Good post. I am glad the market is improving in your area. Good luck.

not everybody agrees 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695273262,00.html

You got that right.

The article you link to is talking about the # of sales, not the List to Sales price. Of course the number of sales has slowed:

Getting a mortgage is harder
80/20 loans are gone
Many Sub-Prime loans are gone
Appraisers are under more scrutiny; Appraised values will be more conservative
Builders overbuilt for the supply (Who can blame them? In the hey-day they were able to.)
4th Quarter and 1st Quarter are historically the slowest for home sales
Many people who otherwise would have purchased in the 4th and 1st quarters waited to see what the market would do

It's still a Buyer's market. Inventory still exceeds demand. Many Sellers are still asking higher than market value for their homes as if it were still last summer.

I think (and hope) that Salt Lake has weathered the worst of things. I know that is hard to believe if you have seen what has happened in other markets across the nation. But signs show that the market at large is responding appropriately. Rents are rising in Salt Lake at one of the highest rates in the country
Builders have slowed new production (Believe me, this is GOOD!) Buyers are coming in with down payments. FHA limits have been increased. Sellers who are motivated ARE coming down to market value in negotiations.

I'm not ignoring the other stories you read. I read them too. But as an agent, I understand that less sales does not necessarily mean doom and gloom. Less sales means many Buyer's are simply unwilling to pay the ridiculous asking prices being asked by many Sellers. This is also a good thing. We don't want appreciation to go unchecked. We want stability in the marketplace. If Buyers would have continued to pay for homes as if homes were appreciating at 15-22% in the same high numbers as they had been, Salt Lake would be in much worse shape today than it currently is. Luckily, Buyers have been cautious and those who need to buy have been conservative when assessing value and aggressive in negotiations. Getting Sellers to lower their asking prices to at or near market values is definitely a good thing. That's what is saving us from a real estate bust.

Thanks for your concern and your comments.