SALT LAKE CITY—
A new report by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors says home sales are up. West Valley City had the most sales for the past quarter. "We're in a climate right now where the interest rates are so favorable, it's hard not to go out and buy a house right now," says Salt Lake Board of Realtors' Bill Heiner. But for a seller, the market is not optimal according to the board's findings. The average residential property sold for nearly $206,000 -- down from $222,000 a year ago. And the board says Utah has not hit bottom yet."I think we're going to continue to see probably another, at least another five percent according to the experts in the study that we commissioned. So we haven't seen the bottom yet," said Heiner.
Foreclosures are still high. Provo had more than 3,000 homes go into foreclosure the first half of this year. But many are resorting to a short sale of their home to avoid the huge credit loss that goes into a foreclosure.
"The big thing is short sales. Tthat's the big move, because the lenders have decided that they can't really keep all this inventory. It's just too much inventory," says Bob Massey, who is holding a seminar on foreclosures and shortsales in Utah.
