Utah to offer $8M in housing grants

SALT LAKE CITY (Forbes) -- Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Friday he'll use $8 million in federal stimulus funds to help kick start the state's sluggish housing market.
Herbert's office released a statement saying the state will offer $4,000 grants to 2,000 home buyers.
The program comes on the heels of one started by former Gov. Jon Huntsman, who used $10 million in stimulus funds to offer $6,000 grants to home buyers in an effort to eliminate a glut of roughly 3,000 newly built homes that had never been occupied.
The state awarded those 1,600 grants in less than 12 weeks earlier this year
The Utah Housing Corporation says the grants have led to home sales of $376.7 million, creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in wages.
Herbert hinted for months that he wanted to continue the program in some form. Facing a $700 million budget shortfall, Herbert has said economic development would be his top priority in office. Friday's announcement was the first concrete economic development plan he has unveiled since learning he would have the state's top job in May.
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