Benjamin Clark - Real Estate Broker

05/07/2026

The real estate industry is experiencing significant changes, and not all "improvements" are good for homebuyers. While many agents are struggling with novel ideas such as transparency and consumer protection, these are the exact principles I have built my career on for over 25 years.

See, the real estate industry was designed around the salesperson. It primarily creates agents focused on closing deals. And people are tired of being "sold".

At Homebuyer Representation, we educate our clients, empowering them to make good decisions. When a buyer understands what is happening in the market, they can act with confidence. At the end of the day, loyalty is earned through transparency, not by withholding information.

A significant part of our value as buyer's agents lies in using our experience to help clients analyze risk, see opportunities, and focus on making good long-term choices.

We pride ourselves on making our clients aware of ALL of their options. When I started my career almost 30 years ago, I regularly saw buyers who were not being made aware of all of their options in order to keep deals together. This is one of the main reasons I became an Exclusive Buyers Agent. A buyer should know all of their options, not just the choices that lead to a sale.

I am so excited about leveraging AI. By utilizing this technology to streamline our processes, we free up more time for high-value consultation sessions and better decision making. We also use cutting edge tech to provide deeper insights to our clients in the research phase of homebuying. What a great time to live and to buy a home!

Our focus is exclusively on buyers. There is a huge difference between working with an agent that was trained to "sell" real estate and an advocate trained to "protect" a client’s best interests. While most agents and brokerages lean strongly toward representing sellers, I'm proud to have decades of experience putting buyers first, every time.

If you are looking for the highest level of buyer representation and a homebuying experience built on education rather than pressure, I am here to help. Reach out for a FREE consultation to discuss your goals and get your questions answered.

05/01/2026

A few things to note about the current residential real estate market in Salt Lake County:

1. There are more homes to see. Active Listings (homes for sale that don't have a buyer) are up 13.3% since last year.

2. The number of homes being sold is essentially unchanged. Down four total (4) from last year. While the hype and FOMO has subsided, the volume of homes being sold is stable.

3. Median Price per Square foot isn't going down. Just slowly creeping along as it has been for the last year or so.

4. Time to Contract (Days on Market) is up 10%, but that translates into homes taking only 3 days longer to sell than last year.

The bottom line: It's a pretty balanced market with things leaning slightly in the buyer's favor. The main benefits are more options to choose from and the ability for buyers to take their time and make good decisions.

With 30 year interest rates holding right around 6%, and economists and lenders expecting them to remain right around that point for at least the next 2 years, now could be a good time to run the numbers on what homeownership could look like and start preparing for an eventual purchase.

If you want to meet and have that discussion, just call me at 801-999-8889 or shoot me a message for a free consultation.

04/17/2026

Interest Rate Updates: Rates have been trickling down steadily since the “ceasefire” started. At nbkc bank, most Conventional 30yr loans are sitting in the low 6s, with VA 30yr loans in the mid to high 5s.

Market Update: Rates are driven by the bond market and bonds continue waiting for bigger developments in the Iran war. At the moment, the market is in a sort of limbo as time remains on the 2-week ceasefire. Progress or lack thereof will be the cause of volatility for good or bad. Oil prices coming down lately has been the help we were looking for.

Message me if you are interested in learning more about the current market!

04/02/2026

Other than the number of homes for sale (and the months of supply) everything else is pretty much holding about where they were last year. It will be very interesting to see if we get the busy spring and summer market that is expected. This snapshot is for single family homes in Salt Lake County. If you want me to pull statistics for another county or for a different home type (condos, townhomes, etc.) just let me know.

Our brokerage has specialized in helping buyers only for the last 25 years! Message me if you have any questions about buying a home in Utah this year.

03/23/2026

Current Interest Rate Update: As of March 19, 2026, the average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate has risen to 6.22%, marking a three-month high and reversing a brief dip below 6% earlier in the year. The 15-year fixed rate is averaging around 5.54%. Rates have increased due to market volatility and inflationary concerns, impacting home affordability this spring

Market Update: As of March 2026, the home buying market is showing signs of gradual improvement with easing affordability. Mortgage rates have dipped from 2025 peaks, stimulating a modest increase in home sales. While inventory remains below pre-pandemic levels, it is slowly rising, offering buyers more choices. Home prices remain high but are expected to see only marginal growth or stabilize in 2026.

