After years of little or no appreciation, the median selling price of resale homes in Salt Lake County in the third quarter increased by 12.8 percent to $189,500 from the same three-month period in 2004 - the highest increase in years, according to a report released Thursday by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. In all, 4,317 homes changed hands in the quarter, up 22 percent, pushing the average time on the market down 19 percent to only 42 days. At the peak of Utah's recession three years ago, it was not unusual for homes to languish on the market for several months.

The Wasatch Front's real estate market is strong and vibrant, but it's not insane," said Debra Sjoblom, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

In a number of other areas, such as Las Vegas, homeowners have seen the values of their homes escalate 50 percent to 100 percent or more in just a few short years. But economists worry those owners are at risk of plummeting real estate prices should the nation's "housing bubble" pop.

Just last week, however, Janet L. Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said Utah's residential real estate market is "substantially" less vulnerable to a real estate correction than most other parts of the country because our values are climbing much more gradually.

In the third quarter, Tooele County had the largest increase in median sales prices, an increase of nearly 15 percent, followed by Utah County (11.3 percent) and Davis County (10.8 percent).

As the market along the Wasatch Front continues to heat up, sellers in a number of areas continue to attract a lot of attention - especially the Avenues and Federal Heights neighborhoods close to downtown Salt Lake City, east-side areas such as Cottonwood and Holladay and of course, the popular Sugar House area, loosely bounded from 900 South to 2700 South and 700 East to 2000 East.

"If it's a nice home and priced right in Sugar House you can count on multiple offers," said Scott Alexander, agent with RE/MAX Associates in Salt Lake City.

Real estate agents like Alexander say October - traditionally much slower than spring and summer months - has remained busy.

"There are so many buyers right now that when a nice home comes on the market it generates a lot of interest," he said.

That demand has a lot of sellers trying to sell their homes on their own to save on commissions, which typically are based on 6 percent of the selling price.

John Rasmussen is trying to sell his 1,800-square-foot East Millcreek area home priced at $269,900 through For Sale By Owner.com, an Internet site that caters to people selling their homes without a real estate agent.

Rasmussen, who said he needs more space for his family, plans to demolish a home down the street and build a new 5,200-square-foot home.

"I'm lucky," he said. "I picked a great time to sell."

lesley@sltrib.com