Utah's home sales and average home price both saw double-digit increases in this year's first quarter, in yet another sign that the state's economy has turned the corner, according to an official with the Utah Association of Realtors.

The association reported Thursday that Utah Realtors sold 8,765 homes and condominiums in the first three months of this year, up 23 percent from 7,119 sales in the first quarter of 2004. The first quarter 2005 average price — not including Park City, which tends to inflate the figures — was $183,297, up 12 percent from last year.

Including Park City, the average home price was $206,544, up about 16 percent.

"First quarter 2005 results show us that Utah's economy has turned around," UAR President Jaren L. Davis said in a prepared statement. "These positive numbers show the first of a healthy appreciation that I expect will continue over the next several years."

Utah home prices rose 5.29 percent for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2004 — the highest gain in seven years — boosting the state's house-price ranking to No. 37 among all states and the District of Columbia, according to a report released in March by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

The last year Utah appreciation showed a greater increase was in 1997, when house prices rose 6.17 percent.

During this year's first quarter, sales numbers and average prices rose in almost every region of the state, according to the UAR report.

In Salt Lake County, home sales jumped almost 18 percent, with 2,851 sales between January and March, while condominium sales were up more than 42 percent. The average home price in the county was $189,013, about 8 percent higher than last year.

Utah County posted a 15 percent increase in the number of homes sold and a 19 percent increase in the average price, while Weber County saw a 14 percent increase in sales and 18 percent jump in prices.

Davis County home sales rose 27 percent, and Tooele County reported a 39 percent increase in home sales with a 3 percent rise in the average price, to $127,462.

Home sales in Morgan County rose more than 137 percent, while Washington County had a sales increase of 17 percent at an average price of $240,685.

In Park City, home sales increased nearly 54 percent, and condo sales jumped 76 percent. The average price of a home in the city was $711,000, which is up almost 19 percent from 2004's first quarter. Condo prices were up more than 15 percent at an average of $462,000.

Wasatch County saw an increase of nearly 55 percent in home sales, and the average price there was up almost 61 percent from last year to $328,475.

---

E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com