Interest rate projections: Mortgage rates in 2026 are expected to remain relatively stable in the low 6% range, with forecasts suggesting a slight decline to around 5.7%–6.1%. Experts predict a "new normal" where rates hover around 6% rather than falling back to sub-3% levels, driven by lingering inflation and stable economic growth. While inflation is moderating, it is not expected to fall to levels that would trigger drastic rate cuts. The Fed is expected to hold rates in a neutral range. Potential market, including new tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, and employment shifts, could cause fluctuations in 2026 but interest rates are still expected to reduce slightly by the end of 2026.

If you have questions about mortgages or buying a home, shoot me a message.

03/13/2026

Time IN the market, not timING the market. Real Esate builds wealth over TIME. The more time you are in it, the more wealth you will build.

New Realtor.com research finds that buyers who purchase in their early 30s can net 22.5% more in wealth by age 50 than those who wait.

Amanda and Vincent DeRise beat the odds, closing on a 140-year-old New Jersey fixer-upper at 31 and 32 after getting outbid on move-in-ready homes, and have since poured $175,000 into renovations. "We've sacrificed so much," says Vincent. But with that early purchase locked in, the couple is on track to capture the full wealth-building power of homeownership before many of their peers have even started looking.

03/13/2026

It’s a common belief that you need a massive windfall to step into homeownership. While a large tax refund is a great boost, it isn't the only way to build your foundation.

If your refund will be smaller than expected this year, don't hit pause on your homeownership goal. Instead, let's look at the actual math of getting started.

While putting 20% down is an excellent goal because it eliminates Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and lowers your monthly payment, it isn't a requirement. In fact, waiting years to save that full 20% can sometimes cost you more in the long run. Here's why:

• PMI is more affordable. PMI rates have become significantly more competitive in recent years, making the monthly "cost" of a lower down payment much more manageable.

• The power of equity. In many markets, home values rise faster than a typical household can save. By entering the market sooner with a lower down payment, you begin building equity through appreciation immediately, rather than watching prices climb from the sidelines.

Whether you’re ready to move this summer or just starting to think about 2027, here is how to prepare:

If you're ready to explore: Let’s schedule a Free Consultation! We can look at the current inventory and talk to a trusted lender to see if low-down-payment programs fit your specific financial profile. There is no pressure. Just finding out where you are at and what you need to do next.

If you're still saving: Treat this year's refund as seed money. Even a small amount, when placed in a high-yield savings account or used to pay down high-interest debt, improves your mortgage readiness for the future.

Education is the first step toward equity. I'm here to help you prepare. If you have questions about how these programs work in today's market, just message me today.

03/11/2026

It's looking like signs of a spring buyer's market are appearing in the data! Message me to discuss your plans to buy a home this year!

03/06/2026

A client and I were quoted in a Bankrate article. Keep your car payments (and other debts) as low as possible, folks!

New cars are more expensive than ever and car loan terms are longer with higher monthly payments than ever. Here's what that could mean for your mortgage application.

03/02/2026

I was quoted in USA Today!

We are seeing a noticeable increase in people wanting to make a move or make their first home purchase this year compared to the last 2 or 3 years.

I told a reporter earlier that I believe the greatest barrier to homeownership is a lack of education. Many prospective buyers assume the goal is unattainable. However, once they consult with a professional to map out a clear path, they often discover that homeownership is much closer than anticipated.

And for those who aren't quite ready, this helps them understand which variables to address - increasing savings, increasing income, or reducing debt. Just shifting their perspective from "Will I ever be able to buy a home?" to "What do I need to do to if I want to be able to buy a home?" can shave years off the waiting period.

My .02 is at the end of the article.

Rates for home loans are in the 5% range for the first time in years. The psychological milestone could help kick-start the housing market.