SALT LAKE CITY – With the upcoming New Year comes fresh news about the U.S. and Utah housing markets, none of which is very good.
Despite recent market fluctuations, the median income required to purchase an average home in Utah has jumped by more than $30,000 since spring of 2024.
That’s the conclusion of a nationwide study by analysts at Realtor.com, which showed that family income has failed to keep pace with skyrocketing housing costs in more than two-thirds of U.S. states.
In Utah, for example, the study by the National Association of Realtors found that the average home-buyer needs to earn a six-figure salary to be able to afford to purchase the average three bedroom home.
That’s assuming that the buyer signs a 30-year fixed mortgage with an interest rate of 6.65 or lower and can afford to pay a 10 percent down payment. Those calculations also factor in taxes and insurance, while assuming that the buyer commits no more than the standard benchmark of 30 percent of his or her income to housing costs.
In terms of dollars and cents, that means that the Utah buyer or buyers need an income of $169,000 a year to purchase the average three-bedroom, two-bath home.
In October, Redfin.com reported that home prices in Utah were up 4.8 percent compared to last year, selling for a median price of $578,500.
Just five years ago, the average home-buyer here could purchase the average home on an $80,000 income, according to a 2020 report aired by KUTV-News.
But a Bankrate.com study in 2024 found that a Utah home-buyer needed a $134,000 income to purchase the average home at a price of $525,000.
Although national officials are loath to use exactly those terms, Utah residents are by no means alone in facing the U.S. affordability crisis.
In the two-third of U.S. states where home prices are continually escalating, the median income levels required to purchase a home range from a modest $100,000 in Nebraska to the astronomical $229,000 in Hawaii, where the median three-bedroom home costs nearly $800,000, according to Realtor.com.
In the 15 states where housing remains relatively affordable, the media income required to purchase a home ranges from $71,000 in West Virginia to $93,000 in Alabama.
The Realitor.com study indicates that those states are located in the Midwest, the Rust Belt and the South, where state economies tend to be depressed.
Redfin.com is an online real estate platform that offers clients lower selling fees and higher volume listing experiences.
Founded in 1976, Bankrate.com offers customer free financial information and tools to make monetary decisions.
Through Realtor.com, the National Association of Realtors offers home-owners useful tools and resources to manage their property like the significant investment it is.