Home sales in much of the West surged in January as first-time homebuyers, real estate investors and others seized on bargain-priced foreclosed homes in California, Nevada and Arizona, according to two reports released Wednesday.
Although the same did not hold true along the Wasatch Front, a total of 74,000 existing homes and condos were sold in January in the 13-state region. Sales were up 32.1 percent from the same month in 2008, without adjusting for seasonal factors, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In Utah home prices have been slower to fall, and many buyers are waiting for the market to show signs of hitting bottom before they buy. In Salt Lake County, only 435 homes and condominiums changed hands in January, down nearly one third from January 2008. Last month's total was the lowest monthly figure since November 1995, when the Salt Lake Board of Realtors began keeping such records electronically.
Board president Ryan Kirkham said tighter lending standards aren't helping the situation.
"Now, even with good credit, it is difficult to get financing," Kirkham said.
In most of the West, prices have plummeted over the past year, which has brought out bargain hunters in force. Median home prices are down almost 26 percent over the past year, the Realtors association said. Utah's home values, which began to fall later than other areas, have yet to reach double-digit, year-over-year declines.
Nationally, existing home sales dropped 7.6 percent from January last year, while the U.S. median home price slid almost 15 percent, to $170,300.
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco made up the top five major metro areas in the country to register an increase in home sales, according to the Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, released Wednesday.
Those Western cities ranked among the top 10 U.S. metros to post the sharpest median price declines last month, with San Francisco and Phoenix behind only Detroit. Elsewhere in the West, sales declined in Honolulu; Billings, Mont.; Portland, Ore.; Boise, Idaho; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Denver.
