The limited supply of housing inventory isn’t deterring home buyers.  Home sales in May in Salt Lake County climbed to 1764 units sold, up 5 percent compared to 1681 units sold in May 2015.  May’s sales were the highest on record since May 2006, when 1817 homes were sold.

In Davis County, home sales rose 4 percent to 507 units sold, up from 486 sales a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said existing sales continue to hum along, rising in May for the third consecutive month.  “This spring’s sustained period of ultra-low mortgage rates has certainly been a worthy incentive to buy a home, but the primary driver in the increase in sales is more homeowners realizing the equity they’ve accumulated in recent years and finally deciding to trade-up or downsize,” he said.  “With first-time buyers still struggling to enter the market, repeat buyers using the proceeds from the sale of their previous home as their down payment are making up the bulk of home purchases right now.”

The median home price in May in Salt Lake C0 increased to $273000, up 7 percent compared to a median price of $255000 year-over-year.  In Davis Co, the median price climbed sharply to $259900, up 16 percent compared to last year’s median price of $224500.

The cumulative median days on the market for a listing in Salt Lake Co in May fell to 8 days, down from 17 days a year ago.

Article taken from The Salt Lake Board of Realtors®