04/20/2021
Friends, when you ask why is housing like this now...this is why. We have a 54,000-unit housing gap (across all types of housing including rentals). How fast can builders and developers build to close that gap? When you ask me, "when will this end?" here is the answer: When supply exceeds demand. No one can predict when that is, but it will happen eventually.
Low housing inventory is causing more home buyers to turn to new construction, according to Dejan Eskic, senior research fellow at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. In January, 2,529 new housing units were approved across Utah, a 10 percent increase year over year. In February, 2,537 units were approved, a 32 percent jump over units approved in February 2020. Residential units include single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, and apartments. With demand for houses at record levels, Eskic said many home builders are ramping up the construction of speculation homes. However, it could take many months or years to overcome Utah’s housing deficit. Over the last 10 years a 54,000-unit housing gap has accrued between the number of Utah families or individuals needing housing and the supply of housing units.
