To Whom It May Concern:

As first time home buyers, my husband and I were very intimidated with the games we were going to have to play with builders and sellers.  We had an unpleasant experience while trying to purchase a home a month prior.  That fell though, and we are glad about that because the experience that we have had with Jason Wolf at Westates was entirely different.  There were no games, he was fair with all of his customers, and gave us the best price he could with out the long process of going back and forth with offers and counter offers.  Everything has gone so smoothly thanks to Jason Wolf and Westates.  We appreciate how they do business and would recommend them to everyone!

Thanks again Jason!  It has been such a pleasure doing business with you!

Sincerely,

Kaylen and Sarah Olsen

Millennials buying their first home will help drive demand in the coming years. That's good news for Salt Lake City, Raleigh, N.C., and Colorado Springs--U.S. cities with young populations. States such as Iowa and North Dakota are aging.

ty is one of the fastest­ growing metropolitan areas in the coun­try. But unlike other booming locales, Salt Lake has a largely homegrown citizenry---locals account for 88% of population growth. "Salt Lake City has a high rate of natural increases," says Rob­ert E. Lang, director of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. "It's a big family-friendly kind of place:'

The result is that Salt Lake City has a large and expanding pool of ready home buyers: Millennials, the generation born from the early 1980s to the '90s. Utah, where the Salt Lake environs account

for the bulk of the state's residents, is the country's youngest state, with a me­dian age of 28.7 years, compared with 35.3 years for the country as a whole. Raleigh, San Antonio, and Colorado Springs also have youthful populations, whereas states such as Iowa, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania are aging fast.

The Millennials, aka Generation Y, will be one of the most powerful demo­graphic forces to enter the housing market in the years to come. By some estimates, they're expected to account for a third of all home buyers by 2015. They're already out in droves, taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax

credit for first-time home buyers. "A huge cohort of first-time buyers will be in the market in the next five years," says David W. Berson, chief economist at PMI Group, a company that covers banks against borrower default.

Gen Y buyers already have helped prop up the housing market in Salt Lake City. Home prices rose 51% from 2003 through 2008, compared with a roughly 2% drop for the U.S. as a whole. The young buyers' impact is reflected, in part, in the type of sales: The low end of the market, say local real estate agents, accounts for much of the activity, while some multimillion-dollar homes have been sitting vacant for more than a year

Many properties "weren't available to first-time home buyers a year ago," says Kevin Coyle of Stonebrook Real Estate in Salt Lake. "With the downturn, they can now get something they can afford"

When Gen Yers James and Carleigh Naylor got married last October, the couple moved into a dingy basement apartment they rented from an elderly man who lived upstairs. "It wasn't glam­orous, says 24-year-old James, who works as a cabinet maker at his father's shop. Earlier this year the young couple decided to buy their first home, a two bedroom, one-bath on a cul-de-sac on the south side of town. They beat out six offers with a bid of $137,000-still well below the $230,000 median home price in Salt Lake.

Like many first-time buyers, the Naylors are tapping the new govern­ment programs designed to spur home sales. Along with the tax credit, they qualified for a federally backed mort­gage, which requires less money up front. And a gift from relatives covered their closing costs and down payment. Says James: "We're hoping to use this house as a stepping stone to get us into the next house three or five years from now:'

As first time home buyers, my husband and I were expecting (at the very least) a lot of frustration and headache.  However, once we discovered The Cove at Jordan River, we were amazed at how fast, easy and enjoyable the process was.  From the initial walk-through to the closing date, every person we dealt with kept us informed, and treated us like old friends.  As the seller's agent, Jason Wolf was fantastic to work with.  Not only was he personable, patient and honest, but he was always available to answer even the smallest question, and easily adapted everything to fit our schedules.  Dealing with the preferred lender, RaeJeanne McCutcheon at Academy Mortgage, also made things simple and convenient.  

When it came right down to it, we got everything we wanted in a home—stylish, spacious and beautiful—at an unbelievably good price.  Our overall experience was fun, exciting and a complete breeze.  We will recommend The Cove at Jordan River to anyone who will listen!