BOX ELDER COUNTY – By Marcia Wendorf – Feb. 3, 2020
If you're considering buying a house or renting an apartment in Box Elder County then you probably know this fact - prices have increased.
According to real estate web site Zillow, in the U.S. as a whole, the median home price is $244,054, which reflects a 3.7% rise during 2019. The median list price per square foot is $153 and on average, homes stay on the market for 77 days. Zillow predicts U.S. home prices in 2020 will rise 2.8%.
Looking at just Utah, the median price of all homes currently listed is $372,900. This reflects an increase of 5.4% over the past year. In 2020, Zillow estimates prices in Utah will rise an additional 3.0%.
The median list price per square foot is $189, and on average, homes stay on the market for 59 days. Mortgage delinquency is when a homeowner fails to make a mortgage payment, and Utah has a mortgage delinquency rate of 0.6%, which is less than the U.S. average of 1.1%.
The median home price of homes currently listed in Box Elder County is $299,900, just $100 less than the $300,000 threshold. Home values in the county have risen 6.8% over last year. Compare that with the 5.4% increase in Utah, and the 3.7% increase in the entire U.S.
Zillow predicts home prices in Box Elder County will rise an additional 4.0% during 2020. The median list price per square foot in Box Elder County is $172, and homes stayed on the market for 73 days. Box Elder County's mortgage delinquency rate is 0.6%, which is lower than the national average of 1.1%.
In just Tremonton City, the median list price of homes for sale is $272,000, which reflects a 6.8% rise over the past year. Zillow predicts prices in Tremonton will go up by 3.6% during 2020.
In Tremonton, the median list price per square foot is $172, and mortgage delinquencies stand at 0.7%, which is less than the U.S. average of 1.1%.
In a recent KSL article, James Wood, a senior fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, pegged Utah’s housing prices as rising 67% over the last seven years.
For the first time, prices of single-family homes in Salt Lake County will top $400,000, while prices for town homes or condominiums will top $300,000. This is a rise of 10.6% over 2019.
Wood attributed this rise to "economic growth, demographic growth" and an increase in land prices. The increase in land prices is forcing developers to build on ever shrinking lots which Wood described as, "detached, but there's only a few feet between each home."
In an interview, local realtor Micah Capener of Capener Losee Real Estate attributed Box Elder County's rising home prices to "high demand, low supply, and increased labor and development costs." Capener noted that people who have been priced out of counties to the south were moving to Box Elder County.
Capener also attributed the rising prices to an increased number of jobs in Box Elder County and the presence of internet service provider Utopia. Utopia's high speeds are attractive to businesses and those who work form home.
Both Northrup Grumman at its Promontory facility and West Liberty Foods have recently staffed up, and Proctor and Gamble just announced that it will expand its operations in the county and add 221 new jobs.
Web site bestplaces.net puts the price of renting a studio apartment in Box Elder County at $473, compared to $639 for Utah as a whole, and $821 for the entire U.S.
A one-bedroom apartment in Box Elder County will cost you $544, while the same apartment in Utah costs $766, and in the U.S., $930.
A two-bedroom apartment in the county will set you back $720, $941 in Utah, and $1,148 in the U.S. A three-bedroom apartment in Box Elder County will cost $1,004, while it is $1,332 in Utah and $1,537 in the entire country.
Four bedrooms will cost you $1,172 in Box Elder County, $1,563 in Utah and $1,791 in the U.S. The median rent price in the U.S. stands at $1,650.
Increasing home prices is a problem for those at both ends of the age spectrum. Millennials are forced to delay buying a home, while Baby Boomers who might want to sell their homes can’t because they can't find reasonably priced homes to move to.