Interesting housing figures (Ogden, St. George, Highland: assessor, credit card, loan)

[EdLo]

This report was in yesterdays San Jose Merc. News, front page business section. I then went to the website where the figures came from. Utah residents, and those planning to move to Utah will find these figures very interesting. Although the report is 78 pages long, the first two pages of the report will give you most of the information.
http://www.ofheo.gov/media/pdf/1q07hpi.pdf (broken link)

In a nutshell for those not wanting to read the report, Utah is number one in the nation for rate of increase in U.S. home prices.
Eddie

[coolcats]

Part of me doesn't care too much, since I own my house already. I'm on the train, so where ever housing prices go it won't affect me too much. But many of the other students who just graduated with me are going to have a hard time, because it seems like anything decent is over $200k out here.

When I bought my first townhouse in Virginia about 6 years ago, I was on a government salary, and even $130k seemed like a struggle. Then by the time I moved, such houses were over $300k. Any house would have been out of my reach.

Wages are notoriously low in Utah, so for someone starting out here it could be quite hard. I just don't want the prices to get so out of whack that it becomes like what you see on either coast, where ordinary families can't afford a modest home.

I'd go for nice steady 5 percent appreciation instead of these wild swings. Utah was dead last in 2003 with about a -1 percent rate, and now is first with over a 15 percent rate.

[EdLo]

It affected me somewhat. I bought summer of 2005 when Utah had the lowest appreciation rate in the nation (6% 2004). I was fortunate to find a nice home in Highland. But we did not buy the house as an investment. We bought it to live in, in our retirement years. About 8 months after buying I was notified by the tax assessor that my taxes were being raised 60%. Not good.
Sure the house went up 46% in 2006 and so far 15% in the first quarter of '07but I'd had rather wished a smaller increase, like you say, 5% and my taxes wouldn't have soared like they have.
Eddie

[coolcats]

Property taxes are another aspect I didn't factor in to the equation. Our taxes went up a couple hundred dollars last year, and will do the same again. We can absorb it, but at some point there should be a cap it seems. At least for those on fixed incomes.

[SergeantL]

Originally Posted by coolcats

Property taxes are another aspect I didn't factor in to the equation. Our taxes went up a couple hundred dollars last year, and will do the same again. We can absorb it, but at some point there should be a cap it seems. At least for those on fixed incomes.

Oh, boy, Cool, you are treading on thin ice, friend. You are almost using the "13" word.

California put a cap on property tax in 1978, when voters approved Proposition 13. Prop 13 passed for the very reasons you are talking about. Everyone blames Prop 13 for California's financial problems, but someone had to put a choke chain on the Legislature. They were driving people out of their homes with yearly raises in the tax rate. We couldn't get them to voluntarily control spending, so we took away their credit card.

The topic of Proposition 13 in California is long and heated. Hopefully, the Utah Legislature will control spending and something like 13 won’t be necessary.

[Just Lookin]

Originally Posted by coolcats

Property taxes are another aspect I didn't factor in to the equation. Our taxes went up a couple hundred dollars last year, and will do the same again. We can absorb it, but at some point there should be a cap it seems. At least for those on fixed incomes.

Thanks for noticing that cat. That will be our problem. Fixed income is our problem. We are retired and couldn't have higher taxes on our property every year go up.

I was asking Realtors this question and it seems they didn't want to reply to it.

[mexicomike]

Hi:
This is rather disturbing---I am retired from the military and have a VERY limited income. I had been considering San Antonio, Texas and Ogden, Utah. SAT has the same problem with big jumps in assessments. How does this translate into actual tax increases? Has there been any slowing down in the price increases of homes?

Sincerely,

"mike"

[snowflake73]

If you are disabled from the military, you can get a reduction on your property taxes here in Utah.

[EdLo]

[quote=mexicomike;852450]Hi:
This is rather disturbing---I am retired from the military and have a VERY limited income. I had been considering San Antonio, Texas and Ogden, Utah. SAT has the same problem with big jumps in assessments. How does this translate into actual tax increases? Has there been any slowing down in the price increases of homes?

Mike, to give you an idea of tax increases I bought July '05, property taxes were $1,709 on the house. A few months later I was notified that my 2007 taxes would be $2,600. AFAIK there has not been a slow down of price increases in Utah. Also, I think Texas has much higher rates. I live in San Jose, planning to move to our Utah home late '08 and my taxes on our $750,000 house here is only $1,012 a year (I fall under prop.13) The Utah house assessment is about 1/2 the price of our Ca. house but the taxes are much higher. This is for Utah county so I can't speak for the rest of the counties in the state.
btw, the majority of the Utah taxes go to the Alpine School Dist. A top-rated school district, or so I've heard.
Eddie

[Blondie-Rabbit]

Taxes go up, but when the value of the house goes down, so do the taxes. Only quirk in that is, you have to have them come in and reasses the house. Most have an indendent appraiser to do the work. I've seen quite a few houses in So. Utah that soared and the taxes went up. Recently a few of those had the taxes lowered by having a new appraisal done. St. Geo touts itself as the NUmber one growing city in the USA. Well ask those developers how many of those houses are really sold? How many are empty, not even rented? How many have defaulted part way through construction and the person would rather lose their down, than pay for the whole loan. Also ask why in 2006 17 construction companies in St. George went bankrupt. The tide has turned, and it is not so pretty. Building is rampant, but so is forclosure, and unoccupancy.