The average sales price for a home in Salt Lake County was $216,163 in November 2011. This was a drop of 0.26% compared to last month and 10.84% compared to November 2010. Despite November being a seasonally slow time of year, there were 849 homes sold, an increase of 13.05% from last year. The average price per square foot fell to $87.81.

While we are seeing stronger Salt Lake home sales, year on year prices are still dropping, even if at a lower rate than declines seen over the past few years. In fact since Feb this year, prices have remained around the same level, which continue to provide some reassurances that we may have seen the worst of the housing market.

Total Sales 849
Average Sale Price $216,163
Average Sq. Ft. 2,438
Price Per Sq. Feet $88
Days on Market 121

Salt Lake County home sales rose sharply in October 2011, with 971 homes sold compared to 737 in October 2010. While the number of sales was well up, the average sale price continued to struggle, dropping from $243,588.63 to $216,563.16 in the last 12 months. Homes were selling faster; the number of days it took to sell a home continued its downward trend falling to 116 days, the best level seen since May 2010.

With Salt Lake home sales up, and prices over the last several months appearing to stabilize, there are some signs we are starting to see the bottom on the market. Having said that only time will tell if this is the bottom, or just a pause on the way down.

Total Sales 971
Average Sale Price $216,563.16
Average Sq. Ft. 2,411
Price Per Sq. Feet $89
Days on Market 116

In the fourth quarter of the year the housing market slows and can cause some sellers to worry if their home hasn’t sold yet, but there is still time to sell.

People typically want to buy a home before the school year starts and the holiday season begins but that does not mean it is a bad time to sell.

In fact, there are some key factors that may help sell your home towards the back end of the year. First while there are fewer buyers, those that are out there tend to be more serious. With this in mind sellers should make the most of any showings, stage their home well and treat each one has a serious selling opportunity.

If you are a buyer, then the fourth quarter maybe an excellent time to look for a new home. Not only is there less competition from other buyers, those sellers that are out there are more serious about wanting to sell.

Because of the current historically low interest rates, this fourth quarter may well see more buyers than normal. Buyers maybe more eager to take advantage of these rates and lock into them while they can, even if it means a move during the holiday season.

There were some good pointers in the latest Salt Lake County housing sales data for August 2011. First of all the number of homes sold topped the 1000 mark for the forth month in a row. There were 1,086 homes sold, that’s an increase of 38.52% from Aug 2010, and an increase of 7.12% from last month. The other positive data was the Average Days on Market (amount of time it takes to sell a home), which dropped to 81, the lowest level seen since Mar 2010.

Helping to boost home sales this summer was a rebound in Utah’s job market, which over the past 12 months has added 30,000 new jobs, a nearly 3 percent increase, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

More jobs means more people able / wanting to buy a home.

Total Sales 1,086
Average List Price $226,218
Average Sale Price $219,684
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,479
Price Per Sq. Feet $89
Days on Market 81

You can read this post about Salt Lake County August 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.

While the number of homes sold increased 10.99% from Jan to Feb, home prices continue to struggle in the Salt Lake County housing market. The average sales price dropped from $243,717 to $214,125 over the last 12 months, and the average price per square foot dropped below $90 for the first time since April 2005. The average days on market (number of days it takes to sell a Salt Lake County home) stayed steady at 96.

Total Sales 626
Average List Price $220,927
Average Sale Price $214,125
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,426
Price Per Sq. Feet $88
Days on Market 96

You can read this post about Salt Lake County Housing Market Stats and other posts on my real estate blog.

November 2010 saw a total of 727 homes sold in Salt Lake County. This was a slight increase of 0.41% over the previous month but a large drop of 35.09% compared to the previous year. On the bright side the average sales price saw a modest increase of 4.18% to $242,628 compared to November 2009. One discouraging stat was the decline of the average price per square foot, which dropped to $94, the lowest seen since August 2005.

