Utah real estate agents continue to adapt to an ever-changing market. For many years, Utah has been unique for its great western location without the sky-high prices of neighboring states like California. In fact, having a cheaper cost of living than California has given Utah a special economic advantage. Unfortunately, Utah is also struggling with some of the same problems as the golden state, such as overcrowding and rising home prices. However, Utah is currently seeking a low unemployment rate of 3.2% for 2017 and part of 2018.
How is overpopulation affecting Utah? Well, not having enough housing leads to higher demand, and there is a real danger of overbuilding reaching the mountain and lake areas, which would mean that the number of people looking for housing would have exceeded the amount of available space. While this may be good news in the short term for Utah realtors, it may not sit well with the state as a whole in the big picture.
If people who live in Salt Lake City, Utah’s capital and largest city, are forced to move farther afield, it could also be treacherous for the local economy. Salt Lake City homes are already seeing big differences: Homes are selling for as little as $200,000 or more than a million. Salt Lake City real estate agents may need to focus on accommodating the number of people living in the area. One thing they can do is perhaps focus on building more multifamily units, although this is a problem that Utah realtors may not be able to solve on their own.
A perennial problem in Utah and across the country seems to be the rising cost of living. Homes for sale in Salt Lake City, as well as rental units throughout the state, are experiencing higher price than ever. Meanwhile, with unemployment low, wages are stagnant. This presents a problem when homes for sale in Salt Lake City exceed the income of the average worker and people start moving further afield. If this issue becomes too extreme, Salt Lake City real estate agents and Utah real estate agents in general will have their work cut out for them.
Unfortunately, experts are not predicting a reversal of these trends any time soon. In fact, homes for sale in Salt Lake will likely continue to get more expensive. How the salary situation will change is also debatable with no clear end in sight. Technological changes will certainly have an effect on things; for example, the Internet has become increasingly popular over the past two decades, and in more recent years, smartphones have taken the industry by storm.
Now, when you’re looking for an apartment or a house, you can go to Craigslist or just Google, “Salt Lake City homes for sale” or “homes for sale slc” and find real homes for sale in Salt Lake City right there on the internet. Or you can type “Utah real estate agents” and be connected to someone directly. The possibilities are endless.
Ultimately, the situation will go where the economy takes it, and a lot of this depends on the government and the decisions it makes. However, the Salt Lake City housing market will likely remain high. People will continue to search online for “homes for sale slc” hoping to find some affordable Salt Lake homes for sale.
However, with the increase in the population in the last two decades, the cost of living is increasing in large part due to the cost of housing. And if real estate continues to rise, both Utah real estate agents and brokers may find themselves in the crosshairs if they face another explosive market cycle.
