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Utah County, located along the base of the Wasatch Mountains, is situated near major transportation artery I-15.  At just 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, Provo City is the largest city in Utah County and the county seat.

2007 Population

Growth Rate: 5%

Provo City = 113,984 Population

Orem City = 90,857 Population

Utah County = 501,447 Population

State of Utah = 2,699,554 Population

Source: Utah Population Estimates Committee

Major Recent Announcements:

Micron and Itel have signed a $500 million agreement to develop and manufacture NAND-style flash memory for Apple's iPod line at a facility located in Lehi city.  The merged company, named IM Flash, opened in 2007 with high quality, high paying jobs.

The small town of Vineyard, Located between Utah Lake and Orem, will soon be booming with new growth.  With the recent sale of the Geneva Steel property, two planned housing developments and spacious, lakefront property will create residential growth.

Education Highlights:

Brigham Young University (BYU) attracts nearly 30,000 students from 112 countries and has gained recognition for its excellent undergraduate and graduate programs.

Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem has seen high growth in past years.  UVU offers many certifications, Associate's degrees and Bachelor's degrees.

Source:  Economic Development Corporation of Utah-Utah County Profile

I wanted you all to know that Patrice got married on March 22, 2008 to Bernard Fano.  We want to wish you happiness and joy throught the rest of your lives together. 

We are so lucky to have Patrice here at Scott Cloward Appraisal Services and know we are happy that Bernard has joined our family.

Patrice has worked with me in the appraisal industry for nearly eight years and we consider her to be a great assest to our company.

Congratulation again to the newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Fano!

We have had a great month here at Scott Cloward Appraisal Services.  We all want to thank you so much for your business.

Thanks again and again to all of you that make our job fun and successful.

Scott S. Cloward

You Can't Lose!

With the significant increase in the values of properties along the Wasatch Front over the last three years, 2007 saw owners taking the opportunity to cash out and appreciate their returns.  Many investors have taken these returns and done 1031 exchanges back into new properties which helped drive sales in 2007.

Selling this year?  Market fundamentals such as strong rent growth, below 5% vacancies, one of the strongest economies in the country, projected 80,000 plus new residents in Utah in 2008 and tightening lending policy for new home buyers will continue to drive the market in 2008.  Because of these fundamentals, even with rising expenses and the challenges around commercial lending, properties are expected to still hold their value in 2008 benefitting both the buyer and seller.  With the potential for significant political change in Washington, some investors may start to consider selling to avoid having to pay an additional 5% increase in capital gains with the upcoming tax relief sunset in 2010.

(ARA Apartment Realty Advisors) January 2008

Utah economic performance continues to rank as the nation's strongest, a position held throughout 2007.  It is expected that some modest slowing of the states economy will occur in 2008.  Utah will still likely rank among the top handful of net fob creators during the 2008 year.

The Utah economy added more than 52,000 net jobs during the resent 12 month period.  The states job creation has slowed somewhat in recent months, it remains more than three times stronger than the current U.S. job creation pace.

Strong Utah employment growth of the past 3-4 years has led to lower labor availability, contributing to major chanllenges to ge fully staffed for Utah emplyers of all shapes and sizes according to Jeff Thredgold, Insight Vol 11 No 1/Winter 2008.

There has been a surge of new residents since 2005 which provides work while boosting the demand for Utah housing.

It is expected in 2008 that there will be solid growth with impressive but slowing job creation, extremely tight labor availability, and a softer housing market seem to be unavoidable for this year.  In contrast, the state's commercial real estate sector is doing very well.  The states long term economic potential?  Second to none.

I have subscribed to the "ARA" Apartment Realty Advisors mailings.  According to the 2008 Economic Report to the Governor "For the fourth consecutive year, Utah's economy outperformed the nation in 2007.  The state led the nation in employment growth, personal income growth, housing price appreciation, and population growth and had an unemployment rate among the lowest in the nation."

"The Mountain Region is expanding more rapidly than the nation and is emerging as a growth center.  Comparing September 2006 with September 2007, mountain state employment grew 2.5% nearly twice the nation's growth of 1.3%."

"Overall, the Utah economy is expected to experience healthy job growth, a tight labor market, and low unemployment in 2008.  Employment growth of 3.2% will be near the long-term average of 3.3%.  An economy that remains one of the best in the nation will contribute to strong net inmigration of over 41,000 and above average population growth of 3.1%.  Personal income is expected to increase by 7.8%."

In 2007, Utah's population grew by 3.2%, 3 times the national rate of 1.0%.  Utah's 2007 net inmigration was 44,252.

Between 2006 and 2007, Utah's population increased by 84,425 people to a total of 2,699,554.

According to the Wasatch from MLS, Salt Lake Counties average home price for 2006 was $250,698 (18.6% increase) and for 2007 $276,492 (10.3% increase) from the previous year.