Total Sales 727
Average List Price $249,814
Average Sale Price $242,628
Sale Vs List 97%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,577
Price Per Sq. Feet $94
Days on Market 90

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

There were 707 Salt Lake County homes sold in October 2010, which was a decline of 35% compared to the same month in 2009. The average sales price was $245,341, an increase of 2.81% year on year, but a drop of 5.2% compared to last month. Some of the month on month price drop could be due to the average size of home sold, which dropped 4.3% to 2,492 square feet (smaller homes mean cheaper homes).

Total Sales 707
Average List Price $254,732
Average Sale Price $245,351
Sale Vs List 96%
Average Sq. Ft. 2,492
Price Per Sq. Feet $98
Days on Market 90

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

While there are early signs of a housing market recovery, in the whole Salt Lake County yet again remained sluggish at best, with home prices continuing to come under pressure.

Single Family Housing Stats

Third Quarter 2010
Number of Homes Sold : 1902
Median Price : $229,900
Days On Market : 85

Third Quarter 2009
Number of Homes Sold : 2392
Median Price : $232,000
Days On Market : 79

Second Quarter 2010
Number of Homes Sold : 2886
Median Price : $220,000
Days On Market : 79

Year on year the median home price for a single family home in Salt Lake County declined slightly, dropping 0.91% to $229,900. The number of homes sold experienced a sharp drop, declining over 20%, with fewer than 2000 home sales in the quarter. The picture becomes more interesting when we compare the data against the previous quarter. Despite a near 35% drop in the number of homes sold (remembering that second quarter home sales were driven by the home buyers tax credit), the median home price actually increased by 4.09%.

Condo Housing Stats

Third Quarter 2010
Number of Homes Sold : 320
Median Price : $165,000
Days On Market : 107

Third Quarter 2009
Number of Homes Sold : 592
Median Price : $168,200
Days On Market : 79

Second Quarter 2010
Number of Homes Sold : 608
Median Price : $163,000
Days On Market : 96

The condo housing market appears to be following the same trend as the single family market, with the condo median home price falling 1.9% year on year, but increasing 1.23% compared to the previous quarter.

You can view detailed Salt Lake County Median Home Prices on our website.

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

While it may seem like a far-fetched idea (especially if you are trying to sell your home at the moment), an increasing number of economists are predicting a housing shortage in 2011/2012. How you might ask, can we have a shortage of homes given the current sluggish housing market? Well it’s all got to do with the number of homes that need to be built, just to keep up with basic demand.

Every year demand is created for housing for various reasons, people get married, people get divorced, children leave home and some homes are even condemned and torn down. The fact is that the number of new homes currently being constructed in the U.S. is not enough to keep up with this natural burn rate. Of course this is a good thing; a shortage of new home builds means the inventory of new construction homes currently standing empty should start to decrease.
Take Utah for an example, James Wood, director of the Bureau of Economic Business Research, estimates that 20,000 new households are being created statewide every year. But the inventory of housing units is only increasing at 10,000 units. This should mean that the inventory of homes for sale (both new construction and resale homes) should decrease by 10,000 per year.

Of course these figures don’t take into account the additional housing supply created by families leaving their current home and either moving into rented accommodation or moving in with relatives/friends. Given this the housing recovery is also dependent upon people retaining their current home.

Obviously the rate of absorption of the housing inventory will differ depending upon geographic area. Somewhere like Arizona, where there are entire ghost towns of new construction homes, will take longer to reduce their inventory than other places (like the Salt Lake Housing Market) where fewer homes were built.

While I am no economist and cannot predict when the housing turnaround will occur, sooner or later the pent up demand and shortage of new home builds will lead to a recovery. In fact William Wheaton, professor of economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes that when the market recovers, “Housing construction will not only rise, but it will stay high for a while, which didn’t happen in previous recoveries”.

You can read the original Housing Shortage article on my Salt Lake Real Estate Blog.