The most common Google search right now concerning house prices is “will home prices drop in 2020?” Well, to the best of my knowledge, I’ll help you answer that question.
Right now, there are more people moving to Utah than there are people having babies- which is saying something! We had 17,800 come to Utah County last year alone. We had 6,000 permits for new construction in Utah County and 3,000 permits for new construction in Salt Lake County last year, which shows that new home demand is up.
Compared to January 2019, there are fewer homes on the market in January 2020, but more buyers under contract, which also shows that home demand is up.
Our interest rates are in the 3% range and unlikely to go above 4% this election year.
In addition, incomes are keeping up. Right now, the average income is $71,000 a year and the average home purchase price is $380,000 a year, which means the average income can afford the average home price. If the average income lowers or if the purchase price goes significantly up, there will be issues with affordability, but currently, there are no signs of problems.
There are two unfilled jobs for every one person unemployed, which means wages are likely to go up. Homes near the freeway are going up in value, so many close to the freeway are selling their homes for top dollar and buying homes in outskirt areas like Magna and Payson, which pushes home values up in those areas as well.
All of this to say that values will probably go up this year, making it a great time to both buy and sell!
