Have You Asked Yet What is Happening With the Real Estate Market?
I was asked my opinion about land sales in Wasatch and Salt Lake Counties, so here is information from the WFR MLS showing what has happened in the recent past compared to one year ago.
Wasatch County (see the attached graph), since January this year has seen a consistent decline in land closings. Compared to Jan-April 2019, only January saw more land closings, with over 4x the number this January than in January 2019.
Land listings in Wasatch County, have had consistent increases each month this year with each month outpacing the same time period of 2019.
Salt Lake County land closings started the year with huge increases in January and February; in April closings tanked. Same thing with new land listings in Salt Lake County which were strong from January through March and then tanked in April.
So What is Going to Happen Next?
If May doesn’t have a big rebound in Wasatch County closings, I believe it will be June and I don’t see an end to the hot market in the #WasatchBack. I believe we will see more large land sales with the intent to subdivide.
20-acre parcel for sale in Wallsburg, Utah
In the past two months, we have received more calls than normal from out-of-state buyers looking to purchase land. The majority have only wanted land for themselves, however, we have also received more calls with requests to see the land which may be subdivided.
I believe land sales will take longer to rebound in Salt Lake County, however, barring some other catastrophe, like an earthquake, I believe that sales will pick up within 3-4 months.
Three of the largest projects that will continue to affect land sales in the Salt Lake Valley are the new prison facility (over budget), the airport expansion (over budget), and the new Inland Port (not yet over budget). A lot of additional smaller projects and the need for employees will continue to make for a strong Real Estate market in I believe.
We also consistently hear comments about how much people are paying in taxes in the state they live in and that Utah’s taxes are so much better. I hope we will keep fiscally conservative people in government and be wise with our taxes and regulations.
