Report shows increase in home sales for 2011

The Utah Association of Realtors issued a report showing almost 33,000 home sales in 2011. This number of sales was the highest since 2007.

“We’re seeing higher sales because of increased home-buyer confidence, affordable home prices, stronger employment and record-low interest rates,” said Lori Chapman, president of the Utah Association of Realtors, in a statement.

Sales in December were 12 percent higher than sales in December 2010.

Sale increases were higher in several counties. Uintah County saw a 33 percent increase compared to 2010. Wasatch saw a 21.4 increase. Washington saw an 11.9 percent increase and Utah County was up 10.9 percent.

Single-family homes saw the highest sales with a 10 percent increase compared to condos and townhouses, which only saw a 1 percent increase.

Pending sales were up 11 percent in 2011.

“Based on these figures and recent forecasts, we expect the trend of rising sales to continue into this year,” said Chapman. “In Salt Lake, homes sales are expected to rise 15 percent in 2012.”

The number of homes available decreased because of the rising home sales. As of December, inventory levels were down 24 percent. The number of homes available has not been this low since 2007.

There were 20,243 homes for sale at the end of December.

Home prices were down 8 percent in 2011. The median price sold was $174,000. The average sales price for closing transactions was $224,526.

“While prices remained weak in 2011, the reduced supply and increased demand suggest that trend will not continue,” Chapman said in a statement. “A new report from Fiserv and Moody’s Analytics predicts Utah home prices will have increased by the end of summer, with the state having the seventh-highest appreciation in the country.”

Email: bcarreon@desnews.com