Home sales across Salt Lake County in January fell as mortgage interest rates remained near 15-year highs.

In Salt Lake County, 590 homes sold (all housing types) in January, down 36% compared to 927 sales in January 2022. January represented the fewest number of homes sold in a single month since January 2011, when 571 homes were sold. Multi-family homes saw the biggest percent decrease for the month at a decline of 46%. Single-family homes were down 33%.

“Mortgage interest rates continue to hinder sales,” said Rob Ockey, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®. “However, we expect the 30-year mortgage rate will trend lower in the coming months, as the spread between the 30-year mortgage and 10-year Treasury returns to its historical average (around 170 basis points). If that happens, we could see rates around 5.5%.”

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 6.5% as of Feb. 23, up from 3.9% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

The median single-family home price in Salt Lake County settled at $533,500 in January, 9% lower than the median price in January 2022. Despite the overall county median price decline, some areas saw prices increase. In Salt Lake County’s Canyon Rim area (84109), the single-family median home price increased to $1.1 million in January, up 36% from $810,000 in January 2022. In Holladay (84117), home prices increased to $860,000, up 4% from $824,000 a year earlier. In West Valley City (84119), prices increased to $435,000, up 0.3% from $433,900.

From March 2020 through May 2022, the pandemic spurred a home-buying rush. This caused the median single-family home price to jump nearly 60% in Salt Lake County. The median single-family home price peaked in May 2022 at $650,000. Since May 2022, single-family home prices have fallen 22%.

“A majority of homeowners are sitting on plenty of equity,” Ockey added. “There is still strong demand by people to buy a home. The limiting factor is higher interest rates.”

In January, the median time a home was on the market was 51 days, up from 11 days a year earlier.

About the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors® is the Wasatch Front’s voice of real estate and the No. 1 source for housing market information. The Salt Lake Board of Realtors® is the largest shareholder of UtahRealEstate.com, one of the leading Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in the United States. Since 1917, the Salt Lake Board of Realtors® has been a leader in promoting homeownership and protecting private property rights. The Salt Lake Board of Realtors® empowers its members to better serve the public by providing continuing education, advocacy, and a professional code of ethics.

About UtahRealEstate.com

UtahRealEstate.com is where real estate listings originate, and it is the official property information platform for real estate professionals in the state of Utah. We proudly serve approximately 96% of all Realtors® in the state of Utah, according to T3 Sixty 2021 Real Estate Almanac. UtahRealEstate.com operates one of the largest Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in the United States.