Utah outlook on housing is improving

(Deseret News) The Wasatch Front housing market has been on a historic roller coaster ride for the better part of the past decade, reaching its pinnacle just over two years ago. A new report indicates that wild market ride may finally be "pulling into the station" this year, offering some hope to wearied consumers, Realtors and other industry insiders.

"In Salt Lake County, we've probably touched bottom in 2009 and we're going to see a slight improvement in 2010," Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research and author of the "2010 Salt Lake Housing Forecast," told the Deseret News.

Wood said while the new year might eventually see some growth in new single-family home sales and construction, the previous year was among the most challenging on record.

"In 2009, only 900 new single-family homes were built in Salt Lake County — the lowest level since the war years of the 1940s — while about 9,100 existing single-family homes were sold," he said in the report, released Monday.

He added that existing homes for sale make up the disproportionate amount of inventory currently on the market, which should continue to work in favor of buyers during 2010.

Consequently, Salt Lake County home sales this year will show some slight improvement over last year, he said in the report.

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