Salt Lake incomes rise but aren't keeping up with housing prices
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Salt Lake homebuyers make more money than they did before the pandemic.
Yes, but: It's still not enough to cover the rise in home prices.
By the numbers: Salt Lake City posted the 10th-largest rise in homebuyer incomes in the nation from 2019-2021, according to a Redfin analysis of mortgage data in the 100 largest metro areas.
- The median homebuyer income in Salt Lake was $91,000, up nearly 14% from 2019.
- That's more than double the growth in homebuyer incomes nationally.
- But the median home price in Salt Lake grew 41% during that time, Redfin reported, versus 29% nationally.
State of play: Salt Lake's homebuyer income growth, like other cities in the top 10, was likely driven by remote workers, according to Redfin.
- There was a big influx in out-of-town homebuyers early in the pandemic.
- A similar dynamic played out in Boise, Idaho and Austin, Texas — the top two cities for homebuyer income growth at 24% and 19%.
Zoom in: St. George, which was too small to be ranked, saw homebuyer incomes rise almost as much as Boise, at 23%.
- Homebuyers in Logan and Ogden posted slightly larger income growth than in Salt Lake, at 16% and 15%. Provo's increased 13%.
The latest: The housing market in Salt Lake, like other pandemic boomtowns, is starting to cool off.