One Week Special

How would you like to own a brand new home, without having to wait for it to be built?

Now you can have that chance and save a bunch of money too!

Gold Medallion Homes is offering a one week special on selected new homes.

$10,000 of listed price
$6,000 in lender incentives
Priced from the high $200s

What's the catch? You have to close by the end of this month and use our preferred lender Countrywide. Garden Cottages at Daybreak are excluded. That's it!

Take a look at the great homes and great communities we have available for this promotion at the Gold Medallion Homes website.

Are Utah Home Builders Desperate?

That’s the implication a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune wants to imply. It begins rather benignly with a title of Home builders offering incentives, but it's not a sign of a market crash.

The article quickly goes to the jugular by saying:

As expected, Utah's red-hot housing market is cooling off, and builders are offering up goodies such as free appliances and luxury vehicles in a bid to reel in buyers.
The freebies represent an abrupt change from the past two years, when builders along the Wasatch Front have not had to offer much of anything to entice buyers. Utah's economy has been among the strongest in the nation, with stellar job growth and population gains, both of which bode well for builders.

One example cited in the article is from another local builder:

To spur sales, Hawkins Homes & Communities in North Salt Lake said it began advertising a "free" Lexus IS250 on two billboards in Davis and Salt Lake counties earlier this month.

The fine print says that buyers who meet certain criteria get a free one-year lease on the luxury sedan. (They can also elect instead to get a $10,000 kitchen or bathroom upgrade.)

The builder, which has subdivisions in Draper, Herriman and Fruit Heights, said it will offer the incentive through end of the month.

But, the other example cited isn’t really indicative of special incentives.

Sage Builders, which is building in south Salt Lake County and Utah County, was offering $5,000 off closing costs to buyers who use a "preferred lender."

Many local builders, Gold Medallion included, offer incentives for using our preferred lender. It helps speed up the financing process, assures customer satisfaction and insures a timely close for our clients. This is a common practice among builders and certainly doesn’t indicate a market slowdown.

In fact, the market outlook for new homes in Utah is quite good according to the latest report from real estate data provider NewReach.

Complete unoccupied homes, or standing inventory, remains exceptionally low in most of the counties within the Wasatch Front. Salt Lake County, however, has seen an increase from 1Q06, as standing inventory along the western corridor has increased. Currently, this is not a serious concern as new home closings within the entire county remain extremely robust.

Salt Lake continues to be a great place to work and live with plenty of jobs available. Both housing appreciation and demand remain strong and we expect a consistent growth rate over the coming years.

Grey Hawk - Is A Spray Can Really A Marketing Campaign?

It's hard to believe the marketing campaign for our new development named Grey Hawk is beginning with just a few swaths of orange spray paint.

The orange paint actually represents where our sign will go, the first marketing and awareness building we'll do as construction starts.

Grey Hawk will be a nice development in East Layton with tremendous views and large new homes.

Three car garages will be standard and four floor plans will be offered. Grey Hawk is close to schools, shopping and both Highway 89 and I-15.

We're very excited about this new project. Building won't start until the fall of 2007. Right now, the earth is being leveled and retaining walls are being built.

We'll keep you updated on construction details as they progress.

The Right Kitchen Can Really Make a New Home

CNN Money had an interesting photo article about various types of kitchens being placed in new homes. The styles range from lofts with tight spaces to open, spacious kitchens.

At Gold Medallion Homes, we believe the kitchen is the cornerstone to a home. We engineer functionality into every kitchen we build.

By studying traffic patterns within a room, to eliminating wasted space, our kitchens stand out. Add high quality cabinetry where no detail is missed and we think you'll be as pleased with our kitchens as much as our new houses.

The photos used for this post are available at our Daybreak community. Come see them for yourself.

Daybreak Model Home:
4574 W. Kestrel Ridge Rd.
South Jordan, Utah
Call 801-302-0692 for a personal tour.

Gold Medallion Homes in the News

Gold Medallion Homes co-president Kristin Nilssen is filling two roles this year. In addition to her duties at Gold Medallion, she is also serving as President of the Salt Lake Home Builders Association.

Kristin was recently asked about the pricing of new homes in Salt Lake by KUTV News. Here are some excerpts.

According to a newly released report, just 21 percent of new homes sold in the region sold for under $200,000. In 2002, 70 percent sold for less.

“It's still a good market,” said Kristen Nilssen of the Salt Lake Home Builder’s Association. “Anything under 200, if it's decent at all, sometimes will be gone within hours.”

There are a few reasons the cost of housing has risen dramatically. The cost of building materials is more expensive now, along with labor expenses. But the biggest factor is the land along the Wasatch front.

There is only so much room to build new homes, with mountains on three sides of the Salt Lake Valley and the Great Salt Lake to the north. Because of the limited area, the cost of land is more valuable. Compare the amount of land available to home builders now compared to that of 15-years ago, when many current-day developments were nothing but empty lots.

“We predict a very strong housing market for our economy over the next 12 months,” Nilssen said.

Salt Lake Housing Market Doing Great

The Salt Lake housing market has one of the brightest outlooks in the country. A new report out today shows the Salt Lake metro area was number two in the nation for appreciation.

Median prices in Salt Lake surged at the end of 2006 to reach a new high of $223,600. This was a 22.7% increase over the previous year.

Gold Medallion homes can attest to the strength of the Salt Lake market since last year we built and sold more homes than ever before. We continue to be optimistic about the Salt Lake housing market because of plentiful jobs and enjoyable living.

We're excited about the prospects of 2007 as we start building in Centerville at Pineae Village. DayBreak in South Jordan continues to attract people who appreciate its self-contained lifestyle, mountain views and retro architecture.

Stay tuned to our website and blog to see what else Gold Medallion has in store this year. Better yet, come take a look at one of our model homes in the community closest to you.

New Homes in Utah - The Blog From Gold Medallion Homes

Welcome to the New Homes in Utah blog presented by Gold Medallion Homes. You’ll find a lot of different information about buying a new home in Utah including the buying process, how to secure financing, timelines, community profiles and special deals.

We've been building homes in Northern Utah for about fourteen years now. The communities we build in are innovative and rich in amenities, yet we offer competitive prices and high quality workmanship.

Our goals for this blog is to offer a peek into the communities we build in, explain the new home buying process and showcase our homes. Your questions and feedback are welcome. Be sure to visit the Gold Medallion Homes website to find out more.