Homes sales up, prices down along Wasatch Front

SALT LAKE CITY — Sales of single-family homes in Salt Lake County grew in the first quarter but median sales prices continued to fall.

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors said Tuesday that sales climbed 15.3 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier. However, the median price of single-family homes sold during the first quarter in the county dropped 8.8 percent from the 2009 first quarter — from $238,000 to $217,000.

Sales of condominiums in the first quarter in Salt Lake County were up 26.8 percent and condo prices increased to $162,000, up 1.3 percent compared to $160,000 a year earlier.

"Homebuyers have found renewed confidence and affordability in the market," said Bill Heiner, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. "The federal tax credit, low mortgage interest rates and more affordable home prices have all contributed to rising home sales."

The report stated that there are 7,756 existing homes and condos for sale in Salt Lake County. Based on sales trends over the past six months, those listings represent a 10.8-month supply of inventory. The average number of days on the market for homes that sold in the first quarter was 131 days, down from 138 days a year earlier.

Prices declined in all five counties included the report: Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah and Weber. The median sales price decreased the most in Salt Lake County, with prices in Davis County falling the least for the period at 3.79 percent.

Only 20 percent of the 79 ZIP codes surveyed saw positive change in the median sales prices, with 84124 in Holladay recording the highest year-over-year sales price appreciation at $327,000 — up 25.8 percent from first-quarter 2009. Among the ZIP codes that saw significant declines were 84606 in Provo, which fell 20.6 percent to $169,900, and 84010 in Bountiful, which was down 19.6 percent to a median sales price of $230,000.

Heiner told the Deseret News that falling prices and low interest rates are two of the major factors driving the increased sales figures.

He also said that homes sales should continue to see a boost in the next quarter, buoyed by the residual effects of the government tax incentive for existing home purchases.

With spring and summer considered the heaviest activity seasons of the real estate year, Heiner said there might be some carryover from the tax credit-induced buying and selling flurry of the last few months.

While the tax credit is due to expire at the end of the month, sales prices may still decline a bit more until inventories of existing homes stabilize, he added.

"I don't look for (sales) to drop right off the edge, by any means," he said. "There is still some downward pressure on pricing."

Those falling prices will help increase the trend of affordability, he said, which should potentially result in continued robust home sales in the near future.

"There's still going to be life after the tax incentive, hopefully," he said.

e-mail: jlee@desnews.com