Looking for an affordable house in Salt Lake City? Look west or think condo.

A historically tight housing market is squeezing the Wasatch Front — and look who is being crunched in the middle: Salt Lake City.

While large numbers of buyers are still finding homes in Utah’s capital, they’re paying premium, even record, prices in many cases.

[For where else you can find affordable homes in northern Utah and other real estate tips, here is your homebuying survival guide for 2021.]

Of course, prices vary greatly by neighborhood. If you’re scouting for more affordable options, look west, eager shoppers.

The least expensive median was $305,000 in the 84104 ZIP code spanning much of Glendale and other west-side neighborhoods west of Interstate 15 between Interstate 80 and State Route 201, according to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

The next lowest was 84116, encompassing Rose Park, Whitehead and areas around the Salt Lake City International Airport, with a median price of $345,000. The third most affordable was 84101, straddling downtown Salt Lake City between Interstate 15 and Main Street from North Temple to 1300 South.

While prices in those locales remained at or below the countywide median, they still saw increases last year of between 15% and 55%.

And if you want an indication of how wealthier buyers are affecting Wasatch Front markets, look at the other end of Salt Lake City’s housing picture. Its most expensive ZIP code remains 84103, which spans the Avenues, Federal Heights and Emigration Canyon.

Median prices there escalated from $644,000 at the end of September to $806,500 by year’s end, a jump of 25.2% in one quarter.

But there’s a big contrast right now in price trends when it comes to some Salt Lake City condominiums.

Partly reflecting a pandemic quest for more space and flights to the suburbs, condo price tags have dropped by double digits for three consecutive quarters in many urban neighborhoods. The declines have been especially sharp in portions of downtown, the Avenues, Central City, Liberty Wells, the city’s east bench foothills and even Emigration Canyon.

Condo prices in those areas ranged from $235,000 to $344,000, based on late 2020 sales data.