- It made its way to its spiritual home in Perthshire for the first time in 700 years
- It will be the centrepiece of the new £27 million museum which opens this month
It left the capital city to much pomp and pageantry befitting a sacred ancient relic.
However, the Stone of Destiny has now been driven to its new home at the Perth Museum in the most unceremonious of fashions.
The fanfare and high security operation put in place to transport the stone from Edinburgh Castle to Westminster Abbey for the King’s Coronation last May was certainly not adopted last week.
Instead, the relic was bundled into the back of a Transit van.
The historic sandstone slab has played a role in Royal coronations on both sides of the Border for hundreds of years, and will be the centrepiece of the new £27 million museum when it opens on March 30.
A small-scale farewell ceremony was held at Edinburgh Castle on Thursday to mark the departure of the stone as it made its way to its spiritual home in Perthshire for the first time in 700 years.
First Minister Humza Yousaf attended the ceremony in his capacity as a Commissioner for the Safeguarding of the Regalia.
But its arrival was somewhat anticlimactic, as the artefact was delivered to the museum in the back of a white van.
One onlooker called it ’embarrassing’, while another said they expected ‘such an iconic piece of history’ to have been delivered with some solemnity and with its return home being heralded by museum chiefs.
Perth businessman Iain Fenwick said: ‘You would have thought having spent £26.73 million there would have been more pomp and ceremony.
;However, I have been assured this is a deliberate tactic, and those with experience at Culture Perth and Kinross and Perth and Kinross Council know what they are doing.
‘Leaving everything to the last second, apparently, gathers the biggest crowds for free-to-attend events.
‘I’m looking forward to finding out what all of these events are.
‘All top secret right now, with two weeks to go.’
A council spokesperson said: ‘Arrangements remain on track for display of the Stone of Destiny in the new Perth Museum which opens to the public on March 30.’
The building now housing the Stone of Destiny has so far attracted just 500 followers on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, even though its grand opening will take place in less than two weeks’ time.
Despite the massive investment in the new home for the Stone of Destiny, it has so far failed to spark the imagination of the public.
The attraction, which is managed by quango Culture Perth and Kinross, will be hoping online follower numbers will spike once the venue officially opens. Free tickets for the opening weekend will be available to book from Friday at 10am.
The museum describes itself as a ‘world-class cultural and heritage attraction’ which will boast ‘objects and stories to put Perth and Kinross at the centre of Scotland’s story’.
The museum website says: ‘At its heart will sit the Stone of Destiny, also known as the Stone of Scone, one of Scotland and the UK’s most significant historical objects.
‘Returning to Perthshire for the first time in over 700 years, the Stone will be the centrepiece of the new museum.
‘Alongside the Stone, the Museum will display Perth & Kinross’s Recognised Collections of National Significance as well as iconic loans and exhibitions from the UK and abroad.’
The National Assn. of Realtors on Friday said it will make changes to its commission rules to settle national allegations the requirements stifled competition, a move that may reduce costs for at least some consumers.
The settlement, which still must receive court approval, could mark a major change in the housing market.
Today, sellers typically pay a 5% to 6% commission when they sell their homes, with half of that going to the listing agent’s brokerage and half to the buyer agent’s brokerage, and critics of that model say the settlement could upend that practice.
“This settlement over time will benefit home sellers and buyers greatly, eventually lowering agent commissions by tens of billions of dollars a year and helping align agent compensation and services rendered,” Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow with the Consumer Federation of America, said in a statement.
Under an existing Realtor rule, listing agents must make an offer of compensation to the buyer’s broker in order to list homes on NAR-affiliated multiple listing services, or the MLS.
Though NAR says this offer can be zero dollars, the requirement to post an offer — known in the industry as “cooperative compensation” — has reduced competition and kept commission rates artificially high, according to lawsuits filed against the Realtors. The rule has also caused buyers’ agents to “steer” their clients to homes that offer higher commission rates, the lawsuits allege.
