This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Home prices in Salt Lake County have now topped the record levels reached just before the Great Recession, and experts say a lack of affordable supply is continuing to squeeze sales.
The median price for a single-family home in Utah's most populous county reached $301,000 in this year's third quarter, up 7 percent over the same time in 2015. That put it slightly above where it was for the same quarter in pre-downturn 2007 as residential real estate markets were soaring and the median home price hit $298,085 in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Rising prices and sagging inventories hampered single-family home sales in July, August and September, according to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. It reported Monday that an estimated 3,694 homes sold countywide for the quarter, 187 fewer than changed hands in the same months of 2015 for a year-over-year decline of 4.8 percent.
"Limited housing inventory and high demand continue to push home prices higher," said Cheryl Acker, board president and a real estate agent with South Jordan-based Utah Key Real Estate.
Sales fell the most in places with the highest prices, such as South Jordan, West Jordan and Sandy, but also in more affordable locales such as Murray, Midvale and Taylorsville.
And, in a further indication of demand outpacing supply, board analysts said the region's housing markets were carrying roughly a four-month supply of available homes, well below the more typical five- to six-month supply.
The average new home listing stayed on the market for 33 days in the third quarter, a full 15 days shorter than the previous year.
Acker said additional home construction was needed to balance current demands.
For their part, homebuilders report rising costs for land and housing construction along the Wasatch Front, coupled with labor shortages in some trades that are pushing up price tags.
Single-family home sales in Utah, Davis, Weber and Tooele counties, meanwhile, either gained or remained relatively flat during the same time period, reflecting a pattern of some Salt Lake City-area homebuyers going to adjacent counties to find bargains.
Sales of condominiums — often a more affordable option for first-time buyers — also were up dramatically in Salt Lake, Tooele and Weber counties, but were level or dipped in Davis and Utah counties.
Third-quarter condo sales in Salt Lake County rose to 1,151 units, a 7 percent jump over a year ago, while sales across all five Wasatch Front counties topped 2,108 — a 2.9 percent gain.
The median condo price in Salt Lake County also increased, swelling by 6 percent to $200,000.
The county's most expensive ZIP code was 84103, including Salt Lake City's east Capital Hill and the Avenues, where the median price reached $499,500. East-bench neighborhoods in 83108 were close behind, at $478,500.
In Utah County, Alpine continue to log the highest median price, now at $537,450, down from $606,000 the same time last year.
Farmington and Kaysville notched the highest medians for Davis County, at $377,000 and $341,850, respectively, while in Tooele County, the highest-price ZIP code was 84071, covering Stockton.
Weber County's Eden and Huntsville had that county's highest median home prices, at $429,000 and $352,000.
Twitter: @TonySemerad —
Home prices by ZIP code
To view homes prices in your ZIP code, go to http://www.sltrib.com/money/homeprices/