- Utah's housing prices remained among the top 10 highest in the U.S. in 2024.
- Median home prices in Utah were $547,700, with Salt Lake County rents at $1,593.
- High-density housing demand increased as single-family homes became less affordable in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's housing and rental prices stabilized somewhat in 2024, but they also remained among the 10 highest in the nation, according to a new report analyzing the situation.
The average median sale price of a single-family home was about $547,700 in the final quarter of last year, up less than 1% from 2022, after a slight decline in 2023. However, it was the ninth-highest in the nation, and prices remain "seriously to severely unaffordable" in the state's five most populous counties, according to the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute's annual State of the State's Housing Market report, published on Tuesday.
The average rent in Salt Lake County increased from $1,582 in 2023 to $1,593 in 2024, representing a change of less than 1%. The report found that rents even decreased in other markets across the state.
"Utah housing prices and rents showed little to no growth in 2024. Home sales and listings increased, and residential construction declined as apartment developments tumbled," said Jim Wood, Ivory-Boyer senior fellow at the Gardner Institute, and the report's lead author, in a statement.
Behind the numbers
Recent trends are tied to "slower" economic growth, which has created challenges in the construction and real estate industries, but also cooled down surging home prices, Wood explains.
Utah experienced a significant uptick in new housing during the COVID-19 pandemic amid record-low interest rates, which also sparked high net migration — a trend that has fueled the Beehive State's population growth. Median home costs soared as buyers tapped into low mortgage rates, factoring in the demand.
Median prices were already rising by at least 5% year-over-year before the pandemic, but they jumped to 11% in 2020, 25% in 2021 and 14% in 2022, the report points out. Average rental rates have generally grown at slower rates, but they also spiked by 21% from 2020 to 2021.
But inflation, high interest rates and other challenges have slowed everything down since then. Permits to add approximately 22,000 residential units were approved last year, which was the lowest increase in nearly a decade. Single-family homes accounted for less than half of these units, resulting in a level not seen since the Great Recession that began in December 2007.
Related:
Wasatch Front added 18K housing units in 2024. Here's where most of them were built
A new Utah Population Committee report highlights continued growth along the Wasatch Front.High mortgage rates have also trimmed the desire for people to move, in some cases. Year-over-year changes in median home cost slid by 0.8% in 2023, followed by a 5% rise in 2024, resulting in a price change that's less than 1% above 2022.
Yet, prices remain high despite the stabilization. Only Hawaii, California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, New York and Oregon had higher averages among other markets.
Some localized markets — the Salt Lake-Tooele and St. George metropolitan areas — ended the year with even higher median averages, while the Provo-Orem and Ogden-Clearfield metro areas also remained well above the national average of $410,100.
Prices in Salt Lake and Washington counties remain "severely unaffordable" based on an equation of median cost divided by median household income. They're also "seriously unaffordable" in Davis, Utah and Weber counties, with home-to-income ratios exceeding 4:1 in all five counties.
These issues have also factored into the state's population trends. Housing affordability is "moderating our growth," said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Gardner Policy Institute, after U. researchers found that Utah's population surpassed 3.5 million last year.
What to expect next
This year isn't expected to be much different from 2024, mainly because "economic uncertainty" and "slower rates of demographic and economic growth" are expected to continue curbing housing demand for the foreseeable future, according to researchers at the Gardner Institute.
The institute expects about 23,000 new residential units to go online this year, representing an increase from 2024. Nearly 37,000 additional homes are expected to be sold, and median sale prices are expected to rise about 2%, the report states. It could raise the median average to $558,000, should projections come to fruition.
With single-family home costs so high, the report also found that high-density units — condominiums, townhomes and twin homes — have risen in popularity. These units accounted for more than a quarter of all sales last year and continue to be in high demand, as the median condominium price remained 27% below that of a single-family home last year.
"The growing share of high-density housing reflects the state's need for affordable units," the reporter's authors wrote.
Building permits also indicate which areas are likely to experience future growth. Eagle Mountain led all cities in new-build permits last year, while Saratoga Springs and Lehi also placed in the top five. It showcases how northern Utah County will continue to be a top draw as the state population continues to grow.
St. George and Salt Lake City also placed in the top five last year. Unsurprisingly, Utah's capital city, the state's most populous and fastest-growing city, approved the highest share of high-density housing of the five cities. Condominiums, townhomes, twin homes and apartments accounted for 97% of those permits.
