Soaring Home Prices Leave 91% of Renters Unable To Buy in This Western State

Home prices in Utah continue to increase, putting 91% of renters out of the running to become homeowners, according to a new report.The median sale price across all housing types in Utah rose to $520,000 in the first quarter of 2026, an increase from the median price of $500,000 a year earlier, according to the 2025–26 State of the State’s Housing Market report conducted by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.This exceeds the state’s previous high median sales price, which was $502,000 in 2022, after which the prices temporarily dropped back into the high $400,000s.“Rapid post-pandemic growth drove housing prices to record highs in 2022 before entering more stable periods. Since 2024, Utah’s market increased by 3.6% across all housing types,” the report reads.Utah ranks as the 10th most expensive market for single-family homes, which had a median sales price of $559,900 in the first quarter of 2026. In 2016, the median price for a single-family home was $249,900.To afford a median-priced home in Utah with a 10% down payment in 2026, the annual income required is $146,800, much higher than Utah’s median household income of $96,658.Renter households in the state ...