With mortgage rates at all time lows and building cost in the cellar now is the time to build in West Wendover, says contractor John McGee and the builder is putting his money where his mouth is.
“We are finishing up two homes in Wendover,” McGee said. “One is under contract and the other is spec. I can understand why people might be nervous about buying a new home but we have not seen such good conditions in quite a long time.”
New houses in Wendover have been few and very far between especially in the last ten years.
Over the last decade housing starts can be literally counted on two hands and finished homes probably on one.
West Wendover took a major economic hit in 2003 when the StateLine Casino corporation declared bankruptcy and hundreds of workers lost their jobs and their health insurance.
The lucky ones were hired back by the eventual news owners of the two major casinos but most if not all had to settle for pay cuts and loss of benefits.
More than a few left town abandoning homes to fore closure or selling them back to the bank in lieu of foreclosure.
Just as the economy was getting back on its feet the Great Recession hit in 2008 and while there were much fewer if any foreclosures locally the mortgage crisis made it virtually impossible to get a bank loan for most residents.
“People should understand that times have changed,” McGee said. “It is much easier and cheaper to get a mortgage now. The broker I work with Ellen Petersen out of Tooele can usually get someone a mortgage for well under five percent.”
While there has been a distinct decline in home purchases nationwide since the recession the industry has begun to recover.
When compared to other credit buys, home ownership is one of the best investments a consumer can make, economists say. While a car a television or an appliance immediately loses a large part of its value after it is purchased, a home will either maintain its value or increase as time goes buy.
While gains will never match those before the housing bubble burst the security of home ownership has returned, McGee added.