In a news release, the national trade group said it continues to deny any wrongdoing as it relates to its current commission rule, but to settle the allegations, it will pay $418 million and prohibit offers of compensation to buyers’ brokers on affiliated multiple listing services, which also populate listings on sites such as Zillow and Redfin.
“NAR has worked hard for years to resolve this litigation in a manner that benefits our members and American consumers,” Nykia Wright, interim chief executive of NAR, said in a statement. “It has always been our goal to preserve consumer choice and protect our members to the greatest extent possible. This settlement achieves both of those goals.”
Home sellers could still offer to pay buyers’ broker commissions under the settlement if they communicated it outside the MLS, according to the National Assn. of Realtors.
But not setting the rules of the game at the outset will inject more competition into the process and open up new ways of payment that should lower costs, according to Robert A. Braun, a partner with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, which is representing home sellers in two of the settling cases.
Braun said sellers may still choose to pay buyers’ agents something, or buyers may pay their agents directly after negotiating a fee. They may also choose to go without an agent altogether.
Another option? A buyer agrees to pay a certain price — say $800,000 — only on the condition that the seller then pays the buyer’s agent $24,000, or 3%. “You got a free market,” Braun said.
Commission rates are a small proportion of a sales price, but they add up. For a home sold at the average Southern California price of $842,997, 6% is $50,580.
If such changes drive down commissions overall, it could have a big effect on real estate agents who are paid a proportion of the commission sent to their brokerage.
Higher mortgage rates sent home sales tumbling, reducing pay for agents who are compensated based on the number and price of the deals they transact.
In California alone, NAR lost 9,723 members from December 2023 to January 2024 — a 4.75% decline.
Not all agents are worried.
Michael Khorshidi works mostly with buyers, but sees the new requirements as an opportunity to show the value he brings to clients. Agents who aren’t able to demonstrate their worth will be the ones who lose work, he said.
“We’re always transitioning,” Khorshidi said. “This is just the latest transition.”
If the settlement ends up creating a system in which buyers pay their agents directly, it could saddle them with new costs.
However, Braun argued that buyers would ultimately see reduced costs as well because under the current system, buyer agent commissions get passed along to buyers in the form of higher home prices.
That doesn’t mean sellers make a conscious decision to set their home prices higher because they need to pay a buyer’s agent. Rather, Braun said it means fewer homes make financial sense to sell because some homeowners don’t have enough equity to pay two commissions.
If buyers paid their own agent, more homeowners could afford to sell, increasing supply and helping put downward pressure on price, Braun said.
“Going forward, there is a significant likelihood home prices will be lower than they otherwise would be,” he said.
Michael Copeland, a real estate agent in Palm Springs, doesn’t think the agreement will alter the market too dramatically.
To bring in buyers, sellers may still be incentivized to cover both commissions — just as they do today.
- The home in Birmingham will go up for auction on March 18
DIY enthusiasts may have found the perfect home after a three-bedroom house has gone under the hammer for just £9,000.
The two-storey terraced pad looks unassuming from the outside, with a neat front garden, and large windows. But inside, it’s a slightly different story.
Pictures of the Birmingham home show a dated kitchen with a tired floor in need of replacements.
Upstairs, there are the bedrooms – one of which is pictured, with a bright red feature wall and matching carpet.
Despite needing some TLC, the property still represents incredible value on a street where houses have sold for up to £280,000.
The property was last sold at final price for £98,000 in 2003 but it could now be worth £200,000, according to a property checker website.
When asked by MailOnline why the listing price had been set to just £9,000, the auction house said it was up to the seller to set that price.
But they said it was commonplace for final prices at auction to reach around 20 times the initial listing price, although it always depends on the day.
If the property was to fetch 20 times its fee it would sell for a final price of £180,000.
There is also a bathroom, however it is not pictured on the listing.
While the home isn’t exactly move-in-day ready, it appears to be in relatively good shape – particularly for the price tag.
The property also boasts a rear garden.
Again, the outside is in need of some TLC, with overgrown grass and plants, but has the potential to make a charming outdoor space.
Out the back, there is then the garden, where it is greatly overgrown and has old, dirty, rotting wood seating.
