The multi-story construction projects that dotted southwestern Utah’s landscape over the past year signaled a record boon for the region. The dozens of new housing complexes, hotels, offices and retails stores that sprung up out of the red dirt in 2017 set new records for total dollars spent and raw square footage, according to a new report from NAI Excel, a commercial real estate firm that handled many of the transactions.
The vacancy rates for multi-family housing units remains below 1 percent, a key contributor to the area’s lack of affordable housing options. Rates went up 6.6 percent over the course of 2017, having already increased 7.2 percent in 2016.
But there was at least some movement there in 2017, with the completion of two large student housing projects and the start of construction on two large new apartment complexes. Five projects are under construction heading into 2018 that should add about 900 new housing units combined.
On the commercial side, a series of new grocery stores have started to attract surrounding retail stores, and vacancy rates there remain at only 3.5 percent. The low vacancy and availability of prime spots near the larger grocery stores should encourage more new construction, according to the NAI report. The Spectrum
