Fall in the Ogden Valley

Fall is my favorite season. I love the crisp clear days, cool nights, and autumn colors. With the departure of September, we've seen frost on the lawn, flurries in the sky, and a dusting of snow at the tops of the mountains. Following is a pictorial review of September in the Ogden Valley:

 The changing weather brings tumultuous storms but sometimes beautiful skies.

 Pumpkin patch along the Weber Pathways bike path.

 Sumac trees changing colors.

 The first snow of the season on top of Snowbasin ski resort.

 A black sheep in Huntsville, Utah

Beautiful golden colors of fall at the Monastery in Huntsville, Utah

Last Chance for Affordable Huntsville Horse Property

HURRY! .... If you've been looking for affordable horse property in Huntsville, Utah, this is your last chance to purchase this great home located on a dead-end street near the Monastery. This property has beautiful mature trees for shade in summer, great views of Snowbasin, a barn for all your toys, fencing for the horses, and plenty of water. The owner can't afford to leave it vacant much longer, and will soon be taking it off the market and looking for renters. Call me today to tour this property before it's too late! The price has recently been reduced to $285,000.



Visit my website: www.UtahMountainPropertyTeam.com
Contact: wendycrook@kw.com; 801-791-3955

Mid-September Real Estate Statistics

As of September 1st, 8 new homes came on the market; 1 home sold; 7 went under contract.

There are currently only 150 homes/condos on the market in the Ogden Valley.  With so few homes available, this is a great time to list your home for sale. There are only 34 single family homes on the market in the Ogden Valley (Eden & Huntsville) priced below $400,000. Many buyers are actively looking for homes in this price range, so if you're thinking of selling contact me today for a free comparative market analysis. wendycrook@kw.com or 801-791-3955

Summer's not over yet!

Summer's not over yet, but you can see the end from here!

The familiar fall indicators include entering a department store when it's still 100 degrees outdoors, but you can only buy winter clothing. And it's hard to miss the back to school banners in the aisles of every grocery store. Ogden Valley schools are scheduled to begin their fall session on August 20th. Snowcrest back to school night is Monday, August 19th, and Valley Elementary's back to school night was August 16th. If you haven't finished your school shopping yet, be sure to check out Chic Style Boutique, a clothing store located in Eden, Utah. They have some really fun styles at great prices, and the shop is owned and operated by an Eden resident.

For me, the sound of Canadian geese migrating back toward the south is one of the leading indicators that summer is drawing to a close. In the past couple of weeks I've heard that familiar honking at lest a couple of times over the Ogden Valley. Although the temperature still says summer to us, the geese seem to know when it's time to go.

There are still a few things to do in the Ogden Valley before the summer wanes. 

• August 23-25 Ogden Roots and Blues Festival put on by OFOAM at North Fork Park.
• August 23rd Weber Pathways Trail Mixer. A fundraiser held on the patio at Earls's Lodge, Snowbasin Resort, with music, food, and live and silent auctions.
• August 31st Hel's Half Pound. The inaugural half marathon race up Powder Mountain Road (Are you kidding me!!!)
• September 7th Color Me Amazing, a color 5k and festival including music, dancing, food and prize drawings. This is a fundraiser that benefits many Ogden Valley non-profits.
• Every Wednesday evening at Carlos & Harley's go listen to Charlie Fuertsch play his guitar and sing blues, bluegrass, folk, etc including some Grateful Dead favorites. Charlie's a high school senior and member of the Ogden Valley Ski Team. He's the 2013 Utah state flat pick guitar champion! Be sure to catch his performance before his homework load gets too heavy and he has to quit.

If you want more information about any of these Ogden Valley activities, feel free to drop me a line!

If you're looking for real estate for sale in the Ogden Valley be sure to visit my website, www.UtahMountainPropertyTeam.com 

You can also view a video of this Huntsville Horse Property that I recently listed.

To view real estate listings on your mobile phone:  Download my free mobile search app!

Ogden Valley Real Estate Statistics for the 1st Quarter of 2013

The chart below represents the real estate trends in the Ogden Valley beginning with the first quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2013. A quick glance will tell you that the real estate market tumbled significantly in 2008 and continued its downward spiral for some time before it began the gradual climb back up. But you'd have to have been locked in a closet for the last several years not to know that. Since we're just a couple of weeks away from the end of the first quarter of 2013, that's the part of the chart that's we're examining at this time. 

