Utah # 2 in Home Price Increase

The following article is from the Salt Lake Tribune, dated May 21, 2008:

By Lesley MitchellThe Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/22/2008 12:08:25 PM MDT

Posted: 11:28 AM-

Salt Lake City is ranked No. 22 among nearly 300 areas in home-price appreciation from the first quarter of 2007 to the same period this year with a 5.4 percent gain, a new report shows.

But two of Utah's metro areas ranked in the top 10, according to the House Price Index report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

The Provo-Orem area was No. 6, with a 6.8 percent gain in home prices over the one-year period. Ogden-Clearfield was No. 9, with a 6.6 percent increase.

The Logan area was No. 15, with a 6 percent increase.

Among Utah areas, St. George had the worst ranking, No. 235, based on a 3.7 percent decline in home prices over that one-year period.

Utah as a whole is No. 2 among all states in home-price appreciation with a 5.6 percent increase, relinquishing the top spot to Wyoming, which posted a 6.3 percent gain. Montana rounded out the top 3 with a 4.9 percent increase.

A downturn in real estate markets throughout Utah has pushed home sales down and led to moderating home prices. Utah slipped to No. 2 after five consecutive quarters in the top spot. Nationally, prices were down 3.1 percent in the year that ended March 31.


Jennifer Bunker CRS, GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker

No More Fear - Utah is Doing Okay!

While the national mortgage mess is very serious and poised to get worse, I am alarmed at the lack of good information available to Utahns about our local situation. Local papers and news shows are underreporting the Utah situation and this lack of good information is alarming Utahn's unnecessarily.

Utah is a well-managed, fiscally conservative state. Because of this, and because of a recent (within the past 2 years) correction in stagnating home prices, we are still enjoying appreciation in most areas.

Yet I get the same questions all day long from frightened homeowners wondering if they will somehow be affected by the same dire economic forces that are ravaging the housing situation in places such as Detroit, Ohio, and California. The answer is yes and no.

Here's the difference between us and them: We are still enjoying appreciation here (with the notable exception of Salt Lake City and the Provo areas) which means that if a homeowner needs to sell their home quickly, they can without worries about being upside down (owing more than the home is worth). The spring weather and low interest rates have brought out droves of buyers. As a Real Estate Broker in Utah, I've never had such a busy February!

Examine your local market conditions before buying into the scary national stories about what is happening to other homeowners in different situations than ours. If you are thinking of moving or refinancing, do your homework and find the right professionals to navigate you through the process. There are a lot of well-qualified, diligent people in this state standing ready to assist us to stay strong and prosperous together through rocky times.

Isn't that what Utah's always been about?

Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker