If You've Been Waiting to Buy a Home in Salt Lake City, Now Is the Time. Here's Your First Step.
- Kevin Petersen
- Jul 13
- 4 min read
Now is the time to buy a home in Salt Lake City. Here’s the first Step.
You’ve been scrolling through Zillow, pulling up the Redfin app on repeat, checking your budget and waiting.
Waiting for house prices to come down, rates to drop, for your job to feel more solid or for someone to say you can do this.
So, consider me your friend across the table at coffee here to tell you, it’s time.
I’ve been watching the ups and downs of the Salt Lake City housing market for years now and I can safely say that the market has not looked this good for buyers in years.
Here are the numbers:
House prices in Utah's capital county have barely moved in three years. The median sales price in Salt Lake County went from $530,000 in 2022 to $550,000 in 2025. That's less than 4% total, over three years, in a market that used to jump that much in a season.
So if you sat out the 2021 buyers frenzy where inspections were a thing of the past and people were easily bidding $50k over asking just to lose out to someone who bid more, now is the time to act.
Here are a few reasons why:
First, rates are the lowest they've been since 2022
Mortgage rates ended 2025 around 6.15%, and forecasts for 2026 have them settling in the low 6% range with a real chance of dipping below 6% for the first time in four years.
What that means in real dollars? On a $500,000 home, the difference between a 7% rate and a 6% rate is roughly $300 a month. That's $3,600 a year back in your budget, for the same house, just because you're buying now instead of two years ago.
Homes are sitting on the market for up to 36 days, and that changes everything
The median days on market in Salt Lake County rose from 29 days to 36 days over the past year. That might not sound like much, but here's what it means: sellers are waiting. And sellers who are waiting are sellers who negotiate.
Inspection periods are back. Seller-paid closing costs are back on the table. Rate buydowns funded by the seller, which can knock hundreds off your monthly payment in the first two years, are a real conversation again. Buyers haven't had this kind of leverage since before the pandemic.
I don’t often say this, but if you’ve been ready, the time to buy is now. Here’s why:
The National Association of Realtors just named Salt Lake City one of its top ten housing hot spots for 2026. Their reasoning is simple: there's a huge population of buyers, especially millennials, who have been priced out or scared off for years, and as rates drop, they're expected to come back into the market all at once.
When they do, homes stop sitting. Negotiating room disappears. And flat prices start climbing again.
The best conditions show up before the crowd does. That's now.
Ready? Here’s your first step:
When it comes to buying a home, it can be easy to get lost in endlessly bookmarking properties but, if you’re really serious, the first step before you go shopping is to get your financial ducks in a row. And it’s not as complicated as you might think.
FIRST: Get pre-approved, not just pre-qualified. Pre-qualification is a ballpark estimate based on what you tell a lender. Pre-approval means the lender has verified your income, pulled your credit, and committed to a specific number. In this market, a pre-approval letter is what makes a seller take your offer seriously. Get it before you fall in love with a house, not after.
SECOND: Know your real monthly number. Once you know what you qualify for, work it into your budget so you can be sure you arrive at a range that actually fits your life and your personal values. This includes the emergency fund you’re not willing to drain and the trips you’re not willing to skip. When you know your number, you shop with confidence instead of anxiety.
THIRD: Gather your documents.
Take the next thirty minutes to find the following:
Thirty days of pay stubs
Two years of tax returns
Two to three months of bank statements
Put them in a folder today so you have them ready. If you're self-employed or have variable income, that's workable too, it just takes a slightly different approach, and I can walk you through it.
And, that's it!
TL;DR - The Short Version
House prices in Utah have been essentially flat for three years, with the Salt Lake County median moving from $530,000 to just $550,000 since 2022. Mortgage rates are the lowest they've been since 2022 and still easing. Homes are sitting 36 days instead of 29, which means buyers can negotiate again for the first time in years. NAR named Salt Lake City a 2026 housing hot spot, which means the waiting buyers are coming back, and this window closes when they arrive. Your first step takes days, not months: get pre-approved (not pre-qualified), know your real monthly number, and gather your documents. If you've been waiting to buy a home in Salt Lake City, now is the time.
If you managed to hold through a market frenzy and the subsequent lull, you are someone who likes to act strategically.
This is the time in the market when that kind of patience pays off.
You've done the work. Now let’s take the first step.
Want to take the first step together? Book a coffee or tea at KAPRealEstate.com/book
Kevin A Petersen is an LGBTQ+ affirming real estate agent serving buyers and sellers throughout the Salt Lake City area. Schedule a no-pressure conversation about your home buying goals.