Real estate developers have been working in a risky environment recently. The hunger for homes has declined because of high mortgage rates. Fears of a recession have kept some buyers out of the market. Some home buyers want to sell their homes before prices fall further. But there are places where these problems barely exist. At the top of this list is Utah. (Click here to see the cities where home values rose the most since 2000.)
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Portland Real Estate looked at Statista and Census Bureau data to measure new homes built per 1,000 people. The researchers commented, “In 2021, there were 6.9 million houses sold across the US, with this number projected to rise to over seven million in 2023.” That forecast is optimistic if mortgage rates stay high. The home sales rate could fall substantially, and foreclosures are likely to rise.
Utah took the top spot with 11.7 new homes built per 1,000 people. Idaho was next at 11.4. Florida followed it with close to 10 new homes. The national number was 5.2. At the far end of the spectrum, Rhode Island’s figure was 1.3.
Utah and Idaho should not be a surprise. During the early stages of the pandemic, many people left expensive Pacific coastal cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose. They moved inland, where home prices and the cost of living were lower. The millions of people who were allowed to work from home helped trigger this migration.
Likewise, Boise’s presence on the list should be no surprise. The influx of buyers there pushed home prices up as much as 70%. As the housing market has slowed, many residents have cut prices. However, the migration has made it an attractive place for developers.
Utah’s cost of living is lower than in California’s large cities. That has made places like Provo extremely attractive.
If the migration to these states falls because of high mortgage rates, they will not top the list next year.
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