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Show WEEKLY REFLEX DAVIS NEWS JOURNAL, MAY 8. t's A 1980 nqrTH DAVIS LEADER, MAY 8, 1980 Good Tim By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL Davis County home builders face a bleak future, at least for the remainder of 1980, but there is still a market for home buyers of existing homes, according to a survey of home builders and realtors in the south Davis County area. IN FACT, as one veteran realtor pointed out, there has seldom been a better market for home buyers than at the if the purchaser has the available money. present time There are plenty of homes on the market most of them well below the true market value but its a matter of financing, said one realtor. If you have the money, you can get your choice of homes at a fantastic price. But BOB ased his home through our agency a year and a half ago ended up having to sell at a price lower than his purchase price. volume of sales was up 2.7 percent. This was due largely to the increased DESPITE THE economic recession, the real estate business is still a business of supply and demand. Sellers not in a hurry to peddle their homes can usually hold out for a better price, it was explained. But those forced to sell sometimes take a real financial bath. quit the business and a few real estate firms have closed their doors, but more so in Salt Lake County than in Davis County. without the available money financing is next to impossible. AS A result, local we would never do DURLNG THE first quarter of 1980, the Salt Lake Realty Board noted 215 listings had expired. These were homes MANY BUILDERS have just quit and told the banks to come and get it (repossessed property), others are doing remodeling jobs and one is building wood fences like crazy all in hopes of surviving the crunch. The county home builders association is sticking together, helping each other as much as possible, and trying to pull through this crisis together," said Mr. already left the business or soon will. ANOTHER problem facing realtors is the rising and of interest rates. lowering When the interest rates were going up, buyers were quick to take action thinking that interest rates will be even higher next week. And that was true, one realtor ex- MEANWHILE, many employees of contractors are hav- - . ing to do other jobs, including home remodeling, just wail- ; ing for the crisis to ease. One builder said that a few years ago he had a large staff : 7. 25 to 30 homes a year, plus apartment complexes. but this year he is completing his second home buy using his own money to get started. BUT NOW that interest rates are beginning to edge . downward, buyers are beginning to think that if they hold off another few months they can get a better interest rate. And this stymies sales, at least for the time being. Realtors agreed that the last three months have been the worst ever, but they also agree that the trend should change latter this year and improve greatly by 1981. interest rates and tight money? "It has been almost devastating, to say the least," says Arthur Gregerson, president of the Davis County Home Builders Association. $100,000. MY FIRM has sold seven of these homes so far, compared to one for the same period a year ago, said one realtor. But the middle-clas- s homes ranging from $60,000 to $80,000 are moving very slowly. d He noted that homes, when available, are grabbed up very quickly. They are seldom on the listing more than a few days, if they reach the listing at all. d home are all that many people can afford and they are very much in demand. THE NORTH Davis County-Webe- r County area is just as bleak, if not more so, than the Salt Lake City area, according to Fritz Becker, executive president of the Utah home Builders Association. He compared the first quarter of 1980 to 1979 thusly: Number of new building permits is down 72 percent (335 to 94); construction loans dropped 96 percent (154 to 6); unemployment jumped 62 percent (compared to one percent for all other jobs combined); and bankruptcies among home builders increased 78 percent. COUNTYWIDE, home building has dropped drastically almost to a standstill. 