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Home prices in the Salt Lake Valley have been falling for more than a year now, and there's still downward pressure -- especially for more expensive homes. But one economic indicator does offer just a slight bit of optimism.
In spite of all the bad economic news, home sales in the Salt Lake Valley last month were actually significantly up from September a year ago. Part of the reason seems to be that a fair price today just isn't what people used to think it was.
A home in Holladay went on the market a year ago at $1.4 million, then $1.2 million. Ten days ago, the seller cut the price again by 10 percent. That move brought out dozens of potential buyers.
"I'm actually encouraged because there's been so much action on the home," home seller Angela Petersen.
Coldwell Banker promoted the 10-day, 10 percent drop. Four hundred and thirty sellers took up the suggestion, and about 1 in 10 now have a sales contract on their home.
"This brought a lot of folks out of the woodwork, which gave us a lot of encouragement because there are a lot of buyers out there. They're just a little nervous right now," said Dan Christensen, Utah president of Coldwell Banker.
Even before the discount, home sales in Salt Lake County were beginning to stir in the month of September.
"We've increased 13 percent, and I think that's a good sign that our sales are starting to improve," said Jillinda Bowers, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.
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But that's 13 percent up compared with September a year ago, which was a bad month after the national bubble started to burst. The mini-comeback merely brought sales back to what they were in September 2002. Still, it's the first positive measure of this sort in almost two years.
"You know, I don't believe we were ever in a bubble here in Utah. I think we were just equalizing. We just needed to narrow the gap between affordability and what people can afford," Bowers said.
Salt Lake County's average price has dropped 12 percent from the peak 16 months ago. The big stall right now is in expensive homes. Cheaper homes are selling.
"There's still a lot of activity, still a lot of things happening. It's just less than it was a year ago, two years ago," Christensen said.
The real estate agents claim Utah prices never rose dangerously high, but skeptics think prices will have to fall drastically before the market finds bottom.
No one knows yet if the September numbers signify a new trend or just a little bump on the way down.
E-mail: jhollenhorst@ksl.com