09/11/2026
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Mortgage rates: Rates moved higher again yesterday. Mortgage News Daily closed September 9 at 6.97% for a top-tier 30-year fixed, up 8 basis points and the highest level since May 2025. Freddie Mac’s latest weekly reading is still 6.71%; its new weekly update is due later today. This morning’s inflation data isn’t especially rate-friendly: August producer prices rose 0.4% month over month and 5.4% year over year, with energy costs a major driver, keeping upward pressure on Treasury yields and mortgage pricing.
Big Utah housing update: The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released its new State of the State’s Housing Market report yesterday. Utah’s median sale price across all housing types rose from $500,000 in Q1 2025 to $520,000 in Q1 2026, while the median single-family price reached $559,900. The estimated income needed to afford the median home with 10% down eased slightly to $147,000, but roughly 91% of Utah renters still cannot afford the typical ownership payment. Utah is projected to need about 280,000 additional housing units by 2035.
Northern Utah development watch: West Haven’s Planning Commission considered Phase 2 of 11th West Apartments at 1033 W. Wilson Lane last night and held workshops on ADU standards and R-3 zoning; as of this morning, the official notice page does not yet show the meeting outcome. Nearby Clearfield made a confirmed land-use move this week, unanimously adopting an up-to-180-day moratorium on new data-center development while it reviews permanent regulations—potentially important for future industrial land use and growth patterns in Davis County.
NAR / national market: Fresh August existing-home sales data released this morning shows sales fell 2.0% to a 3.98 million annualized pace, the lowest in 14 months. Inventory increased to 1.62 million homes, a 4.9-month supply, while the median price rose 1.6% year over year to $429,100. Importantly for Utah, sales in the West were flat rather than declining.
Investment / rental: Gardner’s new report shows very different rental trends by property type: from March 2024 to March 2026, asking rents in Utah’s five largest counties rose roughly 8.5% for detached homes and 8.3% for townhomes, while apartment rents fell 2.3% as multifamily supply increased. That strengthens the case for carefully distinguishing single-family/townhome rentals from apartments when underwriting Northern Utah investments.
STR watch: Boulder, Utah, recently adopted new ordinances updating both residential short-term-rental zoning rules and STR licensing eligibility. It’s not a Northern Utah change, but it reinforces the broader Utah trend: STR legality and economics are increasingly determined city by city rather than by statewide assumptions.
Client talking points:
* Buyers: “Rates are near 7%, but national inventory has climbed to almost five months. The trade-off for higher financing costs is stronger negotiating leverage—especially on homes that have been sitting.”
* Sellers: “Utah prices are still holding up, but affordability is stretched. Pricing correctly and offering a rate buydown may attract more buyers than simply holding firm on price.”
* Investors: “Rental demand isn’t moving uniformly. Detached homes and townhomes have shown rent growth while apartments have softened, so property type matters more than a generic ‘Utah rents are up or down’ headline.”