The property is on Milverton Road in the Erdington area of Birmingham.
Advertised on Rightmove by BP Auctions, the listing advises an inspection is recommended before moving in.
It reads: ‘The property has accommodation comprising of through lounge, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom, rear garden and fore garden allowing off street parking for one vehicle.
‘Conveniently situated for Erdington town centre and all its amenities the property offers easy access to motorway network links and public transport facilities.
‘The property is also set behind a driveway providing off-road parking leading to the front entrance door.
‘Bedrooms one, two, and three contain double-glazed windows to front elevation and central heating radiator.
‘The bathroom suite comprises of a bath with shower over, vanity wash-hand basin and low-level flush W.C.’
Bidding closes on March 20 at 12.35pm and is for sale by online auction from March 18 at 12.35pm.
A home in Burlington re-listed for sale multiple times and eventually sold at a staggering loss shows just how prices tend to fluctuate in the GTA real estate market.
The bungalow, located at 841 Danforth Place in Burlington’s affluent LaSalle neighbourhood sold for $2.1 million in February 2022, when home prices reached an all-time peak in the GTA.
As interest rates began rapidly driving prices down further into the year, the home failed to sell when it was re-listed for a mind-boggling $3.3 million just a few months later.
Hold onto your hats! 🎩🏡 In a jaw-dropping turn of events, a home in Burlington, previously sold for a whopping $2.1 million in August 2021, has now been offloaded for just $1.4 million, resulting in a staggering loss of $700,000! 😱💸 #RealEstateShocker #HaltonRegion #GTA 🇨🇦🍁 pic.twitter.com/rMFoQsWz8Y
— Hussein E (@therealhebrahim) March 13, 2024
The home was put back up on the market just above its initial selling price at $2.2 million in April 2023, but failed to sell once again. In November 2023, the home was re-listed at a fraction of its original price at $1.5 million.
Eventually, the home sold for $1.42 million in March 2024, approximately $700,000 less than it was originally purchased for just two years earlier.
Check out the sales in the Bayview area by the lake for the last 90 days, all the homes sold below the listed price. 😮 pic.twitter.com/aaArKsCoEV
— Hussein E (@therealhebrahim) March 13, 2024
Despite this case, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) found in its latest market report, that selling prices in the GTA actually edged upward in February, driven by “population growth” and a “resilient regional economy” that continued to support the overall demand for housing.
At the same time, higher borrowing costs kept home sales below the February sales record reached in 2021.
“We have recently seen a resurgence in sales activity compared to last year. The market assumption is that the Bank of Canada has finished hiking rates. Consumers are now anticipating rate cuts in the near future,” said TRREB President Jennifer Pearce.
“To minimize higher monthly payments, some buyers have likely saved up a larger down payment, chosen to purchase a less-expensive home type and/or looked to a different location in the GTA,” Pearce said.
“As we move through 2024, an increasing number of buyers will re-enter the market with adjusted housing preferences to account for higher borrowing costs,” TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer added.
Champs Real Estate Inc. Brokerage
It’s the cornerstone of every estate agent’s patter. But when it comes to ‘location, location, location’, what is it about an area that makes it such a desirable and much vaunted place to live? A glut of artisan bakeries? Canal-side walks?
Whatever the reason, while many such favoured locations may already be well known, there are still plenty of pukka postcodes which provide the perfect place to live – and might just give its residents a new sense of status.
Some have more stardust than others – and they are constantly shifting. Here are 12 that are definitely on the up.
S3 8RD: Kelham Island, Sheffield
With its hip apartments, independent shopping arcades, microbreweries and the award winning Cutlery Works food hall, this is an area on the rise.
Snaking along the River Don and once the heart of Sheffield’s revolutionary steel making processes, Kelham Island was previously named as one of the ‘coolest’ neighbourhoods in the world.
A two-bedroom duplex apartment with a roof terrace overlooking the river, £265,000
The flat in Kelham island, which is along the River Don, has two bathrooms
‘Kelham Island is the perfect example of a post-industrial quarter of the city that has had a rebirth as a community with a real buzz,’ explains Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital & Centric. ‘The beauty is that it’s walkable from the city centre, but it’s not dependent on it.’
