I have found many uses for RSS that has literally saved me days of my life. For example, I use Google’s customized home page and fill it with RSS feeds that give me everything I care to stay updated on. I have a page for all of my friends and families blogs, one page to feed my sport addiction, and another page for general news and misc items. I can literally check all blogs, news and sports in just a few minutes, rather than visiting every site individually. It takes forever just getting all the information to load if you are visiting sites one at a time, not to mention trying to remember the different sites and their addresses. Sure, you can bookmark or add sites to favorites, but then again you are back to visiting sites one at a time. Not very life saving.

Here is why this is important, and the many ways this Logan Utah Real Estate site uses RSS.

First off, you can subscribe to this site and have all of the Logan Utah real estate news, mortgage news, updated rates and other information delivered right to your inbox, rss reader or my preferred, Google home page.

Second, and perhaps most important for anyone looking to buy a home in or near Logan Utah. When you use our Utah Search tool, just by searching you are automagically set up to receive updated property information for homes or properties similar to what you searched for. This is an incredibly powerful tool. If you search for homes between 150-200k, in Logan, with 3+ bedrooms, and just don’t find anything that peaks your interest, no worries, because when another home is listed that meets that criteria, you get an email. This allows you to be one of the first to know about the Logan Utah property and enables you to make the first offer, beating out the competition.

You can also use this tool to save favorite properties that you want to keep an eye on. An additional feature that other sites don’t provide is that when you revisit the site to search, it remembers what your search criteria was the last time, and auto fills the form, saving you time an providing convenience (only when using the same computer).

Below is a screenshot of my Google home page that demostrates how I use RSS for my sports information. I highly suggest you use Google home pages, I highly recommend that you add this site, and I highly recommend you use the search tool from this site, and you can literally save days of your life, and possibly get you the home of your dreams before someone else gets it first.

We not only have more tools and resources to market your Logan property if you need to sell, but we also maintain the largest internet market share in Northern Utah.  We show your house on more websites, and in return, more buyers use us to shop for homes because it is us they find online.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone.  No one else puts more effort into being number one on the internet than Cornerstone Real Estate Professionals.  From blogs to email marketing, virtual home tours to complete sites focused around your home, no one does it better, and we have the stats to prove it.

Don’t believe me, go ahead, try if for yourself.  Open Google and search for “Logan Utah Real Estate“, or “Logan Home Search“, or “Homes In Logan Utah“.  All of those searches will result in a number one website placement for a Cornerstone site.  Why does this matter?  Because when you need to sell your home, or you need to find a home, we are there, # 1, every time.

We had the most sales in the month of November and continue to impress by leading Cache Valley in December.  If you need Real Estate Services, there really is no better place to go.  Contact me directly, or use our free Logan Utah Search tool and we will be able to help you with all of your Home Searching needs.

I have included some graphs below to show you the difference in sales over the past two years in Cache County Utah.   Take a look and get excited to find the home that is right for you.  You can use our free Logan Real Estate Search tool and find any home for sale with photos, detailed info, maps, street views and more.

If you want to build your home, well your in luck.  Land is also plentiful and prices are dropping.  Sellers are anxious to sell their property and very willing to negotiate terms.  Buy the Cache Valley Land you want and build your dream home anywhere in or around Logan Utah.

To  search Utah Real Estate, use our first class, user friendly and free search form that includes street views, maps and detail property information.

Why wait to invest in Logan Utah Real Estate.  Act now and get into an incredible loan, and get up to $8,000.00 back to buy new appliances, carpet or a remodel.  Interest rates are not going to last at this level for very long.  If you were to buy a $100,000.00 Logan home at this rate and compare it to a loan at 6%, you are saving about $75-$100 per month.  Buy a more expensive home, and the savings go up also.  Call us today, or contact Jeannette directly and get your loan in order so we can get you into that house of your dreams.

Currently, there are 44 short sale homes on the market in Logan.  What is a short sale home?  It is a home that isn’t worth what the owners owe on it.  So the bank will need to forgive the difference in the price they loaned money for, and the price the home is now worth.  This makes for a great opportunity to get into a home that has the potential to put equity in your pocket in the near future.    Many times, these are pre-forclosure homes and the owners are close to just walking away from the home.

So why not take advantage of the first time home buyer credit, or the newly integrated existing home buyer tax credit and purchase one of these homes in Logan Utah.  There really isn’t a better place to live for a quality of life you can’t find anywhere else.

Washington » Home prices rose slightly in September, the fourth straight monthly increase and a clear sign the housing market recovery is continuing.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities released Tuesday rose 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 144.96 in September. Prices rose month-over-month in 11 metro areas, a weaker showing than in recent months.