The end of last year saw that the inventory of homes on the market was the lowest of any point from the beginning of 2008, however the first quarter of 2013 brought a flurry of new listings to the market place (green line). Most likely because in the world of real estate agents the buzz was all about getting more listings because there were seemingly more buyers than sellers, something that hadn't been seen in years. The blue line shows that since the beginning of the first quarter of 2013 the median sold price was flat, as was the total number of homes sold. In part, I feel the reason these numbers were flat was because the inventory was low at the beginning of the quarter, and the average home buyer takes several months to research before they buy, but there wasn't much to choose from so there weren't a lot of sales. With the inventory on the rise I think we'll see an increase of sales in the 2nd quarter.

What does this mean to buyers and sellers? Good news for both. This is still a great time for sellers to get their home on the market as prices have increased slightly. As for buyers, there is a little more to choose from and most sellers are becoming more reasonable about the value of their home in today's market. 

If you're interested in getting your home on the market call me at 801-791-3955, or email me at wendycrook@kw.com. If you want to view the homes that are currently listed and even set up an alert to tell you when a new listing comes on the market you can go to www.wendycrookhomes.com, register for an account and access all real estate listings on the multiple listing service as well as lots of statistics about the industry. Don't hesitate to give me a shout. I'll respond to your call, text or email, and look forward to helping you either as a seller or a buyer of Ogden Valley real estate.

Ogden Valley Real Estate Statistics 2008 thru Present

Ogden Valley Spring Real Estate Market

In the past month, 17 homes either went under contract or sold in the Ogden Valley. During that same time frame 17 lots or parcels of vacant land also went under contract or sold. The sale of so many vacant lots is an indicator that the inventory of existing homes is dwindling and people are preparing to build new homes. Because prices in the Ogden Valley seem to have bottomed out and interest rates are at historic lows, the time to invest in the valley is NOW! Property in the valley is so affordable that it's possible to build a brand new home for less than the cost of an existing home.

Some of the lowest priced building lots in the Ogden Valley are located in The Preserve Subdivision in Eden, Utah. The Preserve is a sweet little subdivision where only a few years ago lots were selling for $200,000+. There are currently a number of lots available in The Preserve with prices starting at just $49,000.

Why The Preserve? It has so much to offer! Phase 1 through 3 are located on a west facing gradual slope where the views of the surrounding mountains are stunning. Phase 4 lots are level and located between the North Fork River and Sheep Creek. The sound of the water flowing past these lots is mesmerizing.  All lots are serviced by central sewer and water, and nearly all lots back up to open space. The Preserve has a private park with hiking trails that follow the rivers and meander over bridges and through the trees. The park also has a large sports field with a baseball backstop, a pavilion with gas barbeque grills, a playground and picnic tables. The proximity to Powder Mountain, Wolf Mountain and Snowbasin Ski Resorts, Pineview Reservoir, and Wolf Creek Golf Course, make this an ideal location for your vacation home. However, the 20 minute scenic drive into Ogden make this a very commutable distance for your primary home. And, did I mention the air in the Ogden Valley is fresh and clean!

The following video shows a Phase 4 lot now available for your dream home:

Make the dream a reality! Contact me today for more information about The Preserve or other property available in the Ogden Valley.

Wendy Crook, Keller Williams Success Realty, 801-791-3955, wendycrook@kw.com, www.UtahMountainPropertyTeam.com,

April Showers

Hard to believe it's April already! There are a few showers passing through today, and most of the snow here in the Ogden Valley has been gone for a while. Wolf Mountain closed and already has lots of bare spots. Snowbasin is holding out a couple more weeks, and spring skiing there is reportedly good but make sure you go in the morning as afternoon skiing is quite slushy. As for Powder Mountain, night skiing closed on March 31st. Also closed at Powder Mountain is powder skiing at Lightening Ridge and the Powder Country Shuttle.

The Ogden Valley Ski Team, U-16 and up racers have one final race called the Last Chance race at Snowbird resort. It was supposed to be both GS & Slalom, but due to lack of snow they'll only be holding the slalom portion of the race. It will take place April 6, 7 & 8. A couple of the FIS racers will be traveling to Mammoth/Sugar Bowl to attend the Western Spring Series at the same time. Good Luck to all!

Pineview Resevoir is quickly thawing and ice fishing has been over for a couple of weeks at least. Won't be long before you can launch your boat though.

Things are just starting to green-up in the Valley, and rivers, creeks and streams are all flowing. It's a great time to do some pruning, aerate the lawn, and put some weed and feed on the grass. Hope you're all enjoying these beautiful spring days!