Homes prices for Salt Lake County actually increased for the second month in a row. The median home price for April 2011 was $219,720 a small increase of 0.7%, and maybe a sign that prices have at least stabilized. Year on year prices fell 6.56%. There were 914 homes sold with an average size of 2,455 square ft. The average price per square foot increased from $89 to $90. Average number of days it took to sell a home decreased from 92 to 88.

All in all this is the best data I have seen for some time, with most of the indicators going in the right direction. Hopefully this is a sign of something positive rather than just a blip.

Total Sales 2455
Average List Price $226,643
Average Sale Price $219,720
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,455
Price Per Sq. Feet $90
Days on Market 88

You can read this post about Salt Lake County April 2011 Housing Sales and other posts on my real estate blog.

The Salt Lake housing market remained depressed in the first quarter 2011. The Salt Lake County home prices dropped 9.66% over the last 12 months, with the new median sales price for all types of home being $187,000.

Salt Lake County Single Family Home Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $200,000
Average Home Price: $234,338
Average Days on Market: 91
Homes Sold: 1787

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $218,500
Average Home Price: $260,761
Average Days on Market: 81
Homes Sold: 1800

Salt Lake County Condo Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $150,000
Average Home Price: $162,225
Average Days on Market: 112
Homes Sold: 355

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $164,000
Average Home Price: $179,914
Average Days on Market: 95
Homes Sold: 378

Utah County Single Family Home Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $192,000
Average Home Price: $220,385
Average Days on Market: 109
Homes Sold: 908

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $215,750
Average Home Price: $249,562
Average Days on Market: 102
Homes Sold: 844

Utah County Condo Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $134,000
Average Home Price: $141,635
Average Days on Market: 122
Homes Sold: 172

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $145,900
Average Home Price: $152,458
Average Days on Market: 87
Homes Sold: 198

Davis County Single Family Home Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $195,000
Average Home Price: $213,393
Average Days on Market: 91
Homes Sold: 506

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $210,000
Average Home Price: $236,286
Average Days on Market: 83
Homes Sold: 575

Davis County Condo Sales

First Quarter 2011
Median Home Price: $150,750
Average Home Price: $152,670
Average Days on Market: 119
Homes Sold: 59

First Quarter 2010
Median Home Price: $165,250
Average Home Price: $164,502
Average Days on Market: 85
Homes Sold: 83

You can see detailed Salt Lake County median home price information for all zip codes in Salt Lake County on my Best Salt Lake Homes website. You can also view information about Davis County Home Prices and Utah County Home Prices.

You can read this post about 2011 First Quarter Salt Lake Home Prices and other posts on my real estate blog.

August 2010 home sales remained weak in the Salt Lake County area. While the number of Salt Lake County homes sold saw a tick up from July, it was considerably lower than Aug 2009 going from 1031 to just 764. Another concerning sign was the average number of days taken to sell a home, which jumped to 93, the largest number seen since at least 1995 (that’s how far back from report goes).

Looking more closely at the data we can see that the trend for buying larger homes continues with the average sq. ft. at 2,614. The average price per square foot dropped slightly month on month going from $97 to $96.

Looking at the bigger picture there was always going to be a fallout from the home buyers tax credit expiration, we will just have to wait and see if it’s a blip, or more of a long term downturn.

Total Sales 764
Average List Price $260,987
Average Sale Price $252,268
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,614
Price Per Sq. Feet $96
Days on Market 93

You can read this post about Salt Lake County Home Prices and other posts on my real estate blog.

October home sales in Salt Lake County saw a sharp increase compared to the same time last year. There were 1002 homes sold which was a 17.74% increase over October 2008 and a 6.26% increase over September 2009. The average sale price went up 0.4% to $239,924 compared to September 2009. The price per square foot was $102, remaining in the narrow trading band between $102 and $105, which we have seen in the last 6 months. The average days on market eased slightly to 77.

All in all October showed lots of positive signs that the Salt Lake housing market may have bottomed. The increase in home sales were no doubt in part due to the soon to be expiring first time home buyer incentive (which has now been replaced by another one), but we have also seen an increase in demand in the $600,000+ range. In addition to this we have also seen an increase in multiple offer situations, we have had three of these in the last two weeks, and none of them were short sales or bank owned properties.

Total Sales 1002
Average List Price $246,381
Average Sale Price $239.924
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,360
Price Per Sq. Feet $102
Days on Market 77

Home sales for Salt Lake County in August 2009 were flat compared to July. The average home price fell slightly to $255,375 (from $257,186), but the average size also fell to 2,479 square ft, which meant that the average price per square ft. actually rose slightly to $103. The number of homes sold dipped below 1,000 to 976, and the days on market rose to 82.

September is shaping up to be a strong month, with activity being fueled by first time home buyers not wanting to miss out on the soon to be expiring $8000 tax credit.

Total Sales 976
Average List Price $263,422
Average Sale Price $255,365
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,479
Price Per Sq. Feet $103
Days on Market 82

The real estate industry standard for determining how a market is performing is the median home price or in some places the average home price. You hear it everywhere, median home price falls in first quarter, median home price for Salt Lake City is… But is the median home price a true indicator of how a market is performing, or would we be better off using something else, for instance the price per square ft.

Let’s look at a specific example. In June 2007 the Salt Lake County real estate market peaked with a median home price of $234,000, in April 2009 the market hit a low of $211,250, which was a fall of 9.72%.

Now if you are trying to sell your home or if you are in the real estate business you will know that the market has fallen much more than 9.72%, but what can we use to determine the actual market decline? That’s where price per square ft. comes into play.

During a real estate downturn people don’t necessary spend less money buying a home, they just buy a bigger home, or buy in a nicer area. Using this logic if someone purchased a home for $300,000 in April 2009, they would have got a substantially bigger home than if they purchased a home for $300,000 in June 2007. Unlike the median home price, the price per square foot takes into account the size of home and provides a much more actuate indicator to how the market is performing.

If we look at price per square ft. values for June 2007 and April 2009 we find that they went from $130 to $100, a decline of 23.08%, which is much more in line with what we are seeing in the marketplace.

You may ask, if price per square ft is that much better, why are median home prices still used? The answer is probably because people find it easier to relate to a median home price. If you tell someone the price for homes in their area is $130 per square ft, they will almost certainly look at you funny.

Home prices for the first quarter 2008 are out, Salt Lake Home Prices. For the first time in a long time, more zip codes went down in value than increased in value. The average home price for Salt Lake County is now $287,119, which is a 0.33% increase from last years average home price of $286,170. That’s not too bad given the rest of the U.S. market. What’s worrying are the days on market and number of homes sold figures. In the first quarter 2008 DOM was 58, that’s an increase of 45% and there were 1820 homes sold, which is a decrease of 42.82%.

If you compare current home prices against the third quarter 2007 (this was the high point in prices), you see a larger decline. The average home price in the third quarter 2007 was $309,876, which means prices have declined 7.34%.