There are about 8,500 single family homes and condos on the market as of October 15, 2008, Closed single family homes and condos for the first 10 months of 2008 are about 9,000 and through this same time period of 2008, about 13,000 properties on the MLS have expired or withdrawn. I estimate we have about 10 months of inventory as we are selling about 860 properties a month. I believe sellers will have to drop their asking prices about 7 to 10% before we see an upward turn in the market. Rental property owners are happy since vacancies are down and rents are going up. FHA single family home loan limits were increased to $729,000 in Salt Lake County. There are very few HUD homes for sale in Utah (about a dozen). Utah ranked nationally in the top 14 states in foreclosures, but we do not have a foreclosure problem if compared to neighboring states - California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado. Most entry level buyers are still waiting for some positive news.
ZIP Codes: 84047, 84121, 84092, 84093, 84094, 84020, 84070, 84106, 84088, 84044, 84065, 84095, 84111, 84115, 84116, 84116, 84117, 8418, 84119, 84120, 84123, 84124 Approximate Location Boundaries: Salt Lake County
Location Characteristics: Salt Lake County, the most populated county in Utah and the heart of the Wasatch Front, has approximately 1,100,000 residents. Last year, new move-ins to Uath exceeded 83,000 (enough for a new city). The job market is good. Unemployment is below 3%. Vacancy rate for Salt Lake area rental housing is about 4%. Updated October 15, 2008.
About Michael Johnson:
Michael Johnson has over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry. He is a licensed real estate broker and a principle lending manager in the state of Utah. He began his career in California in 1976, and since 1990, he has worked in the Salt Lake real estate market.
These reports reflect the views and opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of Realty Times.
