Half of Utahns can't afford to buy a home

A home for sale sign is displayed outside of a house in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Thursday, Sept. 23. A new study says half of Utahns can't afford to buy a home.

A home for sale sign is displayed outside of a house in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Thursday, Sept. 23. A new study says half of Utahns can't afford to buy a home. (Shafkat Anowar, Deseret News)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Over half of Utah's households can't afford a home. This is due largely to skyrocketing real estate prices over the last year and quarter.

The number of people buying a home in the third quarter of 2021 fell by 20% from the same period last year, according to UtahRealEstate.com.

Matt Ulrich, the president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, stated the average cost of a single-family home rose $120,000 in 2021. This is a 28% increase in the median price from the third quarter of 2020.

Ulrich also referenced a recent study from the University of Utah, saying it "shows that more than half of Utah's households are now unable to afford the median single-family home."

He continued to explain that Utah's current housing shortage may take years to rebalance.

According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, the average cost of a home in Salt Lake County hit $550,000 in the third quarter of 2021, which is a new quarterly high. Surrounding counties are not far behind.

The median price of a single-family home in Utah County rose above the $500,000 mark for the first time ever. Davis County prices weren't far behind at $497,000, according to the board.

Home prices in Weber and Tooele counties also hit record highs in 2021.

Meanwhile, listings of homes for sale fell 7% in Salt Lake County this year compared to the third quarter in 2020.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahBusiness
Heather Kelly

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast