Video update from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. Housing Recovery in 2011?

A bit dry compared to their last offering, but the information and facts do look encouraging.

Video update from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors 1st quarter 2010

A new feature from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.  A bit rah-rah, but a concise and factual update that cuts to the chase.  Watch for the flying port-a-potty at about 1:05.

Salt Lake County single family homes 2nd quarter 2010 real estate sales

These numbers are for the entire county which includes all of the cities, townships, and unincorporated suburbs.  The median price of single family homes basically held steady at $218,000.  The big news was the number of closings.  2766 sales is a number we haven’t seen since the market was peaking 2 years ago when  the median price was $256,000.
We can hope that this is indicating a bottoming of the fall.
Salt Lake county single family home sales 2007-2010 2nd qt
Salt Lake county single family home sales 1996-2010 2nd qt

Using sales from the previous six months shows an absorption rate of 759 homes per month and an which would last 8.4 months.  Still a buyer’s market.  A balanced market is considered to be six months of inventory.

Salt Lake County Condominium 2nd quarter 2010 real estate sales

These numbers are for the entire county which includes all of the cities, townships, and unincorporated suburbs.  The median price of condominiums held steady since last quarter at $164,000.  This statistics uses 592 sales and should be viewed as a general trend for this part of the state and not applied to any one specific location.  The peak value for this category was set in the 1st quarter of 2008 at $178,000.
Salt Lake county condo sales 2007-2010 2nd qt
Salt Lake county condo sales 1996-2010 2nd qt

Using sales data from the previous six months gives an absorption rate of 160 closings per month and a theoretical inventory of 12 months.

Big additions to UTA’s Trax line

Five rail additions by 2015 that will more than double the length of the popular rail network.  I’m really excited about the airport line which should be completed by 2013.  No more begging my friends for a 6:00 am ride or that midnight pickup.

See all the maps for the new UTA Trax lines.

Some great references for Salt Lake history

I can recommend these books to learn more about the history of your Salt Lake neighborhood or your home’s architecture. Most are probably out of print. The downtown Sam Wellers bookstore is a good place to start. You may find your property pictured here.

Seeing Salt Lake City: The Legacy of the Shipler Photographers.
Barnett
2000 Signature Books

The Avenues of Salt Lake City
Haglund & Notarianni
1980 Utah State Historical Society

Neighborhoods: A guide to communities along the Wasatch Front and beyond
Condon
1997 Newspaper Agency Corp

Utah’s Historic Architecture, 1847-1940
Carter & Goss
1988 Utah State Historical Society

Images of America Salt Lake City
Topping & Ferguson
2009 Utah State Historical Society

The Savage View: Charles Savage, Pioneer Mormon Photographer
Richards
1995 Carl Muntz Pub.

The Utah Photographs of George Edward Anderson
Francis
1979 University of Nebraska Press

Welcoming the World: A History of Salt Lake
Sillitoe
1996 Salt Lake County

Bungalow Colors: Exteriors
Schweitzer
2002 Gibbs Smith

Salt Lake County Condominium 1st quarter 2010 real estate sales

Current median price of $164,000.

This graph looks scary until you notice the shallow spread.  Condo values in Salt Lake County seem to have held their value pretty well during the last year. The significant drop in value happened in 2008.
SLcounty condos 1st qt 2009-2010
SLcounty condos 1st qt 1996-2010

Salt Lake County single family homes 1st quarter 2010 real estate sales

Median price of $219,000.

For home sales in Salt Lake County ending March 31, 2010.  Note that this drop of about 10% is a median for all of the county and its cities.  In general the western suburbs were hit much harder than downtown areas.  Notice the huge increase in the number of sales as prices started to decline.  The drop off in the 1st quarter of this year may be attributable to satiated demand.

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors reported that at 1st quarter’s end there was a 10.8 month supply of housing inventory with the average time on the market of 131 days.  This is an improvement over 2009 figures.  An inventory of over 6 months is generally considered a buyer’s market.

Looking at values over a longer period really puts the recent downturn into perspective.  We should always consider real estate a long term investment.  Consider the gain of those that bought their property 10 years ago.  You really shouldn’t  buy a property to fix and flip if you can’t afford the contingency of holding it for awhile.
SLcounty sfh 1st qt 2009-2010
SLcounty sfh 1st qt 1996-2010