1 dont know if its an accurate statement or not, said Mr. Gregerson, "but Ive heard reports that home construction is off as much as 80 percent the first quarter of this year. IN BOUNTIFUL, there were 54 building permits for construction of new homes issued during the first four months of 1979. This year the total is 13. And when to talk about home builders suffering, subcontrac youve got to include a lot of other people lower-price- Low-price- THE SALT Lake Board of Realtors, which includes south Davis County, reported a decline of about 10 percent in real estate sales through the first quarter of 1980, but the NEED I say more, Rapid Growth Seen For Davis County Davis County population will reach 297,000 by the year 2000, representing an increase of 153,000 or 106.3 percent from estimated 1980 totals. This prediction was contained in a research report prepared by Utah Foundation, the private research organization, and is based in part on projections made by the State Planning Office. Planning Office, the total population of the state will exceed 2'U million persons by the year 2000. Moreover, these population projections represent rather conservative forecasts since they reflect only current trends and the existing economic structure. Several potential developments such as the MX deployment system, the Intermountain Power Project, synthetic fuel processing, etc. , could raise these state totACCORDING TO separate als by another percent. projections made by the While both the Foundation Foundation and by the State and the Planning Office reports "'- indicate that Utahs popula-Vi f., lion will exceed 2 million by the year 2000, the Planning Office projections forecast a rapid growth in the earlier for years and a gradual slowing Trailers, Motor Homes, down toward the turn of the Boats century. Campers, I'i FENCED STORAGE Cars, Trucks, Diesels, Farm Equipment etc. $10.00 per month Safe! Locked up on Gordon Ave. behind Ken Halls tween 1980 and the year 2000. Approximately 445,000 new jobs must be created during this period in order to accommodate this expected population increase. period was 3 'A times the U.S. average, and was exceeded by only five other states. DURING THE past ten years, nonagricultural em- point out that one of the major factors in Utahs rapid growth is a birth rate that is highest in the nation and nearly twice the U.S. average. The birth rate in Utah has been rising duriing the past 15 years while that of the nation as a whole has been declining. The second important factor in Utahs rapid population growth during recent years has Bebeen a strong tween 1970 and 1979, there ployment in Utah rose by nearly 210,000 jobs, with the private sector accounting for 87 percent of the increase. Government employment made up 28 percent of Utah nonagricultural employment in 1970 and 22.5 percent in 1980. Population growth out the United States has ta-- ! pered off during recent years, but Utah is experiencing the greatest growth in its history. Between 1970 and 1979, Utahs resident population rose by 308,000, or 29 percent. Utahs growth rate during this nine-ye- FOUNDATION analysts was a net approximately 80,000 1195 No. Main Layton Call 766-009- 7 THE FOUNDATION over the period. As a result, the Planning Office projections are higher in the earlier years, but the Foundation projection ends up slightly higher for the year 2000. The report indicates that there will be an increase of more than a half million persons in Utahs normal working-age be brackets (20-6- The monthly meeting of the Happy K and F Senior Citizens Club will be May 15 at p.m. at the Davis High School Cafeteria. Suggested donation for the dinner is $1 .25 per person, but no one will be 2 turned away for lack of funds. ENTERTAINMENT will follow dinner. Door prizes and Mothers Day gifts will be $1 Dinner Potatoes Bacon trlmmlnge including Salad A Pattrie old Post Office 175 East 200 So., Clearfield Next to Albertson In Clearfield A.M. 8 Brunch 10-- 5 Open Radials JC Penney Steel 1 44 Save on four Size LR78x15 tires The JCPenney steel belted radial has a polyester radial ply body with 2 steel belts. Wide 78 series. Whitewall. 42 month warranty 10 off The JCPenney 4 Year Battery or Emily 376-213- with trade in THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LAYTON 58.00 Dependable Reg. starting power tor your car It or truck. And never needs water. A great maintenance-tre- e battery in group sizes for most American cars. Plus, fed. tax from 1.96 to 3.30 each tire. .a Mileagemaker wheel alignment 75 years young! m a qq 'ft,.,,' OO Sate ends May 10 Two great ways to charge No trade-i- n required. Tires mounted at no extra charge. We think thats something to celebrate, especially in these uncertain times. Were still around and going strong to serve you, 25 RV tires. cord body contarucSon .Mi highway totakcwrytng cwacfty thwi tad. Tout?) nylon Movq ' sale . Highway RV OPEN HOUSE front 74.91 discrear drum brak. S8. A compfeta omtmul tor mota US and torrtgn or febuSd cytlnrtor. w.11 cmptad warn nr. drum, or rotor.. Ha. on Rqy imr Wun, .59.91. 7S.M. 50 off ' H ''S I'1 '!!t ' Ut Sale dll 129.99 Monday-Frida- y 1,1 car stereos. Power-U- p for everybody, mm p ar cfumrMt bvdMh sUro with ptayar. fWtutton fcrtrtft In tunare and rf bmGm n tor great kvcar Rag. 17S.9B. Big 14 I PoMr-U-p Noon-- 6 376-125- 1 ' ,J 1 Front The Second National Bank of Layton ' ,:l tires. 