is new FHA loan limits for Wasatch County! We now have 6 available homes that qualify for FHA loans! Also, click here to find out how you can receive $6000 of grant money!

http://b2b.utahhousingcorp.org/cgi-bin/R?P=uhc_home.html

For an updated price list, email me at nikki.keye@raineyhomes.com

Huge Price Reductions...

We have 8 Villas completed and the builder is ready to blow them out...check out the new pricing!

First Snow of the Year...

Today it snowed at the Jordanelle! While late by all standards snow is very welcome around here!!! There is a part of me that cringes at the thought of snow shovels and boots...the sigh quickly turns to a grin when I think about the fresh powder that makes skiing in Park City unlike any other place on earth!

Green Building Trade Show!

The Retreat at Jordanelle will be a participate! Come check it out!

Fall Leaves and my little pumpkin!

If you aren't in PC right now you are missing one beautiful fall. The leaves have changed and sadly enough won't last long...This morning it's raining which means the end of the fall leaves...the good thing is that it's probably snowing on the top! Ski season is fast approaching and next thing you know we will be heading up the hill (which by the way is only an 8 minute drive) to take advantage of SKI Magazines rated NUMBER 1 resort in North America!! For more information on what's new at Deer Valley check out their website at www.deervalley.com. Oh yeah, I couldn't resist sharing this cute photo of my little girl!

Wow! It's been a long time..Updated Photos!

Well, I have to apologize it has been so long since I have posted...but it has been a BUSY Summer. I do have some very exciting news! We have recently adjusted our pricing and our Villas now start at $399,900. I have attached a new photo album displaying our progress out here. For more information, just call or email!
Nikki Keye
435-658-2300
nikki.keye@raineyhomes.com

An Entire Month???

Has it really been an entire month since my last post?? Anyway we just are in the middle of the Showcase of Homes and it has been very successful. If you haven't checked out the homes you are missing out on some of the latest in technology and design in home building! For more information check out the link www.pcahba.com!

Benefits of Green Building

This article brought to you by Laurie Nadeau on behalf of the Environmental Task Committee of the Park City Board of Realtors...


Environmental benefits:
Enhance and protect our shared environment
Improve air and water quality
Reduce solid waste through recycling and conservation
Conserve natural resources

Economic benefits:
Reduce operating costs
Lower energy consumption
Increased value and profits (equity)
Improve employee productivity and satisfaction in the workplace
Longer life-cycle of building and green products

Health and community benefits:
Improve air, thermal, and acoustic environments
Enhanced comfort and health
Better overall quality of life

Simply put Green homes are better built, more comfortable and last longer.

Updated Slideshow

Check out our updated slideshow. We are making great progress. The PCAHBA Showcase of Homes will be here before you know it. We currently have 4 homes with 30 days or less move in ability. Email or call us for more information. retreat@raineyhomes.com or 435-658-2300.

Interesting information...

I stumbled upon this article today. This article lists the "Best places to live", specific to "Where the jobs are" this is based on the top 25 counties which have experienced the most job growth over the last six years.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_job_growth.moneymag/6.html

Just a note: The Retreat at Jordanelle sits on the north end of Wasatch County and just east of Summit County, which are ranked #4 and #6 on the list.

Just some 4th of July FUN!

I thought this was a fun little link...of course I am one of kind! How many of "you" are there out there?

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

No more wood waste!

Today we had a demonstration of the onsite recycle "Green Clean Recovery" this basically takes all of our lumber waste and grinds it down to mulch. It's a very fascinating process. Basically the wood is loaded on the belt and thrown into the grinder and comes out mulch. This elimates any wood waste heading to the landfills plus it gives us the ability to use around our homes for final landscaping. What an incredible idea!!

YOU must read this article!

National Expert Debunks Real Estate Worries

by Jamie Huish Stum
Good news for homeowners and developers: Utah’s real estate sectors are going to make it through the market softening just fine, according to national real estate expert Peter Linneman. Linneman was the keynote speaker at the NAI Utah Real Estate and Economic Summit Tuesday, which discussed the nation’s and the state’s economy.

