Utah real estate market rebounding slowly, analysts say

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News)  — While some sectors of Utah's economy are slowly heading toward the rebound track, real estate is still not there yet. And some local analysts predict it may be a while before it finally finds its way back onto the road to stability.

Speaking at the Mid-Year 2010 Real Estate Summit at the Grand America on Monday, Zions Bank executive vice president Michael Morris said the Utah commercial real estate market may not even begin to recover until next year.

"This year I don't see much reason for optimism that we're going to have a big rebound in commercial property," he told the Deseret News. "More of a gradual recovery building into 2011 and 2012, but still with the backdrop of other (economic issues facing the industry).

Morris said the amount of debt used to finance projects prior to the economic meltdown has caused major problems for the commercial sector and there are no simple solutions that will resolve them anytime soon.

"It's more that we over-leveraged then we overbuilt," he said. "Over-financing and over-leveraging and over-engineering financial products is really what has led to an artificially highly valued market to begin with."

Morris said the Salt Lake central business district will eventually be helped by the development of projects like the City Creek Center and 222 S. Main, but there will also be challenges to contend with.

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