700-14- TI 1 1 Save $51 on 4 carpet with an 3764241 off brake overhaul off Highway 25 and looking to making that service even better. Were putting out the red The First National Bank of Layton $49 Sale "1 p.m. See you there! Gravy AUTOMOTIVE MONTH Save 30 to 42 Closeout Belted of indi- 3 is & Both Served with all the Velma 376-260- Children under 10 Roast Baron of Beef Chicken Vera 867-218- 376-483- Adults Sausage given to each lady. All persons age 60 and over are invited to come and enjoy the afternoon with the group. Dues are $2 a year. For reservations call by Thursday, May 8, one of the following: Minnie Ashby, $1 95 99 Eggs facturing within the state. out-flo- Roueche, Benton, ' good supply of essential viduals to Utah, reversing an trend during the preceding decade. The study Lund, commented Mr. Becker. Breakfast utility services; (7) a desirable lifestyle; (8) development of recreation facilities; and (9) increased development of manu- Seniors To Meet pro- -- father's Day Buffet mate. Sno-Mobile- s, jections, on the other hand, show a rather steady growth : SPECIAL noted that this influx of new population to Utah during the 1970s are (1) a shifting of population to the south and to the west; (2) energy development; (3) vast natural resources which are now in demand; (4) a guarantee of adequate water for future growth; (5) an attractive business cli(6) a 7 IM USING one superintendent and one laborer and w e all pitch in to get the job done, just try ing to surie." While residential construction is almost at a standstill. commercial construction is booming throughout northern Utah with shopping malls under construction in Ogden. Layton and Salt Lake City. NOW WHAT about the other end of the scope, the local home builders? How have they been affected by the high high-price- -. Gregerson. plained. single-famil- TO SAY that financing is next to impossible is not a smear at the local banks and loaning institutions. It simply means that there is a drastic shortage of home mortgage money available, at any percentage rate. Realtors were quick to note that mortgage institutions are working harder than ever for the realtors. But they have a limitation of money and restrictions they must follow. AND TO say that its a buyers market is putting it mildly, according to realtors. One seller recently accepted a $5,000 down payment on his home on an assumed contract deal and still lost money, a realtor said. Another seller who had purch tight-mone- You have to work much harder and have the contacts (with loaning institutions) to put a deal together, they said. "Those not willing to work, and sacrifice, either have that were listed for sale but failed to obtain a suitable buyer. y Also, the length of time a dwelling now remains on the market before sale now averages 70 days (for the Bountiful area) compared to 30 days a year ago. FOR MULTIPLE-dwellin- g complexes and commercial buildings the waiting time is much longer up to four months. But a quirk in the real estate business during the first d homes quarter of 1980 is that there are more being sold now than before. These are homes exceeding OTHERS ARE renting homes with an offer to apply a portion of the rent to the renter if the latter should decide at a later time to purchase the home. There is more trading of properties than has been seen in several years, according to realtors. Some are even trading for valuable coins (on speculation) and in a few isolated cases diamonds have been used as down payment for a home. higher-price- d REALTORS agreed that many real estate agents have THE LATTER usually fall into the categories of job transfers and persons forced to sell to settle divorce of inheritance cases. those wanting to move up or Persons selling by desire but selling only if they get down in the size of their home a lucrative offer, sometimes have their homes on the market for several months. realtors are doing things we thought to legally and morally close a sale. They explained that more homes are being purchased on existing contracts with the seller accepting a very low down payment and holding the contract. it was expalined. A lot of people are suffering and a lot have been put out of work." UTAHS unemployment jumped from 4.6 percent in March to 5.0 percent in April. This resulted in an additional 28,000 unemployed, many connected with home building, according to a state economist. Those few still building homes are doing so on money : y before the squeeze or building with their own money, one builder explained. tors, bankers, suppliers, etc.," sale of homes, several exceeding $150,000. torn! 5 off Heavy duty shocks. Sato Sale 8.99. Reg. 13.99 T t tMui. ihock proddm control nd mor mor. til nr. to tad. vrtitl. offering U atafcfe lid. wi onSmry thocki. Mifet S. cws kwfeUtton tataWbl. ta awtv i Hi. 149.99 i i M me. wm Plus, ted. tax from 2.45 to 4.48 each bra. tits Now, two great ways to charge! Shop Sun. Shop Sat 12-- 5 Mon.-Fr- i. 10-- 9 BEAUTY SALON 295-707- 10-- 6 is tlCPenney BOUNTIFUL STORE 101 West 1600 North 6 SHOP CATALOG 298-326- 1 AUTO CENTER 298-261- 9 3 |