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SALT LAKE CITY -- Home sales are quietly seeing double- digit gains along the Wasatch Front, and the expectation is that should continue through the end of the year.
Salt Lake Board of Realtors communications director Dave Anderton said Friday the board's preliminary numbers for September sales showed a 30 percent increase over September 2010.
Official numbers for September and the third quarter are not released until Oct. 27. Still, the September preliminary figure - coupled with Salt Lake County's summer numbers - are leading to optimism about the market. Home sales rose 38 percent, year-over- year, in August. They were up 22 percent for the June- July- August summer period.
Preliminary numbers for September sales showed a 30 percent increase over September 2010.
"For us to see September's numbers come in stronger than last September is good because September [or October] is usually when things start to slow a little - and we're seeing increases on a year-over basis," Anderton said. "We expect to see it through the rest of the year."
Anderton said prices remain low - bad news for the estimated 20 percent of Utahns who are under water in their homes. Still, he said that is fueling sales along with gains in the job market.
"I think in the near future you'll stop seeing the price declines we've been seeing, and as the demand is coming back in double-digit increases - you'll see the prices start to maybe stabilize and inch up," Anderton said.
The Tooele Transcript Bulletin is reporting a strong third quarter number for home sales in Tooele County. According to the paper, sales rose 48 percent in the third quarter over the same quarter in 2010.
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