On the market: A two-bedroom, two-bathroom duplex apartment with a roof terrace overlooking the river, £265,000 (rightmove.co.uk).
M30 9LJ: Monton, Manchester
Although only a 20-minute drive from the centre of Manchester, this thriving Salford suburb has a community feel all of its own.
There are independent shops such as booksellers and jewellers as well as myriad cafes, cocktail bars, tea shops and restaurants. Having been compared to the French Riviera – it’s merrily known by locals as Monton Carlo.
A bay-fronted semi-detached period house, £440,000, in Monton is on the market
The property in the suburb, which is only 20 minutes from the centre of Manchester, has a bright living room and three bedrooms
Not least on a summer’s evening when pavement patios are brimming with people dawdling over a cool beer and the sun plunges beyond the blossom trees facing Monton Road.
The historic Bridgewater Canal trickles past the edge of the village and an old railway line-turned-circular-walk, the Roe Green Loopline Heritage Trail, begins and ends here too.
On the market: A bay-fronted semi-detached period house with three double bedrooms, £440,000 (zoopla.co.uk)
CH48 4DZ: West Kirby, Liverpool
Situated ‘over the water’ from Liverpool, this north-west tip of the Wirral peninsula offers all the benefits of pseudo-island life. Sandy beaches, sweeping views of the Welsh mountains and yet only a half hour train ride into town.
When the tide is out on this part of the Dee estuary you can walk across the sands to see the seals at Hilbre Island. Or perhaps sail on West Kirby’s marine lake or cycle the Wirral Way.
This three-double-bedroom detached bungalow is on the market for £500,000
The property in West Kirby, Liverpool, has two bathrooms and two receptions
Away from the water, the Crescent, a curved street filled with Tudor architecture, is stacked with shopping opportunities and cosy lunch spots such as Hannah’s. A perfect place for active downsizers or growing families to make their home.
On the market: This three-double-bedroom detached bungalow has two bathrooms and two receptions, £500,000 (moveresidential.co.uk)
CF11 9XR: Pontcanna, Cardiff
Enclosed by rolling parkland yet close to Cardiff centre, Pontcanna is often described as a ‘city village’ since this ‘smart set’ suburb offers elements of both. ‘Pontacanna is loved by a number of celebrities and sports people.’ says Welsh property expert Carol Peet.
You’ll find large properties with residents parking, great independent shops, cafes and restaurants. There are tree-lined terraces with Victorian gothic homes and lots of green spaces.
There are two double bedrooms in this semi-detached house, £400,000
The home in Pontcanna, which is close to Cardiff, has modern interiors
While foodies will love Thomas, the restaurant by the former MasterChef: The Professionals quarter-finalist Tom Simmons, as well as the Saturday farmers’ market, for those Welsh cheeses and pure olive oils.
On the market: There are two double bedrooms in this semi-detached modern house, £400,000 (hern-crabtree.co.uk)
GU7 1EE: Godalming, Surrey
A picture-book market town on the banks of the River Wey, Godalming has it all ways. Guildford is on its doorstep while direct trains into London take less than an hour.
But the big draw for buyers are the open spaces and pristine countryside, according to Jason Corbett of Rowallan Buying Agents.
A two-bedroom semi-detached home with two ensuite bathrooms, £400,000
‘A large water meadow area known as the Lammas Lands, sits right in the town centre with cattle grazing and canal boats moored along the banks.
The town is heavy on the charm factor thanks to the abundance of period properties. All this coupled with a selection of outstanding schools brings families flocking.’
On the market: A two bedroom semi-detached home with two ensuite bathrooms, £400,000 (bourneestateagent.com).
BL0 9PJ: Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester
A small mill town on the edge of the West Pennine Moors, Rammy – as it’s known to locals – is as much about its past as its future.
There’s a Sunday TV teatime drama feel to the place since the heritage line of the East Lancashire Railway stops off here (complete with vintage ticket office).