“I don’t see any chance of a [national] recession in a coming year,” he said. “We don’t have supply that we can’t absorb.”

A widely-published economist, Linneman is the founding chair of the Wharton School of Business real estate department at the University of Pennsylvania and was also recently named one of the most 25 influential people in real estate by Realtor magazine.

Many buyers panic unnecessarily about the local residential real estate market when they see national media reporting a plummet in housing prices, Linneman said. While growth in Utah’s real estate market has slowed, standing inventory will be filled in the next six to 14 months. The U.S. economy is doing exactly what it should be doing, he said.

“All areas…are doing normal, except housing, which is doing less than normal, which is what it should be doing to get back on track,” Linneman said.

The real estate market is not booming as it was a few years ago, but it’s not crashing, Linneman said. Growth is down, but prices are fine, a common misunderstanding, Linneman said. Growth in the sector is slowing, which is a normal, necessary outcome after the spike of the past three years. Real estate continues to appreciate at a normal rate of 1.3 percent annually, which is a healthier, more sustainable pace than the country has previously experienced.

“The housing sector should be weak,” he said. “If the housing sector were still doing well, we’d be setting ourselves up for a bigger problem.”

Currently, 450,000 homes sit unoccupied across the nation, Linneman said. However, 25 percent are located in southern and central Florida and an additional 25 percent in Phoenix, Las Vegas and southern California. The rest are scattered fairly evenly across the United States.

“You know what that says about the rest of the housing market? It’s not in bad shape,” Linneman said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a little excess, but that excess gets used up in months, not years.”

Contrary to many reports, the national economy is still performing well, he said, and will continue to do so during the upcoming year. More than 89,000 new jobs were added nationally in August, according to Linneman. Looking beyond the data, Linneman said key indicators of a strong economy are airports, hotels and restaurants, all of which are bustling.

“People do not go on big holidays when the economy is in bad shape; you don’t send six employees to a conference when the economy is in bad shape,” he said.

Linneman predicted a slight recession in 2009 and 2010, largely due to the introduction of a new presidential administration, which will lead buyers to pause as they see what decisions the new president will make. He counseled commercial real estate developers to be cautious about how much speculation space they bring online in 2009 and 2010, because a recession could lead to less job growth and slower business expansion.

Utah’s economy also continues to experience growth, and the quality of life in the state is a key driver, said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, who also spoke at the event.

“By all key indicators, we have the hottest economy that exists right now,” Perry said.

According to a report from the Utah Department of Workforce Service released Tuesday, employment growth was 4.4 percent and 53,500 jobs were added during September in the state. Unemployment remains at a historic low of 2.7 percent.

“We are competitive with any state for bringing business into the state,” Perry said.

Because of this strong performance, Utah has been able to attract larger, more prestigious companies as possible move-ins. Perry mentioned a potential relocation deal with manufacturer Procter & Gamble, which would bring 1,300 jobs into the area.

“There is reason to be very optimistic about our future,” he said. “Things are happening here in the state of Utah.”

Updated Photos of our Villas!

Well, it's about time I got around to posting these! There is a ton of action happening around here. Check out the photos and let me know if you have any questions. We are still offering our visionary discount to the next 9 buyers...email me to find out how you can save up to $40,000!

Green Homes = Mortgage Savings

Check out this article...and YES, the Retreat at Jordanelle is Energy Star Certified as well as Built Green Certified!

Countrywide offers discounted rates on LEED homes in 13 states

PRNewswire
SEATTLE, March 19 – Countrywide Home Loans, a division of Countrywide Bank, FSB, today announced the retail launch of its Green Incentive Program, which will initially be available to qualified home buyers in 13 states: Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana., Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The program provides an interest rate reduction of 0.125 percent on a Countrywide loan used to purchase a new home that is built meeting recognized green and energy efficient standards.

