Utah's median home price rises to $500K, despite high mortgage rates

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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's home prices are going up – again.

After falling slightly due to spiking mortgage rates, the median housing price in the Beehive state reached $500,000 in April, according to the latest data from the Utah Association of Realtors.

Prices are rising even though mortgage rates remain stubbornly high.

The April 2024 local market update is shown. The median housing price in Utah reached $500,000 in April, according to the latest data from the Utah Association of Realtors. (Photo: Utah Association of Realtors)

"Housing prices turned out to be really sticky," said Jim Wood, a housing analyst at the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, who has studied the market for 50 years. "What we're seeing, I think, now is the real estate market adjusting to higher interest rates."

The half-million-dollar median price in Utah is for all housing types – single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums – and is 4.2% higher than April 2023.

The last time Utah's statewide median price was this high was in August 2022, said Dejan Eskic, who also analyzes the housing market at the Gardner Institute.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates are hovering around 7%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

"This is the new normal," Wood said. "Rates are going to be a little bit higher."

Jim Wood, a housing analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, talks to KSL. He thinks the real estate market is adjusting to higher interest rates. (Photo: Meghan Thackrey, KSL-TV)

Ryan Barrett decided to buy a house despite the higher rates. The Salt Lake City attorney searched for years for the right place. He found one near Liberty Park and is set to close at the end of the month.

"I want to have a house that's mine," Barrett said. "I want to be able to make it mine and decorate it the way I want to."

But the market wasn't easy.

"It's more than I wanted to spend, that's for sure," Barrett said.

Ryan Barrett, a Salt Lake City attorney, recently found a home to buy after years of searching. The median housing price in Utah reached $500,000 in April, according to the latest data from the Utah Association of Realtors. (Photo: Meghan Thackrey, KSL-TV)

Demand for housing in Utah is expected to remain very strong. Absent a major recession, Wood said, prices likely won't fall.

For buyers who can afford it, he said, "my advice would be to get in now."

That's what Barrett did.

"I think it's a good financial decision," he said, "but at the end of the day, it might not be, and I don't care."

Barrett hopes to refinance later if rates fall.

"If they don't, I know what I have to pay," he said, "and it works out."

Home prices in Utah vary by county. Housing is most expensive in Summit and Wasatch counties, where the median prices are over $1 million, according to the data.

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Daniel Woodruff

Daniel Woodruff is thrilled to join KSL as a reporter and fill-in anchor. In many ways, it’s a return to his roots as Daniel started his broadcast journalism career as an intern at KSL, learning from many of the reporters and anchors he grew up watching. Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Provo, Daniel attended Provo High School and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications from Brigham Young University. He worked as a reporter at a FOX affiliate in Indiana, followed by several years as the primary weeknight anchor at an ABC affiliate in Wisconsin. In 2014, Daniel and his family returned home to Utah where he spent nearly seven years as a reporter at KUTV, along with a stint working in public relations. In January 2024, he joined the KSL news team. Daniel has covered many high-profile stories in his career including the Great Recession and its effects, the Wisconsin recall elections, the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Westminster Bridge terror attack in London, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests in North Dakota, the Brian Head fire, the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial. He has also reported extensively on Utah politics and covered multiple legislative sessions. When he’s not at work, Daniel enjoys running, reading non-fiction, trying new restaurants (especially Indian food), and traveling. He met his wife on a blind date. They have three children.