Homebuyers and renovators are still dealing with record high lumber prices. A trend that experts say likely won’t fade any time soon. (PHOTO: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Housing prices everywhere are seeing unprecedented increases over the last year. As more people leave big cities in droves, they are driving up the home market in rural Utah.
The Deseret News reports Heber City has one of the largest net migrations of any town in the entire United States. Home prices in the area jumped nearly $100,000 dollars since 2020.
Even the smallest towns, like La Sal in San Juan County saw prices increase by $51,000. The data comes from the non-profit company, Headwater Economics.
They said more than half of all zip codes in the Beehive State saw “unprecedented growth” in home values in 2021.
The town of Grantsville saw it’s home prices rise by $71,000 last year.
One of the biggest jumps came from the small hamlet of Eden, near the Powder Mountain ski resort. The average cost of a house jumped $153,000 over the previous year.
However, experts said the housing market in Utah County was growing exponentially long before the pandemic. They said the economy of the Silicon Slopes drove home prices up in rural places like Payson and Salem by $123,000.