Housing

Significant Statistics | Housing Permits Plummet

Written by: Staff

UTAH HOUSING BUILDING PERMITS decreased from 3,070 in March to 2,089 in April, a 32% decrease.1 Interestingly, this came just after a March in which the greater Salt Lake City area (MSA) saw the highest number of housing permits in decades, and perhaps ever – over 1,500. The next month, they plummeted: April saw a decrease to just over 800.2 Meanwhile, regional housing start3 estimates across the West indicate a dramatic dropoff, from 325,000 in … Continued

Utah Thrives: Community Growth

Written by: Dan Bammes

Utah Foundation hosted a panel discussion on the challenges posed by Utah’s rapid population growth, issues explored in the research report Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal Sustainability and Quality of Life in Utah. The panelists included: Andrew Gruber, Wasatch Front Regional Council Robert Grow, Envision Utah Beth Holbrook, Utah Transit Authority Bryson Garbett, Garbett Homes Cameron Diehl, Utah League of Cities and Towns In this edition of Utah Thrives, we’ll hear … Continued

Utah’s Quality of Life – Video

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Utah Foundation occasionally surveys Utahns in an effort to understand how they feel about both their community and their personal quality of life. This video describes why Utah’s community quality of life is declining, and shows how quality of life is affected by demographic factors. This is all described in further detail in our report Utah Foundation Quality of Life Survey: Measuring Utahns’ Perceptions of their Communities, Personal Lives.  

Utah housing concerns center on Salt Lake County and renters

Written by: Peter Reichard

Housing affordability has become one of the biggest topics in recent public discourse. That makes sense: Housing prices in Utah have increased sharply during the past five years. The median sales price of a home rose from $207,000 in 2013 to $298,950 in 2018. Median rents in Utah have increased from $851 in 2012 to $986 in 2017. From a longer-term perspective, housing cost increases in both Utah and most other Western states have consistently … Continued