Wasatch Living

Home sales along the Wasatch Front shot up in the first three months of 2015, putting residential real estate markets on a trajectory for a high-flying summer.

Traditionally a slower time for single-family home purchases, January, February and March instead brought double-digit percentage gains for Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber counties compared with the same period in 2014. And Tooele County was just shy of that, up 9.4 percent.

Figures published Wednesday by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors show the five-county area saw a 13.8 percent sales jump overall, for a total of 5,547 homes changing hands.

Total sales volume well exceeded those posted in the first quarter of 2013 and 2014, a signal that residential demand remains healthy.

"The way it's looking, this will be a banner year," said Dave Robison, board president. "It's hopping right now."

Further signs hint that regional housing markets are picking up steam as warmer months approach, Robison said. Sellers commonly receive offers from multiple buyers, he said, and a higher-than-usual number of homes are under sales contracts for this time of year.

Prices, however, continue to go up, a factor that dampened some buyer enthusiasm in 2014 and forced shoppers to look wider for bargains.

According to Wednesday's report, median home prices now stand at $255,000 for Salt Lake County, $245,000 for Utah County and $227,250 for Davis County. Though lower in Tooele and Weber counties, at $185,900 and $171,795, respectively, prices rose faster there in the first quarter than they did in the other counties, up 11.7 and 7.4 percent year over year.

A lack of affordable homes may be driving Wasatch Front condominium sales, which surged by 16.6 percent on 1,246 units sold January through March. And pricing is also a likely clue for where single-family homes are selling these days.

In Salt Lake County, South Jordan, Herriman, Magna, West Jordan and central Salt Lake City enjoyed the most robust sales bumps as 2015 opened, while Holladay, Cottonwood Heights and Copperton saw sizable declines year over year.