SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Governor Spencer Cox has set an ambitious target of building 35,000 starter homes in Utah over the next four years, and a new website will soon be available to track progress. However, real estate experts and state officials acknowledge that achieving this goal remains a significant challenge.
In the past year, Utah has seen the construction of approximately 4,600 starter homes that fit the governor’s affordability criteria, according to Dejan Eskic of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.
“There’s still a long way to go, but we’re making steady progress,” Eskic told ABC4.com.
Rising Prices and Market Challenges
Utah’s housing market remains tough for buyers, as high interest rates and limited inventory continue to push prices upward.
“Prices are still climbing, and we expect moderate growth this year,” Eskic said. “We’re reaching a point where affordability is becoming a major hurdle for many potential homeowners.”
Currently, the median price of a single-family home in Salt Lake County is around $618,000, requiring buyers to have an income of roughly $180,000 to qualify for a mortgage. Townhomes and condos range from $450,000 to $475,000, making them slightly more accessible but still out of reach for many residents.
Reducing Costs and Expanding Accessibility
Steve Waldrip, the governor’s Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy, emphasized that one of the administration’s primary objectives is to bring housing costs down.
“Our goal is to create more opportunities for affordable homeownership,” Waldrip said. “Ideally, we’d like to see starter homes priced around $350,000.”
Middle-class salaries in Utah range from $59,439 to $178,336, but only 25% of residents can afford a home in the $450,000 range. This has made it particularly difficult for single parents and lower-income households to enter the housing market.
“For many families, homeownership now requires two working partners contributing to the mortgage,” Waldrip noted. “Single parents raising children face an even greater challenge, and those are some of the barriers we are trying to address.”
The Role of Government and Private Investment
According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in Salt Lake City needs to earn at least $24.16 per hour to cover basic expenses, while a single parent with one child must make $41.47 per hour. Meanwhile, Utah’s minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, unchanged since 2009.
Despite the affordability crisis, Waldrip emphasized that government funding alone won’t solve the problem.
“This isn’t something we can fix by simply increasing taxes and spending more,” he explained. “The key is ensuring that private developers see a sufficient return on investment so they continue building these much-needed homes.”
Tracking Progress Online
The new website dedicated to monitoring the state’s affordable housing efforts is expected to launch soon. Additionally, Salt Lake City has already made several housing-related resources available, including the Housing Stability Dashboard and the Affordable Housing Construction and Preservation Dashboard.
With continued investment and collaboration between state officials, private developers, and local communities, Utah hopes to make homeownership more attainable for its residents .
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