Utah has the second- highest home price appreciation in the country. That’s according to a new report from a government agency that tracks increases in home prices.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Utah home prices rose 19.2% between the first quarters of 2020 and 2021.
In the past five years, Utah home prices have increased 69.5%. Since 1991, they’ve gone up 450.46%.
The only state to rank higher than Utah was Idaho where prices rose 23.7% over the past year. Rounding out the top five states were No. 3 Arizona at 17.4%, No. 4 New Hampshire at 16.2% and No. 5 Connecticut at 15.9%. Nationally, home prices rose 12.6% in the first quarter.
“House price growth over the prior year clocked in at more than twice the rate of growth observed in the first quarter of 2020, just before the effects of the pandemic were felt in housing markets,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, deputy director of FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics, in a press release.
In addition to Utah’s top five ranking among states, Salt Lake City also ranked within the top five metro areas.
FHFA listed Salt Lake as No. 4 for home price increases among the 100 largest metro areas in the country. The agency says SLC prices have gone up 18.45% in the past year.
Boise City, Idaho, took the No. 1 spot at 28.20% followed by No. 2 Austin-Round Rock- Georgetown, Texas, at 22.73%, and No. 3 Tacoma-Lakewood, Wash., at 21.58%.
FHFA’s Purchase-Only House Price Index measures average price changes on sales of the same properties. By looking at repeat sales — rather than comparing the median price of one set of home sales to the median of a different set of home sales — the agency is better able to understand the average price appreciation in an area.
When including refinances as well as purchase transactions, all five of Utah’s metro areas make the top 20 list, according to FHFA’s All-transactions House Price Index, which ranks 238 metro areas.
Ogden-Clearfield ranked No. 9 with a 12.54% increase in home prices over the past year. Following Ogden was St. George at No. 10 with a 12.52% gain. Logan took the eleventh spot with prices rising 12.28%.
Slightly lower on the list was Salt Lake at No. 16 with an increase of 11.66%, and Provo- Orem came in 18th with a 11.46% gain.
Of course, FHFA’s list isn’t the only place where Utah real estate is receiving high rankings.
For the second quarter in a row, Bankrate has given Utah the top spot on its Housing Heat Index. The index measures six data points: annual home price appreciation, share of mortgages past due, unemployment, job growth, cost of living and state tax burden.
Bankrate gave Utah’s high marks for its 19% jump in home values and second-strongest job growth. Utah also had the fifth-lowest past-due loans and eighth-lowest taxes.
“What’s more, Utah had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate, and its tax burden is among the lowest in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation,” said the Bankrate report.
Other states on the top five list were South Dakota, Montana, New Hampshire and Idaho, respectively.
To learn more about home price trends in your city and neighborhood, contact a local Realtor. Find a directory of Utah Realtors at UtahRealtors.com.