Utah buyers struggling to find homes in record-breaking market
Oct 20, 2021, 8:05 PM | Updated: Oct 21, 2021, 11:47 am
DAYBREAK, Utah — House sales are down 15% over last year in Salt Lake City, a trend that real estate experts attribute to a feeling that people just can’t compete in such a difficult market.
“Anyone who bought a house this summer really struggled because the buyers were out en masse,” said realtor Esther Clarke.
The median home-sale price in Salt Lake City is $490,000, the highest ever recorded, according to RE/MAX Realty.
Utah’s pricing increase is second only to Idaho, which also saw a huge increase during the pandemic.
And though the demand for housing from out-of-state buyers remains high, realtors say there’s more inventory now than people might expect.
“On national news, you will hear ‘inventory crisis’ and everyone assumes that national news is Utah. Utah is a unicorn,” said realtor Esther Clarke “For instance right now we have 4,000 homes on the market that are available, but if you look at homes under contract there are 8,600 homes under contract.”
Realtors say housing prices have increased as high as 50% in Ogden and around 25% in Salt Lake and Provo.
Homes are selling on average in only about 19 days.
Real estate experts expect the housing market to level off in 2023.
