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Adam Speth2023 President, Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors Labor shortages, high financing costs, supply challenges and regulatory issues are holding back the home-building industry both in Utah and across the nation.  In fact, Utah homebuilding permits fell 19.4% in 2022 — one of the highest drops in the country, according to a report from Point2. In Ogden-Layton, the pullback was even greater with permits down 34% — bad news for our already-historic-low housing inventory problem.   Data from the Ivory-Boyer Construction Database shows a similar pattern. Utah residential permits dropped 29% in 2022, and January 2023 residential permits were at the lowest level in the past five years.  After a record year for homebuilding in 2021, the pullback is concerning since …

Adam Speth2023 President, Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors Since 2020, the median home price in Weber, Morgan and Davis counties has increased 43% to $438,000 — rising more than $100,000 in just three years. Although the housing market has slowed in recent months, moderately priced housing is still incredibly difficult to find. As of March 20, there were only 229 houses for sale priced less than $400,000 in the three-county area.  While Utah’s housing shortage situation has improved — lacking about 32,000 units currently compared to more than 50,000 in previous years — demand for moderately priced homes continues to exceed the number available, and it’s only getting worse. Realtors worked with the Utah Legislature to address the shortage during …

Stephanie Taylor2022 President, Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors After a rollercoaster year for the housing market, many are wondering whether we can expect less volatile conditions in 2023. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, recently provided some answers in a Real Estate Forecast Summit presentation. Yun’s predictions for the U.S. real estate market in 2023 include a 7% decline in U.S. home sales (much lower than the -16% expected for 2022), stable home prices (which will rise in some areas and decline in others) and mortgage rates around 6%. Here are some of the reasons behind his predictions: A home price crash likely isn’t coming Given the strong run-up in home prices and the falling home …

Stephanie Taylor2022 President, Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors Housing costs are on the rise due to high home prices and interest rates around 7%. In fact, new research from the National Association of Realtors shows payments on a median-priced home have increased 50% in one year. “The median income needed to buy a typical home has risen to $88,300 – that’s almost $40,000 more than it was prior to the start of the pandemic, back in 2019,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The rising prices have sidelined some buyers, but others are keeping their homeownership dreams alive through creative financing and other buying strategies. Below is a discussion of several non-traditional options to help make homebuying more affordable. Seller …