This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Home sales fell in Salt Lake County as shrinking inventories continue to push up prices and more buyers are opting for town homes and condominiums.

The second quarter of 2016 saw 3,863 single-family homes change hands in Utah's most populated county, down 3 percent from the same time the year prior. In Utah County, the 1,888 homes that sold in April, May and June represented a 0.26 percent decline over the past year.

The new report from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors said sales volumes in Tooele, Davis and Weber counties, meanwhile, rose for the quarter — as prospective buyers increasingly pushed out to suburban markets in search of bargains.

With supplies tight, prices on homes continued to climb higher in all five Wasatch Front counties.

The region's median home price reached $274,900, up 9 percent over the year before. That price tag in Salt Lake County hit $296,000, 7.6 percent higher than last year. Davis County saw the steepest price climb, rising 12.2 percent to $264,450.

Board president Cheryl Acker said sales continue to be restricted by limited housing inventories.

"We have more buyers than people willing to sell," she said.

Even with single-family-home prices up, some would-be sellers may be reluctant to put their houses on the market out of wariness over buying a replacement home, she said.

Tellingly, the average number of days that homes remained on the market fell sharply for the quarter, plunging to 37 days in Salt Lake County, down from 59 days a year ago.

And in a continuing shift in the market, higher price points have led many first-time buyers to buy more affordable town homes and condominiums, said Acker, who is with South Jordan-based Utah Key Real Estate.

Condo sales volumes were up dramatically for four of five Wasatch Front counties for early summer, rising by 10.7 percent in Weber County, 11.6 percent in Davis County, 15.7 percent in Salt Lake County and a whopping 112.5 percent in Tooele County, although the latter represented 17 sales, up from eight the year prior.

Only Utah County saw a decline in condo sales volume, down 4.9 percent for the quarter.

The trends lifted the median price for a condo in Salt Lake County, in fact, above the $200,000 mark, going from $188,750 a year ago to $203,450 by the end of June.

Acker said she did not expect housing inventories to ease significantly before the end of 2016.

According to the board's latest report, the Avenues ZIP code of 84103 in Salt Lake City was the Wasatch Front's most expensive, with a median home price of $489,000. ZIP codes in Emigration Canyon (84108), Draper (84020) and Holladay (84117) also topped price listings.

Alpine and Mapleton had Utah County's priciest ZIP codes, with median prices of $469,500 and $371,750, respectively.

Davis County's highest-priced ZIP codes were in Farmington, with a median of $340,000, and Kaysville, at $327,000; in Weber County, top median prices were in ZIP codes in Eden and Huntsville, at $402,500 and $396,950.

A median home price of $369,000 for a ZIP code in Rush Valley made it the highest in Tooele County.

Twitter: @TonySemerad —

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