Salt Lake City has become a magnet for millennials due to excellent job growth and an unemployment rate far below the national average. A tightened supply of existing homes has pushed some younger buyers into the new home market, but it has also upped prices. In the fourth-quarter, 613 new homes were closed in the greater Salt Lake City market, with a median closing price of $317,700. Overall, new home sales increased 4.8% year-over-year. The bulk of new homes sold in 2014 were priced between $200,000 and $350,000, but as land prices continue to rise, the price point landscape will creep up. There were 5,566 single family home starts in 2014, 1,387 of them in the last quarter. While this was a 3% decrease quarter-over-quarter, starts of attached homes rose 28%.
“It appears that new home prices in the Greater Salt Lake market may have finally begun to peak, which will also have a positive impact on housing. The median price for a new Single Family home is currently $330,720, which has increased 5% from last year at this time, however up only .1% from last quarter.”
“While new home production waned for 2014, Metrostudy expects demand to remain relatively steady for 2015. With lending qualifications projected to loosen, a strong job market, along with the possibility of slower rising home prices, many indicators suggest the market will continue to remain healthy.”
“Inventory of vacant developed lots (VDL), or finished lots, for single family detached homes has begun to increase once again. Compared to last year, VDL inventory increased 5% to a total of 16,248 lots. Currently the supply is 35 months, up from 29.2 months at this time last year.”
