We recently took over management of a property in Ogden and quickly discovered a wild “shed” constructed behind the building. The shed lacked sewer and power services but was borrowing power from the building. Apparently the guy living here had been doing so under the radar on and off for years. We gave him 30 days to vacate as a courtesy. He delayed and deferred for days after and finally vacated after some stern words were offered. This is what he left. If you have a troublesome rental, give us […]

The relatively recent rise in interest rates created an ice storm over the multi-unit real estate market here in Weber County.  Our latest chart shows just how significant the impact has been on sales volume over the past year. The last time Weber County saw multi-unit sales this low was during the dysfunctional mortgage lender meltdown of the Great Financial Crisis.  But unlike last time, when mortgage companies performed hari-kari and disappeared into the scrapbooks of banking history, the current drought in business is strictly related to pricing.  With interest […]

We recently listed this unique investment opportunity at 718 21st Street in Ogden.  The property consists of a .31 acre lot with a 1250 SQFT home on one half of the lot.  The home has been used as a legal non-conforming triplex since the 1920’s.     Each unit has been rented for about $1000/mo. to Section 8 tenants.  One tenant has been there for years and would like to stay.  Each unit is 1 bedroom.   Given the lot size, it is possible to subdivide the lot in order […]

We just closed on the sale of this unique fourplex located on Jefferson Ave. in Ogden.  The building, located at 2364 Jefferson Ave, was once a magnificent historic home that had been converted into a fourplex property.  Sadly, in 2002, some neighborhood kids lit the building on fire and it gutted the building.  The home sold that year for about $35,000 and the owner completely rebuilt the structure around the old shell.   There are many hints of the original home still left.   We listed this property just a few […]

The recent slump in sales volume has discouraged many in the real estate industry.  However, there are powerful demographic forces lying under the surface that have the potential to kick the market back into overdrive.   To begin our discussion, let’s look at Weber County’s population growth vs. sales volume growth.     In a perfect homogenous world, we would expect sales volume to increase in lockstep with population growth.  Of course, interest rates would never change, the ratio of homeowners to renters would be fixed, people would move-up at fixed […]

After a prolonged staring contest, the real estate market is entering a new phase as interest rates have reached a recent peak and market participants acclimate to the new reality of the cost of money. The next chapter will be written in a year promising political, geo-political, and yet-to-be-known fireworks.  Before we prognosticate on what the future holds, let’s take a look at where we left off.   Our inflation adjusted house price chart shows that we ended 2023 just a little above where we started.  A choppy mid-year bump […]

Progress on the Matson House project continues, albeit slowly.  Here are the videos that will catch you up: Enjoy!

We closed on the sale of a wholesale grade property in Ogden recently.  It was very interesting to see all the different offers that came in for the property and how they stacked up.  Here is a walk through tour of the home, the sales story, some insights, and the end result. If you have a difficult property and need to get it sold, give me a call. 801-390-1480

This video has been a long time coming.  Last fall we put the (mostly) final touches on our shed in our garden and orchard.  We constructed the shed using old methods and clad it with dutch lap siding that we milled from scratch.  We also reclaimed some old doors.  We want this shed to stand for 100 years or more.  Here is the video of us putting all those pieces together to get a beautiful final product. If you are considering a project like this and need some pointers, don’t […]

We just completed the remodel of an old tired bathroom in a historic home that we manage as a rental in Ogden.  The bathroom was last remodeled sometime in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s.  Big 18′ tiles were used and they were placed directly over top of the wood floor.  Because of the flexibility of the wood floors, the tiles began to crack and weaken over time.  This led to tenants complaining about sharp tile edges and unstable floors. Replacing the broken tiles was a difficult proposition because we […]

It’s been a long time coming (14 months!) but the once beautiful Victorian next door to us finally had its appointment with the excavator.  It would have been wonderful to see the home restored but, alas, neglect, mismanagement, and ultimately a catastrophic fire took its tole on the property.  The bed sore next door is no more. Losing these great old homes is such a waste, if you are thinking of scraping a derelict home give me a call before you do, it may just be worth saving. 801-390-1480

A lot of attention has been paid to mortgage interest rates over the past two years as rates have soared from a low of 2.77% in August 2021 to today’s nosebleed rates approaching 8%.  Obviously, higher rates have translated into lower sales volumes.  But, real estate sales aren’t just affected by the level of interest rates.  They are also affected by the direction and speed which rates move regardless of level. To illustrate the point, let’s take a look at the time period between June and October in both 2022 […]

Due to some technical difficulties with video, today’s market update comes to you in the form of an old fashioned written blog.  So, let’s commence with something we should probably be doing a lot more of anyway…reading. We will start with the villain of today’s story which happens to be 30-Year Mortgage interest rates.  They will be lurking in the background laughing as I present the rest of today’s charts.  As you can see, rates are high and headed higher.  That market is reacting accordingly. Inflation adjusted house prices in […]

We recently listed this unique development opportunity in Ogden located at the site of former Grandview Elementary (approx. 38th and Jackson Ave.).  The site is 5.15 acres and zoned R-2S. The list price for this property is $2,080,000.  It is a fantastic location very close to Weber State University and McKay Dee Hospital. ***UPDATE*** The offer window for this listing ended October 2, 2023.  Multiple offers were received.  No additional offers are being received at this time.

The Matson House project continues to move forward, albeit in fits and starts.  Part of the challenge of this project has been trying to determine what was original 1895, what was newer (1905-ish), and what was newest (1950).  The only way to find that out is to strip things down.  And that is exactly what we have been doing.  Hopefully you will find our toil entertaining: Expect more videos in the coming months!