First Quarter Utah Home Sales

First Quarter Utah Home Sales

Wow, what tough spring weather we are having this year (unless you are still skiing at Snowbird)!  Here we are the week before Memorial Day with more snow, yet it's been sunny and nice in Southern Utah.  But I guess that is just par for the course in Utah.  Also, the often repeated bromide that all real estate is local also strongly applies to Utah.

According to a report by the Utah Association of Realtors. First Quarter Utah Home Sales were up 20% over the same period in 2009.  To be sure, some of this was due to the home buyer tax credit, but the Utah employment picture also has improved during that time period.

The actual numbers show that statewide, 5,543 single family homes and condos were sold during the first three months of this year vs 4,618 for the same period last year.  This has a positive impact on prices because it means inventory is being reduced which puts an upward pressure on prices.

If you look at First Quarter Utah Home Sales on a more local level, St George single family home sales rose 46% in this year and condos rose 52%.  Of course the St George area was particularly hard-hit by the housing collapse.  And in Park City, single family homes sales rose 68% and condos 120%.  Furthermore, statewide housing permits were up 110%.

Interestingly, along with First Quarter Utah Home Sales, prices statewide rose by only 1.5% and much of this was due to increased prices in Park City where the price of a condo jumped 86% to an average of $1,159,404.  This accounted for much of the small state wide increase because without Park City, Utah Home prices actually fell 7%.  So it's very clear that all real estate is indeed local which underscores the need to work with a Realtor who has in depth local knowledge.

Cheers, Sally