Home prices are still higher than 2021, but dropping from peak

SANDY, Utah — Home prices are still up from a year ago, but lower than the spring peak.

Utahrealestate.com showed the median price of a single-family home sold in the third quarter at $590,000, which is up by 9% when compared to the median price at the same time in 2021.

However, the data also showed the price is down 7% compared to a median price of $637,000 in the second quarter, when prices were peaking.

“Higher mortgage interest rates have definitely slowed house sales,” Dejan Eskic, chief economist for the Salt Lake Board of Realtors said. “Active listings are taking roughly a month to sell instead of a week. The good news for buyers is that sellers are offering more concessions. There are more houses to choose from in the process and it is much easier to get a home under contract.”

Utah County had the highest home prices along the Wasatch Front at $599,900 in the July through September.

Davis County was the third highest with a median price at $540,000, a 9% increase over the same time period last year.

Tooele County had a median price of $470,000 and Weber County showed the greatest housing affordability at a median price of $435,600.

Home sales in Salt Lake County fell 30% to 2,331 in the third quarter compared to 3,336 sales in the third quarter of 2021. Salt Lake County home prices seem to be moderating since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates earlier this year.

Condominium sales had even larger percentage declines with a 34% sale drop in Salt Lake County, 43% drop in Tooele County and 24% drop in Davis County.

Weber and Utah counties had smaller declines at 1% for each county.

According to Utahrealestate.com, “As of Nov. 2, roughly one in three listings on UtahRealEstate.com were under contract. The ratio of under contract listings to total listings today is similar to 2019, before the pandemic.”

This means that the seller has accepted an offer on the property, but the sale isn’t final.

The website states:

“Nationally, despite weaker sales, multiple offers are still occurring with more than a quarter of homes selling above list price due to limited inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors. The current lack of supply underscores the vast contrast with the previous major market downturn from 2008 to 2010, when inventory levels were four times higher than they are today. In Utah, there is a deficit of approximately 30,000 housing units.”