Middle Housing Study Part I: The Scope of the Challenge

KEY FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT

• More than 80% of Utahns feel that home prices and rents are too high. Indeed, the cost of housing in Utah has been skyrocketing – with a year-over-year appreciation of 29% at September 2021.
• From 2010 to 2021, an inflation-adjusted mortgage payment with 10% down on a median-priced Utah home increased by $469 from $1,131 to $1,600.
• Over time, the cost of lower-priced homes has increased more than higher-priced ones, so the attainability of homeownership with affordable mortgages has disappeared for some Utahns.
• Most respondents to the recent Utah Foundation development-preference survey do not think they could afford the homes they currently own if they wanted to purchase them today.
• Nearly 90% of survey respondents are worried about housing costs, but even more are worried about young Utahns’ costs.
• Rents in Utah have increased dramatically during the past 20 years, and especially in just the last two years; for example, Davis County and Utah County rents increased more than 50% from January 2019 to July 2021.
• Utah’s rapid population growth is projected to continue. While the younger population is expected to shrink in percentage terms, the number of young households is expected to grow in sheer numbers – suggesting a need for lower-cost, entry-level housing options.
• The increases in home prices and rents are due in part to Utah’s 45,000 housing-unit shortfall – the difference between new households and new residential dwellings since the Great Recession.
• Middle housing is a possible answer in terms of prices. For instance, in Salt Lake County, the August 2021 median (or middle) sale price of townhomes was $390,000, while for single-family homes, the median sale price was $546,450.