February 2012 Utah County Housing Statistics

Pending home sales posted a tenth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 564 which is up 37.9% this February. Closed sales are back up with a 7.7% increase, sitting at 337 sales last February and 363 sales this year. This should continue to increase with the high pending home sales.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. February new listings were down 9.1%. This has pushed our total inventory down 25.1% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 6.7 months, a 33.7% decrease from last year at this same time.

January 2012 Utah County Housing Statistics

Pending home sales posted a ninth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 478 which is up 23.8% this January. Closed sales did dip slightly with a 4.8% decrease, with 333 sales last January and 317 sales this year. This should rebound though with the jump in pending home sales.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. January new listings were down 10.7%. This has pushed our total inventory down 22.8% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 7.0 months, a 31.3% decrease from last year at this same time.

December 2011 Utah County Housing Statistics

Closed home sales have posted their seventh straight month of gains over the prior year. December put us at 24.6% over 2010 closed sales, pushing our year to date at 533 more sales than last year, a 10.9% increase. This trend should continue as pending sales posted an eighth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 15.1% this December compared to last and YTD we are up 13.0%.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. December new listings were down 14.3% and YTD we are down 13.8%. This has pushed our total inventory down 23.2% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 7.0 months, a 31.7% decrease from last year at this same time.

November 2011 Utah Housing Statistics

Utah home sales were up for the sixth consecutive month in November, rising more than ten percent, according to the UAR’s newest report. During November, Utah Realtors sold nearly two hundred fifty more homes than last year.

Sales were also up for the year as a whole, rising eight percent compared to the first eleven months of 2010. Since the beginning of the year, more than thirty thousand homes have been sold.

The sales increases should continue in coming months. The number of purchase contracts signed rose thirty-one percent in November. Pending sales measure future activity and have increased for seven consecutive months.

Inventory continued to decline in November, with levels down twenty-three percent. Inventory has been falling for a year, with November marking the fewest number of homes on the market since April 2007.

Contributing to the lower inventory was the fact that fewer homes were put up for sale. The number of new listings was down about twelve percent. About five hundred fewer homes went on the market this year versus last.

Houses were also absorbed faster. In November, it would have taken less than eight months to sell all of the homes on the market at the average sales pace. That’s significantly down from last year when there was an eleven-month supply. Month’s supply has not been lower since 2007.

Nevertheless, price improvements still lagged behind the progress made in other areas. The median sales price was one hundred seventy thousand dollars, down about nine percent from last November’s median. For the year as a whole, prices are down about eight percent.

Those prices combined with another month of low interest rates brought affordability close to the record high. The typical Utah family makes one hundred sixty-seven percent of what is needed to buy the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates. The record was set in September when affordability was just slightly higher.

November 2011 Utah County Housing Statistics

Closed home sales have posted their sixth straight month of gains over the prior year. November put us at 8.3% over 2010 closed sales, pushing our year to date at 424 more sales than last year, a 9.4% increase. This trend should continue as pending sales posted a seventh straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 36.6% this October compared to last and YTD we are up 13.5%.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. November new listings were down 6.6% and YTD we are down 13.8%. This has pushed our total inventory down 22.7% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 7.5 months, a 29.9% decrease from last year at this same time.

October 2011 Utah County Housing Statistics

For the fifth straight month closed home sales have posted at double digit gain over the prior year. October put us at 16.8% over 2010 closed sales, pushing our year to date at 366 more sales than last year, an 8.8% increase. This trend should continue as pending sales posted a sixth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 19.1% this October compared to last and YTD we are up 12.6%.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. October new listings were down 15.3% and YTD we are down 14.5%. This has pushed our total inventory down 18.8% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 8.0 months, a 24.0% decrease from last year at this same time.

2011 NAR Strategic Planning Committee Focus Group Reports

To help with the 2011 NAR Strategic Plan, focus groups were conducted with both REALTORS® and with consumers. The focus groups were conducted in Jacksonville, FL; Chicago, IL; Salt Lake City, UT; Memphis, TN; and Pittsburgh, PA. The groups were led by a professional facilitator with an observer from NAR behind the one-way mirror. Here are the reports: 

2011 NAR Strategic Planning Committee Focus Group Reports

Utah's Housing Affordability Index Reaches Record High

While some would have you believe that the sky is falling when it comes to real estate, Chicken Little is actually craning his neck because the housing affordability index is so high!

Since 1970 the National Association of REALTORS has been tracking this index. Earlier this year we reached the all time record high for this index! As of September, 2011, Utah’s index is at 168!

The index is designed to show the relationship between the median income and the median home price, it also takes into consideration the current interest rate. To put it more simply the index represents the percentage of the median income needed to purchase a median price home. In other words, in Utah right now, a family earning a median income makes 168% of what is required to purchase a median priced home.

Why is this important? Well first off it’s good news in the sense that more people can afford to be homeowners. This is especially important when you consider that current studies are showing that it’s more expensive to rent than to own! Secondly, if a median income family wants to buy a median priced home they will be spending less per month on that home than they would have just a few short years ago!

With decreasing inventories, home prices stabilizing, and interest rates at historic lows, coupled with this record high Housing Affordability Index; it really is a great time to buy a home!

September 2011 Utah County Housing Statistics

For the fourth straight month closed home sales have posted at double digit gain over the prior year. September put us at 19.0% over 2010 closed sales, pushing our year to date at 288 more sales than last year, a 7.6% increase. This trend should continue as pending sales posted a fifth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 35.6% this September compared to last and YTD we are up 12.7%.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. September new listings were down 7.5% and YTD we are down 14.5%. This has pushed our total inventory down 19.8% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 8.3 months, a 21.6% decrease from last year at this same time.

August 2011 Utah County Housing Statistics

For the third straight month closed home sales have posted at double digit gain over the prior year. August put us at 27.0% over 2010 closed sales, pushing our year to date at 199 more sales than last year, a 5.8% increase. This trend should continue as pending sales posted a fourth straight month of double digit increase, sitting at 34.1% this August compared to last and YTD we are up 11.5%.

Inventory and new listings continue to decline. August listings were down 16.4% and YTD we are down 15.3%. This has pushed our total inventory down 20.1% and our months supply of inventory is also down substantially to 8.7 months, a 18.9% decrease from last year at this same time.

More Great Utah Housing Market News!

The first piece of good news comes from Fiserv, the creator of the Case-Shiller Indexes. The company recently said housing prices are projected to rise in all Utah metro areas by the beginning of 2013. The analysis is part of a forecast for more than three hundred eighty metro areas.

By the first quarter of 2013, Fiserv says home prices should be up eight-and-a-half percent in Ogden-Clearfield, more than five percent in Salt Lake, more than five percent in St. George, nearly five percent in Logan and around one percent in Provo-Orem.

Fiserv says prices will dip further in 2011 with modest appreciation in 2012. Between 2012 and 2013, more than ninety-five percent of all U.S. metro areas will have seen prices rise.

The forecast is based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes, with data supplemented from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fiserv and Moody’s Analytics created the forecasts, which were published in early August.

The second highlight comes from CNN Money’s “Best Places to Live” list. Five Utah cities were on the list that evaluated “America’s best small towns.” The top Utah town was Farmington, coming in at number twelve. The Davis County town got top marks for affordable homes, low taxes, job opportunities, a small-town atmosphere and financial soundness.

Other Utah cities that did well were number twenty-three North Salt Lake, number sixty-three North Logan, number eighty-one Lindon and number eighty-five Draper.

With five cities on the list, Utah had the highest number of best places, along with twelve other states. No state had more than five cities on the list, and many states did not have any towns featured.

The final highlight is Salt Lake City’s recognition by Inman News as one of the top markets for real estate agents. Utah’s capital recently ranked number four on the group’s list of metros where real estate professionals are doing comparatively well. The report looked at sales, median prices, real estate licensee data and Realtor membership counts for its analysis.

More great news… check out utahREpro aka Chris Nichols on ABC 4 News this week:

And don’t forget the latest in statistics for Utah County and Utah State!