Thursday, May 9, 2013

Southern Utah Housing prices continue to climb

Southern Utah housing prices spiked upward over the last year, increasing by 13.7 percent in St. George from March of 2012 to March of 2013, according to a new report.

Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices were up 10.6 percent over that same time frame, according to the new CoreLogic Home Price Index released earlier this week. n St. George, prices were up 1.1 percent in March compared to February, and when distressed sales are excluded, prices increased by 2.3 percent. Overall inventory in Washington County was down more than 8 percent in the 12-month period before February, despite nearly a 30-percent increase in new listings.



According to ERA’s local report, the median home price for sales in the county increased from $159,000 in February 2012 to $179,950 in February 2013. The average home price is still nearly 30 percent below the peaks seen in 2006 and 2007. The average home price jumped 23.7 percent over that same period, from $183,536 to $227,015.

 Iron County has also started to see some rebound, although at a slower rate. The median home price was $130,500 in April, up 7 percent from the same month last year, according to a report. However, the average price is down year-over-year, and the total sales were down 4.5 percent in the first four months of 2012 compared to 2013. The Spectrum

Note: The Federal Housing Finance Agency publishes a more inclusive Housing Price Index  for the St. George, UT MSA (Washington County). It shows a 5-percent year-to-year increase for fourth quarter 2012.