Salt Lake City Utah Real Estate Report

There were always plenty of reasons to move to Salt Lake City, Utah. The spaciousness, nature, low cost, safety, recreation and incredible scenery were just a few reasons buyers began to check out houses for sale in Salt Lake.

But 2020/2021 is different. The job market is good and improving (unemployment rate 7.9% currently), taxes are half of that in California or Oregon (corporate tax rate is 4.95%), and it’s a safe, superb environment for Millennial aged digital and creative workers. The housing market here is one of the hottest housing markets of late.

For those with families or starting them, Utah has always had a culture of home ownership and prices are affordable compared to other major US cities such as Denver, Houston, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

With a population just over 200,000, the city of Salt Lake is the perfect size for safe, clean living and friendly neighbors.

Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, housing sales slumped in the spring and early summer, but demand has returned strongly. As it has done in Los Angeles, Denver, San Diego, and Dallas housing market, a rebound in demand for homes has come about since then. And it seems to be growing along with the house prices as seen here.

Salt Lake City Utah. House Price Index.

Low Supply is Driving Prices up Faster

Low interest rates, and migration of businesses out of California is making low tax Utah the hottest housing market. It’s resulted in a 12.8% increase in home prices, 28% increase in homes sold, and rent prices up 3% to an average $1235.

And home buyers aren’t just purchasing resale homes through the MLS. New single-family home sales rose an incredible 43.2% YoY in September. It shows huge interest in living in the Salt Lake City region.

Zillow predicts Salt Lake City home prices will rise 5.3% to a new average of $440,278 by next August 2021. Detached houses are to rise to $497,000. Outside of Salt Lake City, home prices are decidedly lower at $373,049.

In Provo, home prices are $329,883 on average while in nearby West Jordan single family houses are $388,000 according to Zillow.

We’ve seen a lot of existing for-sale inventory pull back, so we’re about 52% or so behind where we are usually with existing sales inventory this time of year and throughout the summer… That’s created a kind of bottleneck. You have this pent up demand who want to buy, but they have nowhere to go.”  — Pearson and Associates.

The pandemic and recent riots are causing more people and business owners (particularly in highly populated California) to reexamine their lives within high density cities. And workers too, freed up by the work from home mandate are fleeing to the cheaper real estate and rent prices of Utah.

If you’re into mountain biking or skiing, the region has excellent recreational opportunities with the Rocky Mountains right next door. And for city life, Salt Lake City offers much more as each year passes.

In August in Salt Lake County, home sales grew 1.4% year over year, while the median sales price rose by 11.6% YoY. The price gains reflect the demand typical in all us housing markets, while supply continues to dwindle. The median home price of homes in Salt Lake County was $385,000 and statewide it rose 10.8% to $360,000.

Utah Housing Stats by County

Infographic courtesy of Pearson & Associates, Salt Lake City UT.

Many counties in Utah are seeing remarkable price increases including Beaver County (+35%), Duchesne County )+26%), Garfield County )+39%), Kane County (+57%), Piute County (+46%), Sevier County (+25%) and Wasatch  County (+22%).

See also: Denver housing market, Houston housing market, Austin houses for sale and San Antonio houses for sale.  Will the housing market crash, if there is a change in President? We’ll soon know the effect on home prices across America.

Screenshot courtesy of Utah Association of Realtors

Screenshot courtesy of slrealtors.com.
Screenshot courtesy of slrealtors.com.

The trend in migration isn’t just in arrivals from other states and cities. Many residents are leaving Salt Lake City for quieter lifestyle in neighboring commuter cities and outlying areas.

The Salt Lake Tribune discusses the Salt Lake and Utah housing market.

Realtor.com has 1357 homes listed for sale while Redfin has 563.

See more on the housing market forecast for 2024.

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