SL Co. home sales down 9 straight months

The home sales boom is definitely slowing down in Salt Lake County. For the ninth consecutive month, sales of all housing types dropped in the county in February when compared with last year. There were 949 homes sold in February, a 14 percent decrease compared to 1,102 sales in February 2021. Falling sales are due to limited inventory, higher home prices and fewer move-up buyers, according to Steve Perry, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

The last time home sales fell over an extended period was in 2007, the start of the Great Recession. In 2007, home sales in Salt Lake County plunged 27 percent. The falling sales and substantial layoffs triggered a four-year decline in home prices in Salt Lake County (2008-2011). Since 2012, home prices in Salt Lake County have been on the rise. For Utah to experience a housing bubble in the near term, it would require a loss of jobs — an unlikely prospect in the next few years, Perry said.

The median price of all housing types sold in February was $515,000, up 25 percent compared to a median price of $413,600 in February 2021. The median single-family home price climbed to $580,000, up 24 percent compared to a median price of $469,000 a year ago. The median multi-family price increased to $425,000, up 29 percent compared to a median of $330,000 last year.

“As mortgage rates rise, the most likely outcome for housing prices in Utah over the next two to three years is a period of price moderation like what occurred after price accelerations in the late 1970s and the mid-1990s,” said Perry. “An extended period of price declines created by a bursting bubble is unlikely.”

There were 1,168 new listings in February, down 4 percent compared to 1,215 new listings in February 2021.{/mprestriction}