Utah Real Estate Market Conditions

For the first half of 2008, 115 homes sold in Springville. These homes had a median list price of $185,000 and an average price at just over $200,000. These homes really seem pretty affordable, so why aren't more homes selling?

Sure the economy is struggling, gas prices are ridiculous and financing is more difficult to obtain, but Utah County is still growing and people need places to live. One of the other reason homes in Springville aren't selling is because they are just too expensive. Currently there are 303 residential homes for sale in Springville. These listings have a median price of $225,000 (18% higher than the median sold price), and an average price at $293,000 (30% higher than average sld price). The bulk of the houses for sale are priced higher than what the average person is able and willing to buy, and in the near future this is not likely too change much.

On the positive, in the last two weeks the number of residential listings in Springville has actually decreased. If this number continues to go down the Springville real estate market won't be so weak.

The year is more than half way over. After half a year about 160 homes were sold in Spanish Fork. These homes median price was $205,000 and the average sold price was $231850. Currently there are 325 active Spanish Fork MLS listings. These listings have a median price at $240,000 and an average price of $275,851. The  average home for sale in Spanish Fork Utah has been on the market for 92 days.

The short term real estate outlook for Saratoga Springs Utah is looking rather bleak. There were more than 130 homes sold in the first half of 2008, but this number is rather discouraging when you consider that there are currently 444 homes for sale in Saratoga Springs, and this number just keeps on rising.

Another problem with the Saratoga Springs real estate market is the affordability of the homes on the market. The homes that have sold this year have a median price of $237,743.... The median price of listed homes is nearly $307,000. It's not just that these listings are overpriced, the real problem is the size of the homes. Many of the new construction homes built were just big and costly. People aren't buying the really large homes as primary residences, and investors won't even touch them.

So if you're trying to sell a home in Saratoga Springs, hold on, it might be a while. If you're planning on buying, take your time and offer low.

The good news is that the Prove real estate market is about the most healthy market in Utah County. The bad news is that Utah County Real Estate is really unhealthy. From the second quarter results, Provo has nearly 10 months of active real estate inventory. There is also a huge difference in average list price vs. sold price. The average home that has sold in Provo in the first half of 2008 has sold for 34% less than the average list price. This huge disparity most likely reflects a high surplus of multi million dollar homes for sale, as the difference between median sold price and median listing price is only 12%. Nevertheless, the median price of the 350 homes that have sold in Provo is $196,500. The median list price of homes for sale in Provo is $222,900.

With the exception of the huge surplus of really expensive Provo Homes, the real estate market in Provo is still in pretty decent shape and will recover more quickly. There are still many affordable houses and condos for sale in Provo. The affordable properties are the ones that are selling in todays real estate market. There are currently 700 residential listings for sale in Provo. This number appears to still be increasing.

2008 is more than half way over. If the half way point is also the half way point for home sales, then there are going to be a lot of homes on the market that are still on the market next year.

From January to June approximately 156 residential properties sold in Pleasant Grove. At the mid year point there were also 288 active listings, and the number appears to be growing as there are now 291 homes for sale in Pleasant Grove.

To make things a little more complicated, there is a 35% price disparity between the list price and sold price. Of the home that have sold in 2008, the median sold price was $207,789. The current listings have a median price of $310,522. That's more than $100,000 difference. 

Unless someone creates some really high paying jobs in Pleasant Grove, these $300,000 plus homes are going to have a really hard time selling this year.

After six months of real estate sales in 2008 you'd think we could get a pretty good idea of what the Payson Real Estate Market is doing. One think happening is that home sales numbers are down, and very few high end homes are selling. This is driving the average sold price of Payson Real Estate Down.

From January-June 77 residential home listings sold in Payson. These properties sold for a median price of $206,982 and an average price of $190,000. The 170 homes currently for sale in Payson have a median asking price 18% higher at  $230,900, and an average price that is 32% higher at $303,843. At the second quarter sales pace, it will take more than a year to sell the present supply of inventory.

Nearly 280 residential homes and condos were sold in Orem during the first half of 2008. These homes sold for an average price of $226,249 and had a median sold price at a fairly affordable $193,000.

Currently there are 556 home and condo listings in Orem. The number of active listings just continues to rise as home sales are staying pretty stagnant. From the date of Q2 sales stats, there is currently more than 10 months worth of residential real estate listings.. These listings have an average list price of $341,516, and a median list price that is 23% higher than the median list price homes in Orem are selling for. Many of the more expensive homes in Orem won't sell for a very long time.

After half a year of 2008 real estate sales, the Lehi market is officially slow. Home sales were down, and there are currently lots of homes on the market that are just a little too expensive.

Approximately 350 listings were sold in Lehi in the first half of the year. These homes sold for a median list price of $250,000 and an average price of $282,868.

Right now there are 682 active listings for sale in Lehi. These homes for sale have a median price at $303,500 and the average dollar value is nearly $370,000. The price of these listings is a little more than what people are buying, and because there are so many of them, the ones that will sell this year are homes that are going to be priced below the competition.

Woah. There are a lot of expensive homes on the market in Highland that just aren't selling. It's not that people don't like Highland, the problem is that the homes that are on the market are just too expensive too buy. In the first half of 2008 there were 53 homes sold in Highland Utah. There are currently 214 active MLS listings. The average price of the homes that have sold this year was $438,142. The average price of the many listings is nearly $700,000. Even the median price of Highland Utah home listings is $598,900.

We like Highland, we just can't afford to buy real estate thats priced where its at.

It looks like the boom of Eagle Mountain has ended, or atleast paused for the time. Growth in one of Utah's fastest growing cities has slowed down a bit as 2008 home sales are way down. In the first half of the year only about 190 homes were sold in Eagle Mountain. These homes had a moderate median price of $210,000 and an average price at $223,338.

Currently there are more than 500 homes for sale in Eagle Mountain. These homes have been on the market for an average of 95 days. The active MLS listings have an average price at $252,751 and a median price of $225,000. At the Q2 sales pace of 32 homes sold per month, Eagle Mountain has 15.7 months of real estate inventory.