News From The Board Leadership Team!

Your Board Leadership Team just returned from the NAR Convention in New Orleans Monday night (Nov. 8th) and I wanted to highlight what the underlying theme of the whole conference was……. “Home Ownership Matters”. You’ll see this as the central theme to much of the Association’s Public Awareness Campaign for 2011, and here’s why: There are and will be a segment of the media and the government that has been and will be pushing the idea that ‘maybe it’s not the right time to own a home’…… They quote declining prices and troublesome mortgages as their main reasons; in addition the critics say, home owners are getting an unfair subsidy (the Mortgage Interest Deduction or MID); one that benefits only the rich.

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Here’s what you, as Realtors® in Washington County and throughout Utah and the USA should be saying to everyone you talk to: There is NO Better Time to BUY…… It is Not Just Pricing that is the logic here, but the deeper reasoning, such as the feeling that your children get when they ‘come home’ (like you did when you were young….); the pride in a neighborhood of Home Owners, not home-renters; or, do you want to change the landscaping????....go ahead; and more ‘feelings’ just like it. If you own or have ever owned a home, you know the feeling; sell that feeling!


Here’s another few facts that you can quote. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist wrote: Government data show that home owners already pay 80–90 percent of the income tax in the United States, and almost two-thirds of those who take the deduction are middle-income earners. Our economy NEEDS homeowners.


We were able to participate in a multitude of meetings that helped decide the ongoing growth of the NAR and the Realtor Professionals that make it up. Realtors® are now about 1,100,000 strong and on a growth curve, not a decline. Not all areas of the nation are the same in regards to value and unit sales; we were in that top tier of growth in the boom, we are still in that same category in the bust, but we all know that we are pulling out of that slump. We see new homes being built; we see our sales boards fill up with new sales….yes, the values are lower, but the unit sales are strong. Keep up the good work.


In future updates I’ll touch on some other areas of the meetings that might interest you…. for now….. keep up the positive attitude; it’s showing!

Thanks to
J Rand McCullough
For providing this information

Giving Back to the Community is Contagious

On Thursday October 21st Sommer Bowler, President of the Board of Trustees, Michelle Hill and some friends of Habitat and members from the Family Selection Committee knocked on the Juett family’s door to tell them that they had been selected as the next Habitat family. Jonathan turned “green” but luckily he didn’t faint! They were all smiles as they were packed in a Suburban donated by Newby Buick to take the family out to see their Habitat home in LaVerkin. This will be Habitat’s 16th home in Washington County. It is a purchased foreclosed home that will be rehabilitated for the family. The Juett family was then given a tour of the house. They were so thrilled with the house in its existing condition, but updates are necessary.

The ground breaking ceremony was held Friday October 29th. Guests were invited to wear their jeans and start working on the home immediately after the ceremony. Several volunteers from the Army, Coldwell Banker, WCBR, Salisbury Homes and the community showed up to help begin the renovations. Jon and Amber are so enthusiastic about doing their part that they immediately starting working on their sweat equity hours. Already the home is starting to look like “home sweet home”.

Michelle Hill
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Utah
(435)674-7669

Thanks to Meri Crandall for sharing this story!