“We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Standard & Poor’s index committee. “However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months.”

Industry experts, however, still worry that rising unemployment and foreclosures could stifle the rebound in prices.

So, if you are in the market for a home in Utah, or have been putting it off, waiting for the economy to turn around, you may not want to wait too long, or you’ll be paying more for it.  Search for Utah Homes by clicking here, then contact us for showings and we’ll get the ball rolling.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended. Benefiting all of Utah Home Buyers.

The nations First Time Home Buyer tax credit has been extended, and that means you get more time to take advantage of this incredible deal.  Get $8,000.00 back when you buy your first home.  Use it for a remodel, replace carpet, new appliances, get out of debt.  To get all of the details regarding this extension, visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit website and learn how this can help you get into your first home and get cash back for doing it.

Then, use our Utah Homes search tool to find the home that is right for you.  Once you have identified properties, contact us and we’ll not only show you the properties, but arrange for all of the paperwork and negotiating to be done for you so that you can be assured you are getting the right house for the right price, with $8,000.00 back of course.

Home Owner Money Incentive

That’s right, it isn’t just for First Time Home Buyers anymore, or should I say for the next six months.  The Federal Government has included in it’s latest efforts to promote economic recovery, the option for qualifying existing home owners to receive $6,500.00 to upgrade or buy a new home.  You can get more information regarding this offer here at the Federal Housing Tax Credit website.

• You will have until the end of May, 2005 to find a home and be under contract, and an additional 60 days to close the sale.
• You need to have lived in your Utah home 5 of the last 8 years.
• You can’t make more than $220,000.00 per year.
• Homes purchased can’t be priced higher than $800,000.00.
• The Utah home needs to be purchased as your primary residence.

The list about are just a few of the qualifying factors.  Please visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit site for more specific details.

So what does this mean for those searching for Utah Homes?  Well, because Utah is atop the nation in economic stability, safety and home sale statistics, it means that you can find a home in Utah and get a great price and incredible interest rate.  Currently rates are around 5% conventional, and there are still $0 down options for those that qualify.  You can talk to our recommended lender today and get accurate information regarding the Federal incentive, interest rates and specifics to different loan programs.

Searching for homes in Utah has never been easier than with our very user friendly search form that not only gives you the incredible ability to see photos and street views, but includes specific details about the home and options to contact us for showings at your convenience.

Now’s the time to buy Land In Cache Valley!

What is happening around the State of Utah with regards to land and land values?   Well, currently there are incredible pieces of land all around Utah that are listed well below market value.   I’m talking pieces of land that would have sold two years ago for more than market value because of the location, views, size and other perks.   Pieces that would have been fought over in contract negotiations.  Pieces of land ranging from .1 acres to 100 acres.  These are the same pieces of Utah land that are just sitting now and no one wants to buy because of the economy, and tentative concerns about whether or not investing in land is a good idea right now.

There was a recent article on RealtyTimes.com in August, 2009, talking about how the land market directly affects the real estate building market, and property values of all kind on just about every level.

He states the following; “Price indexes and values of land inform the analysis of trends and cycles in house prices,” said Morris A. Davis, an assistant professor of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics at the Wisconsin School of Business and fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, who created the data sets. Information on the values and rents of residential properties in the U.S. cover three dimensions:

• Rent-Price Ratio: The ratio of rents to prices for the stock of all owner-occupied housing.
• Aggregate U.S. Land Prices: Values and price indexes for all land, structures, and housing in residential use.
• Metro Area Land Prices: Values and price indexes for land, structures, and housing for single-family owner-occupied housing units in 46 major U.S. metropolitan areas.

“If housing were simply a manufactured good, and location or land had no value, then the price of housing would be determined by construction costs, and housing prices would increase at roughly the same rate as the price of other goods in the US economy,” explained Davis.

But, Davis noted, housing is on land with a specific location, and good locations are often scarce and valuable. If construction costs rise slowly over time and desirable locations are in limited supply, increases in the demand for housing can translate directly to increases in the price of good locations, the land, and in house prices. Accordingly, information on changes in the price and value of land over time often relate to trends and cycles in housing demand.

So, if you are considering purchasing a piece of Utah property, in either large or small quantities, now is the time.  Get it now, get it cheap, and get the location and price that you want.  In a year or two, when the market has recovered, you will find that your decision to purchase now will be well worth it, and make up for the hesitation most are feeling with current market conditions.  Instead of saying in a couple of years, “I wish I did”, say “I’m glad I did”.