While a large part of the U.S. real estate market struggles with the credit crunch, the Utah housing market continues to buck the trend. For the fifth quarter in a row Utah real estate came top of the pile for home price appreciation. Home prices increased by 9.27% in the forth quarter 2007 compared to the same quarter in 2006. In fact, four out of the top 10 cities in the U.S. were located in Utah (Ogden 4th, Provo 6th, Salt Lake City 7th and Logon 8th).
For Salt Lake County, while home prices continue to increase year on year, they have come off their high point. The highest average price for single-family homes was achieved in the third quarter 2007, when they peaked at $309,876. Since then the average home price has deceased to $286,842, which is a drop of approximately 7.4%. This tightening of prices is the result of a large decease in the number of homes sold, which have dropped over 42% in the past year. This drop in home sales led to an increased homes for sale inventory, and thus homes taking longer to sell. The low end of the Salt Lake City Real Estate market remains strong, with some homes under $200,000 still attracting multiple offers.
| Quarter | Salt Lake County Average Sales Price |
| First Quarter 2008 | $286,842 |
| Forth Quarter 2007 | $285,775 |
| Third Quarter 2007 | $309,876 |
| Second Quarter 2007 | $299,303 |
| First Quarter 2007 | $286,170 |
| Forth Quarter 2006 | $284,976 |
| Third Quarter 2006 | $283,462 |
The areas of the real estate market suffering the most are high-end homes over $500,000 and new construction. These market segments recently received a much-needed boost when the conforming loan limit for Salt Lake County was raised from $417,000 to $729,750. This should make it easier for people to obtain jumbo loans and hopefully give a lift to homes over $417,000.
This Article was written by Utah Real Estate Agents Trela Bird and Tracie Peay. Trela and Tracie specialize in helping people buy and sell Salt Lake Utah Real Estate and Park City Utah Real Estate. Please visit our Salt Lake Real Estate blog to find out the latest real estate market information and news.