Two-bedroom Victorian terrace with a quirky loft room, £294,000
Listed buildings are everywhere – from private houses to pubs, many studded with blue plaques that explain the history behind some of the town’s most iconic statues and houses.
Meanwhile, overlooking Ramsbottom is Holcombe Hill topped with Peel tower – a memorial to the founder of the police force.
On the market: Two-bedroom Victorian terrace with a quirky loft room reached by a paddle staircase, £294,000 (pearsonferrier.co.uk).
RG10 9RP: Twyford, Berkshire
Just 12 miles from Windsor Castle and a quick carriage ride from the Princess of Wales’s childhood home in Bucklebury, this is a place to enjoy clean air and a low crime rate.
Indeed, Twyford tops Garrington Property Finders’ Best Places to Live 2024 report, which ranks the best 1,400 cities, towns and villages in England and Wales on criteria such as beauty, schools, and connectivity.
A detached three-bedroom, one bathroom bungalow in a secluded setting, £550,000
It’s old world charm is appealing for families, retirees and young professionals who want to commute but also live the quiet life.
Not least thanks to the 34-acre Loddon Nature Reserve, home to nesting wetland birds, which sits on the edge of the village.
On the market: A detached three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow in a secluded setting, £550,000 (grapevineproperty.co.uk).
EH7 4HU: Canonmills, Edinburgh
Canonmills is the unsung district of Edinburgh with access to the Scottish capital but without the bustle of city living.
There are independent coffee shops, restaurants, and pubs.
This one-bedroom flat has a spacious sitting room with bay windows, £220,000
‘But another attractive quality is the area’s access to green spaces, including Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens, and the edge of the Water of Leith, which runs through some of the city’s most scenic and impressive cultural sites,’ says Andrew Duncan, land director at Kelvin Properties.
On the market: This one-bedroom flat has a spacious sitting room with bay windows and a fireplace, £220,000 (property.lindsays.co.uk).
WA16 6DX: Knutsford, Cheshire
Cheshire is famed for its golden triangle – Alderley Edge, Prestbury, and Wilmslow – which are hugely popular locations particularly with footballers and their WAGs. However, Knutsford is the real hidden gem with its historical buildings and a small high street prickling with chi-chi boutiques and charming places to eat.
‘This thriving market town has a fantastic social scene that effortlessly traverses country casuals and Cheshire glamour,’ explains Douglas Plant, manager of Gascoigne Halman.
A £475,000 three-bedroom semi-detached period cottage with large gardens is on the market
The living room of the home in the charming northern town of Knutsford
You can walk straight from the heart of Knutsford into the 1,000-acre Tatton Park which has a deer park, formal gardens and working farm. It also hosts more than 100 events each year including Knutsford Music Festival and Knutsford Royal May Day.
On the market: Three-bedroom semi-detached period cottage with large gardens, a summer house, pergola and vegetable allotment, £475,000 (savills.co.uk).
LE15 6DT: Oakham, Rutland
The largest town in Rutland – Britain’s tiniest county – Oakham clearly lives up to its motto of ‘multum in parva’ (much in little).
Here you’ll find good schools on the doorstep – including Uppingham – while an abundance of local produce gives Oakham its upmarket, splashed-wellies feel.
A three-bedroom converted stable on the Rutland cycling path is up for sale
The home, including a bright kitchen, has been refurbished and is priced at £425,000
Contributing to this atmosphere are the walking and cycle trails, as well as Rutland Water Nature Reserve, which is home to 393 acres of wild habitat. With traditional local country pubs – it’s as charming as the Cotswolds – just cheaper.
On the market: A refurbished three-bedroom converted stable on the Rutland cycling path, £425,000 (hurfords.co.uk).
SY8 1AS: Ludlow, Shropshire
Tucked away in the heart of Shropshire, just 14 miles from the Welsh border and a two-hour drive from the city of Birmingham, this is a tight-knit community among medieval architecture and listed buildings.
Not least this is seen in the 17th-Century timber facades and ruins of Ludlow Castle, originally built in 1086.
