Utah is 'mid-pack' in region, FDIC says

In a region booming with economic activity, Utah is firmly middle-of-the-pack, according to a new report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

However, the FDIC said Tuesday, that's not necessarily bad.

The FDIC, an independent agency of the federal government that insures banks and thrifts, focused its quarterly State Profiles report largely on jobs and home-price appreciation.

Job growth in the Western region outperformed the nation, the FDIC stated, with seven of the region's states ranked among the top 10 overall. Utah ranked fourth in the nation, with 3.8 percent job growth during the first quarter of 2005.

The FDIC Western Region includes Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, California, Washington, Wyoming and Montana.

The West's vibrant economy is "raising some caution flags in the housing and construction sectors," said Barbara Ryan, associate director of the regional operations branch of the FDIC's Division of Insurance and Research, during the agency's Summer 2005 State Profiles teleconference Tuesday.

Except in Utah.

In a recent report, the FDIC identified 55 metropolitan areas as "boom" markets — areas that have experienced home-price appreciation rates of at least 30 percent over the past three years. Of those 55, 26 are in the West, Ryan said.

"Although home-price appreciation has slowed in many Western metro areas, appreciation rates remained among the most rapid in the nation during the first quarter 2005," Ryan said. "Utah is the only state in the region that lags the nation."

However, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis' Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the agency said the rate of home-price appreciation in Utah in recent history has "mirrored income growth, which could suggest that housing affordability may remain relatively stable."

David Barr, FDIC spokesman, said that higher than average homeownership might play a role in explaining why Utah's numbers are increasing at a more measured pace.

And while Utah isn't growing at the pace of neighbors like Nevada, it is squarely mid-pack, Barr said.

"It's good to be in the middle of the pack," he said. "There's a good foundation there. Job growth and income growth, they go hand in hand. They help keep home prices appreciating at a good steady pace. So you want that good foundation.