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Monday, March 3, 2008

First-time Home Owners in Daybreak

I have talked to a lot of potential first-time home owners in Daybreak. You see them all the time. They are walking through the parks, at the visiting center, walking out of the model homes, and driving slowly while their heads swivel looking at the houses. These prospective buyers have been passed up by the whirlwind of appreciation that has lifted the Utah housing market in the last 5 years. If these couples had been old enough or bought at the right time, then they would have nearly 100,000 in equity to put down on their new house in Daybreak. As it is they can barely make a 3% down payment. For the most part, these seem to be honest hardworking people who just missed the boat. Many of them can no longer afford some of the town homes in Daybreak let alone an actual house. Because of this we will see a dramatic shift in the demographics of Daybreak. The main difference will be between Eastlake and Founder's Village.

Founder's village contains those original residents of Daybreak. These families bought their homes when the starter homes were going for the mid 100s. At the time you could buy a house with an income of just over 40,000 a year. Yes, two teachers together could easily afford to live in Daybreak. The down payment required was half what it is now. These "starter" homes are now selling between 265 and 330. Well out of the price range of the aforementioned teachers. These young families moved in at the right time. The 1100 kids that go to Daybreak Elementary are a testament to the demographics of Founder's Village. Eastlake on the other hand might be altogether different. Are young families still moving into Eastlake? Yes they are, but not near as many. Are these possibly teachers or blue collar workers? Not unless they were able to get in on the equity from the housing boom. No, these will be families that have already owned homes for a few years or have high incomes relative to the average income in Utah. Essentially these families are more likely to be established and have older kids. This will bring a whole new demographic to Eastlake. Instead of toddlers running around in the splash pool you might find teenagers running around the new swimming pool or lake.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

That is so sad. My husband and I are in love with the family atmosphere in Daybreak and have been trying to find a home there we can afford, as I am a stay-at-home mom. While he makes a good living on his own, from this article, it is now apparent that we are probably just going to have to look elsewhere. It is just sad that a development that was created with a very family oriented feel has now become out of reach for young families.

Anonymous said...

Northshore has pretty much fixed this affordability problem. Many people will be able to move in now that the price of a Garbett Homes flat starts in the 130s. When you wrote this though, Eastlake and Founders were both terribly expensive!