By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
A recent study released by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, which analyzed the state of Utah’s housing market in 2024, found that Carbon and Emery are the two counties with the lowest median sales prices of single-family homes.
Despite this, both counties experienced an increase in median cost, with Emery rising by 13.3% from 2023 to 2024 and Carbon increasing by 6.6% during the same period.
The median sale price of a single-family home in Emery was $272,000, with 43 sales occurring in 2024. For Carbon, the median cost sits at $250,000, seeing 225 sales in 2024.
The state average in this metric sits at $564,000, a 4.4% increase from 2023 to 2024.
The most expensive county according to the study is Summit County, with a median sales price of $1,635,000. Despite this eye-popping number, it marks a 4.9% decrease from 2023, when median prices sat at $1,720,000.
Comparing Utah’s housing market to national trends, the report reads,” The Utah housing market ranks as the 9th most expensive in the country, with a median single-family home sales price of $547,700. Utah steadily rose in the rankings from 20th in 1970 to 14th in 2000 to 9th in 2024.”
2024 also saw a return to normal trends in the number of existing homes sold. According to the report,” – A larger number of sellers entered Utah’s market in 2024 as average monthly listings returned to pre-COVID levels (8,000 to 9,000 active listings). Home sales also received a boost from cash buyers who were not deterred by high mortgage rates.”
Forecasting the housing market for 2025, the Policy Institute expects a 1.9% increase in population and a 2% jump in statewide median single-family home cost to $558,000. “Residential construction, existing home sales, housing prices, and mortgage rates will continue at near the same levels as 2024. Projections include approximately 23,000 new residential units, 36,900 sales of existing homes, a 2% increase in the median sales price of a home, and mortgage rates fluctuating in a narrow range of 6% to 7%.”