This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sales of existing homes in Salt Lake County are expected to rise by close to 15 percent this year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.
The group is basing its projection on expectations that job creation will accelerate in Utah.
"The labor market is expected to grow by more than 30,000 jobs, and all sectors of the economy will expand," Donna Pozzuoli, president of the board, said in a statement.
"These conditions will lead to an improvement in home buyer confidence, which should stimulate housing demand."
Sales of existing dwellings will rise to more than 12,500 homes, condos and town homes, according to the report.
In 2011, seven in 10 homes sold in the county were considered "affordable" when tied to the state's median household income of $57,000, the report said.
Home prices in the county declined in 2011 for the fourth consecutive year, driven lower by foreclosure sales and short sales (in which a lender agrees to accept less on a property than it is owed), the report said. The board said home prices will continue to face downward pressure, but could stabilize by the second half of 2012.
Foreclosures peaked in the first quarter of 2010, when nearly 15,000 loans, or 3.4 percent of all mortgages, were in the foreclosure process, the report said.
The pace of foreclosures slowed in 2011. The estimated number of foreclosure notices issued to delinquent homeowners totaled 5,400, down 28 percent, according to the Realtor group.
At year-end, the Utah economy showed signs of recovery, which should give a boost to the real estate market in 2012, the report said.