SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)- In a state with more than 3 million residents, only 2,000 homes are listed for sale — and each one gets dozens of competing offers.
Utah’s housing market is on fire, with projections that prices could rise by 8 to 10 percent by year’s end.
Steve Perry, president-elect of Salt Lake Board of Realtors, says he’s never seen anything like this in more than two decades in real estate. With just 500 homes in the Salt Lake area listed, he says, demand far exceeds supply.
A “Housing Heat Index” from Bankrate.com put Utah #1 for the strongest Housing economy in 2020’s fourth quarter.
And though folks typically list their homes in the Spring adding inventory for those who want to buy, Perry says it’s largely not happening this year because most existing homeowners can’t afford a bigger home in this market. And they face the daunting prospect of competing with dozens of others.
Still, it’s not impossible for first-time buyers to land their dream home.
Just ask Matt Clewett.
“We, like a lot of other people, are trying to get into homes, and every offer that we put in for on these homes, people were bidding $10,000, 20,000, $50,000 over asking price. And that’s normal right now, unfortunately,” said Clewett.
Still, he says, he finally succeeded and is under contract for a home in Kaysville — thanks to a great realtor, he says.
Clewett says he saw interest rates inching up and that now seemed like the best time to buy.
A huge part of the demand issue is out-of-state buyers who were attracted to Utah during the pandemic folks who left urban areas with far higher home prices said, Perry.
