Why Small Cities Rock Forget New York and San Francisco. With beautiful scenery, skilled workers, and affordable housing, smaller cities are luring companies in droves. From: Inc.com By: Delore Zimmerman - July 2008 They may not make a big splash nationally, but small metro areas continue to dominate the top ranks of Inc.com's Best Cities rankings. This year, for example, 18 of the top 25 cities are small metros. We decided to take a look at what makes these places tick by focusing on one of them. St. George, Utah, has a lock on first or second place for the third year in a row. St. George is the bustling population and commercial center of Utah's Dixie, a nickname given to the area when Brigham Young persuaded Mormon pioneers to grow cotton and wine grapes and harvest silk for export to the Civil War-torn northern states. The cotton plants, grapevines and mulberry bushes largely are gone, but the area overall is thriving. Nestled near Zion and Bryce National Parks, St. George has been attracting visitors and retirees for decades. But increasingly, the new houses lining the red-bluffed valleys are not occupied by those at the end of their productive lives; they are being snatched up by younger people and families anxious to take advantage of economic opportunities in a lovely setting. The population has doubled every decade in the last three. But it’s not just scenery that attracts. This is a community with a strong sense of pride and connection with its past. And unlike many attractive communities, this one still wants to grow -- and has done so by appealing to companies from giant Wal-Mart (which has a distribution center here) and Skywest to entrepreneurial firms who are filling the spacious, orderly industrial parks in the region. St. George also is taking advantage of its location. With easy access to I-15, between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, notes Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council, it’s within a day’s semi-truck ride from almost the entire West Coast. At its current pace, Washington County is expected to grow to between 600,000 or 700,000 people by 2050.   READ ENTIRE ARTICLE  http://www.inc.com/articles/2008/07/why-small-cities-rock.html

Utah Association of Realtors - 1st Quarter 2008
Washington County, UT

#Sales	#Sales 4th Q 2007	#Sales 1st Q 2008	# Sales %Up/Down	Avg Sales Price 4th Q 2007	Avg Sales Price 1st Q 2008	Avg Sales Price         % Up/Down
Homes	362	334	-7.73%	$301,301	$314,480	4.37%
Condos	86	101	17.44%	$171,919	$180,588	5.04%

http://www.utahrealtors.com

Click here for the 4th Quarter ACCRA - "Cost of Living" numbers

Yearly Stats for Home Sales from Washington County MLS
Residential Sales only
 

Period	Homes Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2006	3,225	$307,316	$265,000	- $6,718	74
Year 2007	2,656	$289,702	$249,900	-$11,292	124
Jan  2007	218	$294,390	$245,000	+$3,393	81
Feb  2007	146	$289,845	$241,876	-$16,294	89
March 2007	243	$283,390	$247,900	-$13,563	128
April 2007	218	$269,402	$245,250	-$9,478	129
May 2007	259	$316,066	$260,000	-$8,480	118
June 2007	251	$298,229	$260,000	-$12,662	118
July 2007	177	$305,525	$255,000	-$17,037	128
August 2007	203	$271,850	$230,000	-$11,764	124
Sept 2007	171	$273,586	$239,900	-$6,491	126
Oct  2007	138	$269,799	$239,450	-$11,604	136
Nov 2007	307	$275,294	$240,000	-$10,648	128
Dec 2007	116	$261,815	$236,9950	-$8,309	124
Jan 2008	102	$304,402	$250,000	-$12,322	142
Feb 2008	140	$296,217	$256,500	-$14,049	153
March 2008	178	$290,299	236,265	-$15,890	124
April 2008	150	$270,773	$230,000	-$12,924	151
May 2008	181	$256,319	$215,000	-$10,500	130
June 2008 *6.27	126	$294,436	$248,500	-$17,125	126
July 2008	161	$260,100	$225,510	-$16,140	128

Washington County Real Estate Market Snapshot
Yearly Stats for Lots/Land
 

	Lots/Land Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2006	883	$251,668	$135,000	- $10,801	92
Year 2007	810	$220,685	$119,450	-$28,091	183
Jan  2007	58	$310,445	$132,445	-$23,331	142
Feb  2007	36	$201,507	$165,950	-$17,415	144
March 2007	90	$230,214	$125,000	-$20,042	135
April 2007	67	$200,032	$131,000	-$48,602	208
May 2007	80	$196,118	$125,000	-$21,062	195
June 2007	68	$177,692	$103,950	Period	175
July 2007	53	$124,792	$100,000	-$11,712	172
August 2007	62	$324,254	$110,000	-$64.865	253
Sept 2007	43	$122,777	$100,000	+$,760	162
Oct. 2007	35	$122,080	$80,000	-$40,431	200
Nov 2007	75	$149,937	$115,000	-$30,103	197
Dec 2007	23	$155,772	$94,900	-$25,485	186
Jan 2008	24	$105,764	$105,000	-$7,773	137
Feb 2008	22	$201,142	$169,750	-$18,078	268
March 2008	22	$111,940	$100,000	-$11,215	200
April 2008	40	$150,195	$174,000	-$5,069	166
May 2008	33	$116,242	$77,500	-$9,403	209
June 2008 6.27	21	$103,757	$85,900	-$8,223	197
July 2008	21	$377,194	$349,000	-$201,837	199

For a further breakdown of sales for homes & lots sold: 
Below is a breakdown by area and current stats will be posted each month for the year 2008.*

Greater St George:  St George, Ivins, Santa Clara, Washington City
**Hurricane Valley:   Hurricane, LaVerkin, Toquerville
***Northwest Area: Harrisburg, Leeds, New Harmony, Silver Reef
****Northeast Area:  Beryl Junction, Brookside, Central, Dammeron Valley, Diamond Valley, Enterprise, Gunlock, Newcastle, Pine Valley, Veyo, Winchester Hills

*Greater St George Residential Sales by Area

* Greater St George:  St George, Ivins, Santa Clara, Washington City - (May 1, to June 1, 2008)

*Greater St George Land/Lot Sales by Area

Period	Lots/Land Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2006	883	$251,668	$135,000	- $10,801	92
Year 2007	392	$234,600	$142,500	-$25,691	190
January 2007	33	$381,899	$150,000	-$17,872	135
February 2007	20	$199,370	$195,500	+$10,420	120
March 2007	38	$196,501	$140,000	-$11,578	142
April 2007	38	$171,432	$135,000	-$27,418	187
May 2007	42	$166,100	$137,500	-$14,069	171
June 2007	36	$244,535	$147,500	$32,115	208
July 2007	22	$154,295	$119,000	-$4,195	158
August 2007	21		$110,000	-$116,724	334
Sept 2007	19	$153,784	$110,000	+$15,321	209
October 2007	15	$166,993	$140,000	-$36,470	240
Nov 2007	34	$208,073	$135,000	-$38,555	244
Dec 2007	10	$189,805	$77,500	-$44,845	190
January 2008	9	$141,786	$142,500	-$11,357	266
February 2008	13	$272,800	$214,000	-$18,445	230
March 2008	10	170,222	$134,500	-$12,767	232
April 2008	18	$216,673	$218,362	-$24,079	204
May 2008	23	$107,386	$77,500	-$7,386	263
June 2008 6.27	11	$127,418	$98,000	-$5,964	206
July 2008	4	$74,167	$76,250	-$12,467	359
August 2008

**Hurricane Valley Residential Sales by Area
 

Period	Homes Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2007	325	$244,702	$229,900	-$8,419	127
January 2007	23	$245,841	$236,000	-$5,383	101
February 2007	17	$271,659	$275,000	-$7,282	94
March 2007	30	$258,974	$246,950	-$8,243	153
April 2007	30	$225,178	$233,225	-$13,326	121
May 2007	35	$216,623	$228,000	-$14,704	110
June 2007	31	$250,558	$254,900	-$3,586	117
July 2007	16	$239,519	$230,250	-$7,316	125
August 2007	31	$235,326	$215,000	-$9,337	109
Sept 2007	25	$229,308	$210,467	-$5,356	108
Oct  2007	18	$245,519	$212,950	-$6,566	178
Nov 2007	39	$265,390	$228,900	-$7,843	140
Dec 2007	11	$208,164	$189,900	-$7,650	123
January 2008	14	$264,921	$289,900	-$11,638	130
February 2008	17	$246,941	$217,000	-$9,050	202
March 2008	18	$227,239	$194,950	-$14,217	131
April 2008	25	$245,398	$15,000	-$9,439	114
May 2008	25	$242,022	$210,000	-$8,224	120
June 2008 6.27	10	$201,889	$201,500	-$7,556	170
July 2008	24	$193,539	$156,950	-$3,001	88
August 2008

**Hurricane Valley:   Hurricane, LaVerkin, Toquerville   (May 1, to June 1, 2008)

**Hurricane Valley Land/Lot Sales by Area
 

Period	Lots/Land Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2006	883	$251,668	$135,000	- $10,801	92
Year 2007	145	$277,115	$80,000	-$21,638	148
January 2007	7	$87,271	$82,400	-$13,629	115
February 2007	4	$313,238	$96,475	-$80,638	126
March 2007	14	$403,700	$83,500	-$12,536	125
April 2007	11	$180,083	$75,000	-$24,836	181
May 2007	11	$298,443	$88,000	-$10,639	229
June 2007	13	$182,515	$90,000	+$877	85
July 2007	5	$132,360	$69,000	-$21,000	175
August 2007	9	$157,655	$85,000	-$17,656	230
Sept 2007	12	$80,075	$71,450	-$9,975	122
Oct  2007	5	$91,660	$76,500	-$6,880	167
Nov 2007	13	$103,715	$76,500	-$4,092	135
Dec 2007	10	$136,870	$96,950	-$1,480	206
January 2008	6	$111,650	$117,000	-$833	60
February 2008	3	$69,633	$69,000	-$6,967	294
March 2008	5	$73,225	$75,000	-$6,450	96
April 2008	11	$150,700	$180,000	-$7,230	72
May 2008	4	$216,750	$159,125	-$19,725	77
June 2008 6.27	4	$123,100	$121,200	-$15,575	151
July 2008	3	$61,000	$75,000	-$3,900	173
August 2008

***Northwest Area Residential Sales by Area
 

Period	Homes Sold	Avg Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Avg Sales Price to Listing Price	Avg Days of Market
Year 2007	78	$288,842	$232,500	-$11,017	131
January 2007	5	$280,180	$285,000	-$4,980	169
February 2007	1