Utah Still Leads The Nation For Rising Home Values
By Lesley Mitchell
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/27/2008 10:44:05 AM MST
In a report released Tuesday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Utah is No. 1 among all states in home-price appreciation, from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2007, with a 9.27 percent gain. It is the state's fifth consecutive quarter in the top spot.
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Forbes Magazine Ranks Salt Lake High For Real Estate Bargains
February 13th, 2008 @ 6:16pm KSL.com
Jed Boal and Tom Callan reporting
Salt Lake real estate is a buyers' market right now. In fact, a major business publication ranks it top in the nation. Forbes Magazine now lists Salt Lake City the best city in the nation for bargain house hunters.
The national housing market slump causes a lot of economic and emotional strain for home sellers and buyers, but the story on the Wasatch Front continues to be better than in most markets.
Here's what Forbes says: "Of the major metros in the U.S., Salt Lake City is adding jobs faster than anywhere. The economic boom in SLC has drawn residents from all over the country. Housing supply has gone up quickly, and there hasn't been a high rate of foreclosure."
People are moving here for good jobs. Homes are available; and with the high job growth, high inventory, and low foreclosures, many buyers can dictate the terms of the sale.
"Now is really the time they should take advantage of the appreciation in their home and translate that into moving up into a new home. They can afford to move into a bigger home because interest rates are lower," explained Dan Christensen, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
Home buyer Kevin Lund said, "There was lots of homes available and they were in an exciting place: Utah. We were excited to come here and enjoy the skiing and recreation and live here."
Lund is moving from Nebraska and liked what he found. Buyers moving from the coasts will find homes more affordable than what they are used to.
While Forbes says Salt Lake City tops the list in the West, they also say Raleigh, N.C. tops the list in the East.
Liberty Homes Wins AxisPointe Customer Service Award
Liberty Homes has been selected as a recipient of the 2007 AxisPointe Excellence in Post-Construction customer Service Award! Each year AxisPointe, Inc. evaluates more then 1,200 clients nationwide to identify those elite clients that strive for excellence in post-construction customer service. Read More
Market ripe for buying, refinancing
“While rates for 30-year loans have been hovering in the mid-5 percent range with rates on 15-year loans in the low 5 percent range, at different times over the past week, some borrowers have snatched up rates in the 4 percent range during temporary dips. Others are paying points - a fee equal to 1 percent of the mortgage amount - to drive their rate below 5 percent.” Read More
Liberty Homes Wins Kennecott Land Customer Service Award News
ReleaseKennecott Land Announces 2007 Safety and Customer Award Recipients
Liberty Homes honored
(South Jordan, UT – Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007) – Kennecott Land, a leading builder of enduring, sustainable communities, announced Hearthside and Liberty Homes as winners of the 2nd Annual Customer Service and Safety Awards.
Liberty homes won the 2007 customer service award. The award is given based on the summation of homeowner surveys that measure builders in performance, product and service satisfaction, walk through and buying process, and the sales process.
Hearthside Homes was recognized for their excellence in safety. Builders are measured on establishing and implementing safety programs for employees and lost time work hours.
The awards were established to promote and foster customer service and safe building practices for builders and contractors working in the Daybreak Community. The winners were selected from 10 builders and 19 contractors working for Kennecott Land.
About Kennecott Land
Kennecott Land was established by parent company Rio Tinto in April 2001 to protect and develop Kennecott Utah Copper’s 93,000 acres on Salt Lake Valley’s West Bench. Daybreak is the first testament to that vision. Daybreak is situated on 4,126 acres in South Jordan City where 20,000 homes are planned. At Kennecott Land, sustainable development is at the heart of every business decision by balancing the complex interaction of environmental, economic and social factors. Kennecott Land does this in a way that protects and strengthens what matters most to our community: strong and safe neighborhoods, quality education, a healthy and renewable environment, and a vibrant local economy.
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto, the parent company to Kennecott companies, is a world leader in discovering, mining and processing the earth’s mining resources in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible way. Wherever Rio Tinto operates, health and safety is the first priority. Group businesses also put sustainable development at the heart of their operations. They work as closely as possible with host countries and communities, respecting their laws and customs. For Rio Tinto, it is important that the environmental effects of its activities are kept to a minimum and that local community’s benefit as much as possible from operations. The US businesses produce borates, coal, copper, gold, gypsum, lead, molybdenum, silver, talc and zinc. The company employs more than 30,000 people worldwide and 2,300 people in Utah.
Liberty Homes, Inc. Joins ENERGY STAR® Campaign
Liberty Homes Encourages Liberty for Life Homebuyers To Commit to a Simple Switch to Energy-Efficient Lighting
(Salt Lake City, Utah – October 2, 2007) Liberty Homes today announced that they have joined the national ENERGY STAR® Change a Light, Change the World campaign, a growing community of businesses, schools, utilities, non-profit organizations, individuals, and countless others who have made a firm commitment to help change the world, one light — one energy-saving step — at a time.
As part of this national initiative, Liberty Homes plans to encourage 50 individuals to pledge to replace at least one standard bulb or fixture at home with one that has earned the government's ENERGY STAR label, as an important step to save energy and join the fight against global climate change. Liberty Homes will kick off its effort on October 3, 2007, national ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day. 50 pledges could save 14,100 kWh of energy and prevent 20,450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. "Like an increasing number of organizations, we want to do our part to reduce our country's greenhouse gas emissions and play a role in fighting climate change," said Jared Riddle, Purchasing Manager for Liberty Homes. "We are proud to spread the word about the difference individuals in our community can make by acting together to take energy-saving steps at home.
"Liberty Homes will encourage its community to make a simple, yet meaningful commitment by taking the online ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge. Lighting accounts for about 20 percent of the typical home's electricity use. Replacing standard lights typically left on longest at home with energy-efficient options that use 75% less energy is a significant way to cut energy costs while also preventing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
"Becoming part of the solution to global climate change takes less time and effort than you might think. In fact, it can start by taking energy-saving steps at home as simple as changing a light," said Wendy Reed of the Environmental Protection Agency. "Organizations like Liberty Homes are an important part of the ENERGY STAR Change a Light community who have committed their time to help spread the word about the need to use energy more efficiently at home. We are proud to work with them and with the Americans in every part of the country who have already pledged to change more than 1 million lights collectively.
"The ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World campaign is a national call-to-action sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Housing and Urban Development to encourage Americans to use energy efficiently at home and to start by switching to lighting options that have earned the government's ENERGY STAR label for energy efficiency. If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR, every year we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes, more than $600 million in energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.
About ENERGY STAR®
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. Today, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy, the ENERGY STAR program offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy and money, and help fight global climate change. More than 8,000 organizations have become ENERGY STAR partners and are committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).
About Liberty Homes
As a locally owned business, Liberty Homes was founded under the principle of building each home with lasting quality and value. Since 1994, Liberty Homes has created dozens of unique communities and customizable floor plans, building countless homes each year for Utah and Arizona families. Liberty Homes has since grown into one of Utah's largest homebuilders.
