Utah home sales steady

Home sales across Utah held steady during the first six months of 2003, dropping only slightly while the average sales price increased.

The number of homes sold totaled 10,331, down from 10,408 units a year ago. The average sales price increased to $169,734, up $1,041 from the same period last year, according to the Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing Service, which tracks sales of existing and newly constructed homes listed through a real estate agent.

Along the Wasatch Front, fewer sales were reported in Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. However, those same counties saw small increases in average sales prices, suggesting Utah's housing market is holding steady.

"We saw a good start to the year in January, and then it fell off dramatically," said Richard Lockwood, principal broker of the Ramsey Group, a Salt Lake-based real estate company. "It was very slow in February, March and the first part of April. And then it just has taken off like crazy since late April or early May."

Yet Utah's healthy housing market may not quite be in balance, according to Robert Farnsworth, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

"It's still a buyer's market," Farnsworth said. "Something that you can't tell from those reports is the amount of seller concessions. I believe that there are more seller concessions, and so the average price might seem the same or higher, but the nets are actually lower."

Those concessions include sellers picking up the costs of down payment assistance programs and closing costs.

And the market is still rebounding from the state's dismal economy in 2002, during which time 7,500 jobs disappeared, the first year since 1964 that employment contracted.

"Our negative job growth that we had last year definitely put a damper on the market," Farnsworth said. "But also if you look at the causes that led up to the negative job growth, they were only temporary."

In outlying areas of the Wasatch Front results were mixed.

Summit County saw its number of home sales drop 12 percent over last year. In addition, the county's average sales price — the highest in the state — also fell year-over-year from $382,125 to $364,803.

In southern Utah's Washington County, sales jumped from 98 units last year to 164 units this year. The average price also rose 12 percent to $153,418 from $137,245.

Vardell Curtis, executive officer of the Washington County Board of Realtors, said the county has shown consistent sales gains, both in the number of units sold and in the total dollar volume transacted over the last five years.

Last year was the county's best year of the past five in terms of sales, Curtis said. And the first six months of 2003 have shown slight gains.

"People are finding that they can afford more home for the same amount of a monthly house payment," Curtis said. "They're actually buying a bigger home or a home with more amenities to it. Where before they could not afford a swimming pool or spa, now they are getting that."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com