Recently renovated grade II-listed two-bedroom cottage with period features, £350,000
Ludlow is also a foodie haven with independent shops, selling locally sourced meats and cheeses as well as the ‘Local to Ludlow’ farmers’ market.
Every September the town plays host to the Ludlow Food Festival – showcasing more than 180 handpicked, small producers of traditional food and drink.
On the market: Recently renovated grade II listed two bedroom cottage with period features, such as fireplaces, large sash windows and exposed floorboards, £350,000 (struttandparker.com).
SR7 0HP: Seaham, County Durham
A cash injection into this lively harbour town on the Durham Coast has given new life to its 5km promenade, attracting a plethora of craft beer bars, restaurants and cafes.
What’s priceless however are the cliff top views as well as the serene beauty of the sandy North Beach, speckled with rock pools, and comfortingly sheltered by a long sea wall.
There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms in this terraced house, £169,995
‘Seaham’s idyllic location on the County Durham coast has resulted in it long being a hotspot for house hunters seeking a better, quieter life,’ says Helen Wall, director at Bradley Hall. The Seaham Marina – the only one in County Durham – has everything from cafes serving delicious homemade cakes to physiotherapy and fitness classes.
On the market: There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms in this terraced house with a spacious kitchen, £169,995 (bedebrooke.co.uk).
- The 13,000-person mountain town is dealing with an 80 percent increase in the average price of a single-family home
- Even high-earners are now being priced out of home ownership, which has left local institutions like, the hospital, struggling to retain staff
A Colorado ski resort billed as a playground for wealthy elites and Olympians-in-training has become so exclusive the locals who help run it are being priced out of the housing market.
Steamboat Springs draws tens of thousands of visitors every year thanks to its trademarked Champagne Snow powder and quaint charm.
But despite a $200 million investment to make it the state’s second-largest ski resort after Vail, many locals are being left out in the cold.
And it’s all thanks to the red-hot Airbnb market catering to vacationers and influencers that has taken over the housing industry.
The housing crisis is so serious in the 13,000-people city, that the local hospital is losing job candidates left and right due to the surging real estate market.
The small mountain town, about a three-hour drive from Denver, cannot find a head of human resources for the city because the offered $167,000 salary will no longer put anyone in a position to buy a house in the area.
The self-described cowboy ski resort has been known primarily as an area where aspiring winter Olympians come to train among the salt-of-the-Earth locals who are by-and-large middle-income professionals.
That reputation stood in semi-stark comparison to other, more glamorous ski towns like Vail, Aspen, Jackson Hole and Sun Valley.
But a cash injection from owners Alterra Mountain Company has now cemented it as a world-renowned destination. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are among the roughly 42 percent of out-of-towners who own property in the area.
In 2008, the resort trademarked Champagne Snow to describe its fluffy powder, a phrase likely coined by rancher Joe McElroy as a way to describe the way the snow would shoot up his nose while carving the slopes.
Visitors have reported paying as much as $280 for ski lift passes, making Steamboat Springs one of the most expensive resorts in the state.
But it appears to be locals who are paying the true cost. Doctors willing to put down more than $1million on a house are repeatedly outbid by out-of-town buyers putting down all-cash, over-asking price offers.
According to an NBC report, the city’s local ski resort has been leasing a hotel for its employees to live in because the homes they were once able to rent are now mostly on the market as expensive, short-term rentals for visitors.
Loryn Duke, the Steamboat ski resort’s director of communications, told the outlet: ‘Houses used to be for employees and hotels for guests. Now houses are for guests and hotels are for employee housing. We have a lot of great staff who are early in their careers or have young families, but they just aren’t able to put down those roots.’
‘I know that it’s so hard for folks outside of mountain or resort communities to even wrap their heads around, but housing is just so through the roof that unless you’re extremely wealthy, it’s unattainable,’ said Margaret Bowes, the executive director of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns.
Steamboat, as well as other mountain towns and formerly quaint travel destinations across the American Southwest, have been smacked by the pandemic-fueled real estate explosion.
