SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – As Utah’s housing market continues changing, one housing market has seen the largest growth of inventory in the nation — Salt Lake City.
According to the latest housing report from RE/MAX, Salt Lake City saw a 110% increase in the number of available homes to purchase year-over-year.
Across the U.S., inventory also grew with the number of homes for sale in May 2022 up 16.3% from April 2022 and up 2.2% from May 2021.
The five markets that saw the biggest year-over-year increase in 2022 inventory are:
- Coeur d’Alene, Idaho —111.9%
- Salt Lake City, Utah —110.8%
- Bozeman, Montana — 92.9%
- Denver, Colorado — 81.0%
- Las Vegas, Nevada — 72.6%
| Months’ Supply of Inventory: 5 Markets with the Biggest YoY Increase | |||
| Market | May 2022 Months’ Supply of Inventory | May 2021 Months’ Supply of Inventory | Year-over-Year % Change |
| Coeur d’Alene, ID | 1.6 | 0.8 | +111.9 % |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 0.9 | 0.4 | +110.8 % |
| Bozeman, MT | 1.9 | 1.0 | +92.9 % |
| Denver, CO | 0.6 | 0.3 | +81.0 % |
| Las Vegas, NV | 1.4 | 0.8 | +72.6 % |
Although Salt Lake City saw one of the largest housing increases, don’t be fooled by the numbers — the inventory supply in Salt Lake City was 0.9 in May 2022, up from 0.4 in May 2021, which means demand remains high, but supply remains limited.
“Established homes were in critically short supply and new homes could not be built fast enough,” says Josh and Jen Horner with RE/MAX Masters in Salt Lake City. “Early 2020 through early 2022, Utah’s residential real estate market was clearly in favor of the seller. Buyers flooded the Utah housing market as did institutional investors. The demand was overwhelming and far outpaced the number of homes available.”
The median home sale price in Salt Lake City is currently $551,413 which marks a yearly increase of 22.5% from May 2021 and up month-over-month by 0.8%.
The average number of days a home spends on the SLC market is 22 days, which marks an annual increase of 74.1% but a decrease of 23.8% month-over-month.
Although the inventory skyrocketed in Salt Lake City, interestingly the number of closed home sales in Salt Lake City is down 9.7% year-over-year.
Horner says the catalyst for this phenomenon can be blamed on rising interest rates and general economic uncertainty, pushing prospective homebuyers out of the market.
“Transactions naturally fell while both established and new development inventory returned to normal levels in a very short amount of time,” says Horner. “Multiple offers and selling for above list price was the norm. Buyers were long exhausted from the last two years of explosive home price growth.”
For prospective homebuyers though, Horner says it’s still an excellent time to purchase a home in Utah if you’re able.
“Buyers should remember that rates are still considerably low historically and are expected to continue to rise more through 2022 and early 2023,” says Horner. “SLC home buyers at this time are gaining more leverage as the market shifts and the Buyer to Seller ratio becomes more balanced.”
RE/MAX says after a “long decline” in U.S. housing inventory, May 2022 saw growth for the second consecutive month, with the national median sales price of $430,000, marking a 13.2% increase from May 2021’s average of $380,000.
“A decline in home sales isn’t entirely unexpected given the higher mortgage rate environment, but the gains in inventory are welcome news for buyers who are now starting to see a few more listings come onto the market during their home search,” said Nick Bailey, President and CEO. “Options in multi and single-family housing are there that weren’t available just a few short months ago. Affordability remains a concern, but homebuyers are regaining some control which has been long overdue.”
“Although home price growth has slowed, Utah Real estate is expected to stay strong due to sheer population growth driven by its array of industries such as technology, healthcare, mining, defense and tourism which are firing on all cylinders,” says Horner.
