Utah housing market challenges builders, favors buyers

CENTERVILLE (Deseret News) — If hearing is believing, Utah's housing market is in the midst of recovery. Check out all those rebound sounds — nail guns popping, chop saws whirling and hammers banging — emanating from a new subdivision near you.

The incentivized truth, though, is that those are really only the sounds of the federal and state governments working mightily to keep the sickly homebuilding industry on respirator. It turns out nearly all new construction taking place in the first quarter of 2010 was spec in nature as builders have been bolstering inventory to cash in on the last-minute rush by people taking advantage of expiring federal and state tax incentives.

In its advertising, Ivory Homes is touting that it has 100 homes "ready for move-in" to accommodate stimulated buyers as both the $8,000 federal First-time Homebuyer tax credit and Utah's $6,500 Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit expire April 30. Absent further tinkering by Congress or the Utah Legislature, residential construction in Utah will then have no choice but to begin standing on its own two wobbly feet.

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