Remote workers, short-term rental investors, and second-home buyers have swept in and caused home prices to essentially double with no sign they will fall anytime soon.
In Steamboat, local officials are attempting to ease the strain by proposing building thousands of new housing units on a 534-acre ranch that the city’s housing authority purchased with an anonymous $24million donation.
In phases, the office wants to build more than 2,200 units. Sale and rentals of the properties would be restricted to those who live locally on a fulltime basis and meet certain income requirements.
Even residents who are opposed to the project, believing it to be too large-scale a project for a city with limited infrastructure, understand that the housing issue is a real one.
Since 2020, single-family home prices in Steamboat have increased by 80 percent to, on average, $1.8million. For already existing homeowners, their property taxes have shot up, on average, by 86 percent.
Those numbers put even starter-home ownership out of reach for anyone making less than $200,000 annually, and even for that tier of income earner, the home prices make taking high-paying jobs in the area unattractive.
A local realtor for the past two decades told NBC: ‘We are seeing across all segments of the market even high-paid professionals, they’re turning down jobs because they spend a little time looking at housing costs and they can’t do it.
‘The people who are coming here are paying a million dollars for an entry-level house – a totally entry-level, 50-year-old house.’
Leah Wood, president of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority, told the Steamboat Pilot the town had affordable housing units at the end of last year all with 100 percent occupancy.
She added the combined waiting list for the properties is around 800 people.
The president of the local hospital, Soniya Fidler said that ‘no income earner is immune’ from the insane housing prices.
‘I think that probably every week there’s someone who comes back and tells me we lost someone because of housing,’ she said.
The hospital, in order to stop bleeding staff and potentially beckon professionals to fill positions, some of which have been open for two years, has gone into the residential real estate field.
The institution is currently building 42 apartments that will rent at rates no higher than about 30 percent of the given hospital employee’s income.
‘It is hard because we are here to deliver health care, we’re not here to deliver houses. Usually, if we have the dollars to spend, it is on state-of-the-art equipment and upgrading our facilities,’ said Fidler.
‘But we don’t want to have to close services, especially because we can’t staff for it.’
Wood estimates that Steamboat Springs would need around 1,400 more units to house the local workforce.
On Facebook, a housing group for the town is inundated with tenants seeking a place to live often up to three or four months in advance of their move-in date.
Professional golf teacher Luis Gaspar lived in the city for six years before deciding to relocate.
He said when he first moved he found a one-bedroom apartment at Torian Plum Condominiums for $1,100 a month.
‘Two years after that, it was $2,300 for a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment,’ Gaspar told the Steamboat Pilot. ‘That is a more than 100 percent increase in two years.
‘Unless you have a really good salary in Steamboat, which is really hard to find because everything is a service job, it’s impossible. ‘That is why I had to leave. The community is great and everything, but I am working two, three jobs, 12 hours a day, just to make it by.’
In 2022, Steamboat Springs followed in the footsteps of many other tourist hotspots including New York and Lake Tahoe to bring in restrictions on short term lets in a bid to ease the housing crunch.
However opponents to bans have pointed out they just give rise to a black market for short term rentals and do little to stop wealthier individuals from purchasing second homes that remain vacant.
SALT LAKE CITY — If you blinked, you might have missed it when Utahhome prices fell in December. But by January they were back up and so too were interest rates. Anda Utah real-estate expert says lower home prices aren’t likely again without the inventory of housing units being replenished to meet demand.
The average median home price in Utah is $563,000, up by 6.0% year over year. In 2024, the median sale price should keep increasing marginally due to the state’s tight inventory, according to Houzeo
Mortgage interest rates hit 7.79% in October of 2023, the highest level they’d been in 23 years. But the rate dropped to 7.35% in November due to the softening labor market and slowing economy.
Going forward, Houzeo predicts mortgage interest rates will remain above 6% but will stabilize during the second half of 2024.
Let’s ask the expert
Dejan Eskic of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute blames interest rates for causing Utah’s housing shortage.
“All of last year, we’ve had interest-rate growth,” he told Dave & Dujanovic on KSL Newsradio. “We peaked at the end of October by just touching 8%.