"This program gives qualified home buyers more incentive to purchase energy-efficient and green-built homes," said Dave Porter, senior vice president and division builder manager for Countrywide. "Concern for the environment and saving precious natural resources doesn't have to conflict with buying a newly constructed home. Reduced interest rates, combined with the fact that most owners of green-built, energy-efficient homes pay lower monthly utility and water bills, make this program very attractive."

The Countrywide Green Incentive Program's interest rate reduction applies to newly constructed homes that meet third-party, certified standards of recognized green building programs, including Energy Star, Earth Advantage, LEED for Homes and Built Green programs of local home builder associations, as well as the National Association of Home Builders' Green Building program.

For more information, call 800-262-4214 to speak with a Countrywide regional builder manager and for a referral to a Certified Builder Representative in your area. Additional information is also available through many local Countrywide home loan consultants in areas where the program is available.

Source – U.S. Green Building Council website: http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNewsDetails.aspx?ID=3631

Housing market will rally

Real estate guru says sales and prices will rebound this year
By Steven Oberbeck
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:06/06/2008 11:31:43 PM MDT

PARK CITY - Utah's rising foreclosure rate and its moderating or declining home values has not dampened Lawrence Yun's optimism.
As the National Association of Realtors' chief economist, Yun offered Utah real estate agents gathered in Park City on Friday a cheery message on the future direction of Utah's residential real estate market.
Home sales and prices are poised to rebound later this year and may reaccelerate in 2009, he said.
"We went through a period of overly optimistic exuberance," Yun said, adding that he now believes the pessimism that followed the end of the national housing market boom has gone way too far.
It was just what the real estate agents wanted to hear. In an hourlong speech - the keynote address at the Park City Board of Realtors' sponsored Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance Conference - Yun laid out his reasoning.
Nationally, mortgage rates and unemployment are low while corporate profits are strong, he said. And relatively speaking, home prices in Utah are still affordable compared with many other areas.
Yun said in Utah there are many potential buyers who have the financial wherewithal to buy a home but are afraid to jump into the market. And getting those "fence sitters" into the market will be one of the keys to a turnaround.
Real estate agents need to get the message out that it's a buyers market. There is a high inventory of homes and mortgages are at or near historic lows, he said. Buyers have a lot of negotiating strength.
Laying the blame for the current real estate crisis on the subprime crisis, Yun pointed out that such loans made up only 9 percent of the mortgages in the United States but have been involved in 53 percent of the foreclosures across the country.
In many cases, the impact of the subprime meltdown is reflected neighborhood by neighborhood, he said. Home prices in areas where many houses were purchased using subprime mortgages are well down compared to neighborhoods where such financing didn't proliferate.
In Park City, an area where subprime mortgage financing wasn't widespread, real estate prices have held their value, said Tyler Richardson, president of the Park City Board of Realtors. The median price of a single-family home during the first quarter of this year was $649,140, nearly unchanged from the median price of $650,000 in the first quarter of 2007.
"We're weathering the storm very well," Richardson said. "While the volume of transactions is down, we're not seeing the dramatic fall in prices. We've also only seen a slight increase in foreclosures."
Looking at the long-term trends in the Utah real estate market may prove a benefit to those buyers who are waiting to make the leap to home ownership.
"People need to make their [home-buying decisions] not on short-term trends but on long-term trends," Yun said. "Five years from now 99 percent of the markets will have higher values than today."
steve@sltrib.com

Good News...to share!

Today one of our preferred mortgage lenders (Jeff Morgan/Countrywide Home Loans) sent me a good news update on what's happening around the world of real estate...so read on!

· Sales of new homes rose in April for the first time in six months

· The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new homes rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units.

· The Commerce report showed that the median price of a new home sold in April rose to $246,100 in April, up 1.5 percent from April 2007.

· Sales were up 8.3 percent in the West and 5.8 percent in the Midwest.

· The inventory of unsold new homes edged down slightly to 10.6 months’ supply at the April sales pace, compared with 11.1 months in March.

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer