APRIL HOUSING WATCH Median Price of a Single-Family Home in Salt Lake County Climbs to $515,000
“Housing demand is still strong compared to one year ago, evidenced by home sales from this January to April, which are up 20% compared to 2020,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
Unprecedented demand for homes has pushed sales and prices to new heights. Home sales in Salt Lake County in April climbed 26% compared to the same month a year earlier. The year over year percent increase reflected the dismal number of sales in April 2020, when Covid-19 forced business shutdowns and quarantines. In April there were 1,509 sales of all housing types. New listings for the month fell to 1,820, down 7% from a year earlier. Pending sales, or signed real estate contracts to purchase a home, increased to 1,513 units, up 5% year over year. The inventory of homes for sale fell to 1,282, down 59% from a year ago.
The median sales price of all housing types sold in April increased to $440,649, up 21% compared to a median price of $365,000 in April 2020. The median price of a single-family home soared to $515,000, up 36% from a year earlier. Salt Lake home prices have been rising every year since 2012. Salt Lake homes were on the market five days in April, down from eight days in April 2020. “Housing demand is still strong compared to one year ago, evidenced by home sales from this January to April, which are up 20% compared to 2020,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The additional supply projected for the market should cool down the torrid pace of price appreciation later in the year.” The median U.S. existing-home price for all housing types in April was $341,600, up 19% from April 2020 ($286,800), as every region recorded price increases. This is a record high and marks 110 straight months of year-over-year gains. First-time buyers were responsible for 31% of sales in April, down from 32% in March and 36% in April 2020. NAR’s 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in late 2020 – revealed that the annual share of first-time buyers was 31%. “First-time buyers in particular are having trouble securing that first home for a multitude of reasons, including not enough affordable properties, competition with cash buyers and properties leaving the market at such a rapid pace,” Yun said. Individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 17% of homes in April, up from 15% in March and 10% in April 2020. All-cash sales accounted for 25% of transactions in April, up from both 23% in March and 15% in April 2020. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1% of sales in April, equal to March’s percentage but down from 3% in April 2020. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.06% in April, down from 3.08% in March. The average commitment rate across all of 2020 was 3.11%. Yun expects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to remain below 3.5% in 2021.
28 | Salt Lake Realtor ® | June 2021