“We came down to about 6.5 % but then still have persistent inflation,” he said, “and the latest numbers were a little bit higher than people were comfortable with. So the Treasury markets went up again and that brought the mortgage rates back up to just over 7% again,” Eskic said.
He added that for interest rates to drop the economy has to worsen, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. financial crisis of 2007-08.
For home prices to fall, he said, you have to have a glut of new inventory.
“People have to lose their home. How does a person lose their home? They lose their job. They can’t make the monthly payments,” Eskic said.
Teaser rates: pros vs cons
Without resupplying the inventory of housing units, how does the mortgage interest rate come down?
“A lot of home builders have a lot of programs right now where they’ll buy down your interest rate. I think most home builders in our market are offering interest rates in the fives. That’s a huge discount when you think about it,” he said.
Keep in mind, prospective home buyers, that the interest rate offered by builders is a teaser rate that will rise back to market levels in a matter of years.
Eskic said the idea behind the interest rate is to eliminate the volatility in the mortgage market.
“We saw from a month ago mortgage rates are up almost a percentage point, so that wreaks havoc on potential buyers but also builders,” Eskic said.
Apartments, now that’s a different story
The for-sale side is much different than the for-rent side of the Utah real estate market now.
“What we’re seeing with apartments … is we’re getting a glut of supply. We’re seeing rents drop, and we’re seeing incentives being offered — a month or two free of rent.
“So we’re seeing that supply and demand in action, where supply for the first time in what feels like decades has outpaced demand on the apartments,” said Eskic.
Related:
Utah homeowners hit with high property taxes as home prices soar
Dave & Dujanovic can be heard on weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
When you move into a new home, the last thing you want is uninvited visitors on your property. However, when they’re presumed invasive plants like one homeowner in southern Ontario found sprouting in their yard, you can’t get rid of them so easily.
The homeowner posted photos of the unpleasant surprise in the r/whatsthisplant Reddit thread, hoping that someone could identify the odd-looking shoots.
“We recently moved to this property and the neighbors came over to say that we need to remove these plants immediately because they are invasive and spread easily. I just want to confirm that she is right and how best to get rid of it if she is. Thank you!” they explained in the post.
The first two photos show green stalks that resemble asparagus shooting up from the ground. However, claw-like green growths with red tips on top of the plants rule out the familiar vegetable.
In the third photo, you can see a pile of dead plants next to a bridge that “look and feel like bamboo,” according to the homeowner.
Commenters immediately recognized the plants as Japanese knotweed, confirming the neighbor’s suspicions. Known for its persistence, gardeners dread seeing it in their gardens since it’s notoriously difficult to eradicate.
The obnoxious red-tipped plants are so resilient they can grow through concrete, potentially damaging driveways, buildings, and other structures. It’s easy to see why the OP’s neighbor was adamant about them getting rid of these plants ASAP.
Even though Japanese knotweed isn’t toxic, it’s still a nuisance in your garden since it crowds out native species. While it’s great for privacy since it provides dense coverage, its aggressive growth and enduring root systems cancel out any benefits.
Unfortunately, getting rid of these plants is no easy feat. The National Park Service recommends trimming stalks regularly instead of digging up roots since even one leftover root fragment can produce new growth.
The park service said herbicides often successfully eradicate the plants, though there are plenty of natural ways to control weeds.
Redditors sympathized with the homeowner’s plight and recommended ways to eliminate it.
“Neighbor’s right. Kill it with fire,” one person joked.
“I can confirm that it is Japanese Knotweed, and needs to be removed professionally. Don’t even attempt removing any of it yourself,” another warned.
Another commenter suggested enlisting the help of an adorable herbivore, writing, “I think you can have goats come and eat it and they’ll clean the entire area out.”
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Hannah Jones is the Commerce Editor for Country Living. Her eye is always on the next up-and-coming products to include in gift guides and she’s ready to test everything from dog beds to garden tools for product reviews. When she’s not scoping out the latest and greatest items on the market, you can find her hanging with her two rescue dogs.
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