We saw a typical winter slowdown in the housing market at the end of 2018 and predicted that things would pick back up as we entered the new year. That was a correct prediction, so let’s talk about the most important things we’re seeing in the housing market right now.

Price

The median sold price for homes in Salt Lake County was $325,000 during the first quarter, which is up slightly from the $321,250 median sold price during the fourth quarter of 2018. It’s also up from the $305,000 median sold price during the first quarter of 2018.

We’re continuing to set record-high prices for homes around here. If you’re thinking of buying, you may want to go ahead and do it! Prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon.

Jim Wood, Ivory-Boyer Senior Fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, mentioned that housing prices in Salt Lake City have risen a whopping 80% since 2005. That time period included 16 consecutive quarters of declining home prices, which makes those huge price increases even more remarkable.

If you own a home here in the Salt Lake area, it’s likely that your home’s equity has risen quite nicely over the past few years.

Days on Market

Homes are continuing to move fast, but they’re not moving quite as fast as they were. Last quarter, homes were on the market for around 26 days. Last year at this time, it was about 20 days. At the current 31 days, you’ve got a little breathing room for finding a home and making an offer on it without such stiff competition.

In other good news for buyers, rates have slowed down in recent weeks, and we’re around 4.12% now. These are still incredibly good interest rates. It could be a smart idea to buy before they go any higher.

Number of Homes Sold

3,205 homes were sold last quarter, which is over 500 fewer than were sold during the first quarter of last year. This is a further indicator that inventory is really tight around here. Depending on what type of home you’re looking for, it may be hard to find a home right away.

Ready to Buy or Sell

Buying or selling in a market like ours comes with plenty of good and bad. If you’re wanting to do either one in the near future, give me a call! I’ll be happy to sit down with you and help you come up with a game plan.