Stephanie TaylorPresident             A swift rise in interest rates has some buyers wondering how the higher borrowing costs will affect the housing market.             Although Freddie Mac reported that interest rates in April surpassed 5% for the first time since 2011, the mortgage giant also said it expects the “single-family purchase market will remain solid in 2022 despite increases in mortgage rates.” The organization’s April 18 Quarterly Forecast report predicts that although demand and prices will moderate somewhat, there will continue to be substantial housing demand. Freddie Mac also expects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 4.6% in 2022 and 5% in 2023.  “While the sharp increase in mortgage rates will lead to a precipitous drop in refinance originations in …

Stephanie Taylor2022 President, Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors Utah’s strong job market along with a large population of young adults entering their prime home-buying years will provide robust demand for Utah housing over the next decade. That’s according to a new regional economic report commissioned by the Utah Association of Realtors and written by Dejan Eskic, senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The study looks at housing market conditions in six states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The report studied various housing market indicators, comparing Utah’s performance to other states. Here’s a look at how Utah’s housing market stacks up. Employment One important indicator of real estate demand is an area’s job market …

Stephanie Taylor, 2022 PresidentNorthern Wasatch Association of Realtors After an ultra-hot housing market in 2021, Northern Wasatch home buyers and sellers can expect another robust real estate year in 2022. That’s according to Jim Wood, Ivory-Boyer senior fellow at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, who recently spoke to Northern Wasatch Realtors. Wood, who has studied Utah’s housing market for decades, forecasts that real estate sales will remain steady in 2022 while home prices will rise 10-12%. Meanwhile, new home construction will reach a new record high of 36,000 units but will remain constrained because of a continued labor shortage.   “Utah is in the midst of a really strong economic boom, and the fundamentals are still …