Area housing affordability remains high: Nearly three-quarters of all homes sold in the Salt Lake metro area in the second quarter were affordable to families making the median income, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. For the three months ended in June, 73.2 percent of homes sold were considered affordable, compared to 70.6 percent last year at the same time. Salt Lake homes were slightly more affordable than U.S. homes, with 72.3 percent considered affordable nationwide.
Utah’s foreclosure rate still less than U.S. rate: Utah is ranked 24th in the nation in foreclosures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the three months ending in June, 3.4 percent of Utah homeowners with a mortgage were in foreclosure, compared to 4.6 percent nationally.
Utah is starting to add jobs: Utah added 17,200 jobs for the 12 months ended in July, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. The numbers represented a 1.5 percent gain, compared to flat growth for the U.S. Utah’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in July at 7.2 percent, compared to the U.S. unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, also unchanged. According to UDWS, “The worst of the recession appears to be behind Utah.”
Utah inventory is coming down: In July, the number of active listings available for sale fell 4 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Utah Association of REALTORS®. Compared to two years ago, inventory was down 15 percent. The months’ supply of inventory in Utah also fell nearly 13 percent. In July, it would have taken 10.7 months at the current sales pace to sell the entire inventory of homes, down from 12.2 months a year ago and down from 12.9 months two years ago.
Mortgage rates still at decades-low levels: The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose for the first time since June, but at 4.35 percent still remains near the previous week’s record low of 4.32 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The low rates are particularly significant because a 1 percent drop in mortgage rates is roughly equivalent to a 10 percent price reduction.
Utah buyers believe now is a good time to purchase a home: According to a recent survey commissioned by the Utah Association of REALTORS®, 80 percent of Utahns believe conditions are ideal for home buyers. Seventy-one percent of those surveyed also believe home prices will stay the same or rise within the coming year.
