Salt Lake City Real Estate Market 2026: 5-Year Appreciation Is Now Negative

Salt Lake City was one of the standout pandemic-era boomtowns. Remote work migration, population growth, and low interest rates pushed home prices to levels that the local income base could not rationally support. The correction that followed has been gradual, but the data is now clear: on a five-year basis, the Salt Lake City housing market has produced negative returns.

PropertyIQ scores Salt Lake City a 64 out of 100 as of February 28, 2026. That is a D grade, sitting above the national midpoint but weighed down by overvaluation, weak demand signals, and a supply surge that is continuing to work against sellers.

Five-Year Appreciation Is Negative

The 5-year home value change for Salt Lake City is -4.74% as of February 2026. That is the figure that frames everything else in this market. It means that a buyer who purchased the median Salt Lake City home five years ago has, on paper, less equity than they started with on a nominal basis before accounting for mortgage paydown.

For context, the Boise metro, which has a structurally similar story, shows the same pattern. Both markets surged during the pandemic on migration and rate tailwinds, and both have been working off that excess ever since.

Year-over-year home values in Salt Lake City are down 2.64% as of February 2026. The Zillow home value index puts the metro median at approximately $558,310 as of January 2026. Month-over-month change is flat at 0%.

Supply Is Flooding the Market

New listings in Salt Lake City are up 26.85% year over year as of February 2026. That is one of the highest new listing growth rates of any major market in the PropertyIQ database. Sellers are coming to market in volume, and the buyer pool is not absorbing supply at the same pace.

Total active inventory is 2,459 homes as of February 2026, up 10.54% year over year. The supply score is 81.3 out of 100, indicating well above-average supply relative to historical norms.

18.75% of Salt Lake City listings had price cuts as of February 2026. Sellers are adjusting. The sale-to-list ratio is 99.49% as of November 2025: homes that close are selling just below asking, not at the premiums seen during the boom years.

Demand Is Weak

The demand score for Salt Lake City is 7.4 out of 100 as of February 2026. That is among the lowest demand readings of any market scoring in the 60s range. The hotness score is 44.3 out of 100, below the national midpoint.

Home sales volume, however, is up 4.16% year over year as of February 2026. That is a modest positive signal: more transactions are completing compared to the prior year, suggesting the market is not in freefall. The pending-to-active ratio is 0.5302, meaning roughly 53% of active listings have a buyer under contract. At 49 average days on market, homes are moving at a reasonable pace for a correcting market.

The demand score measures the intensity of buyer competition, not absolute transaction volume. A 7.4 reflects that buyers have considerable negotiating leverage and are not competing aggressively for available homes.

The Affordability Problem Persists

Salt Lake City is 66.7% above fundamental value as of February 2026. Despite two-plus years of correction, the gap between prices and what local incomes can support has not closed.

The income required to purchase at the median listing price of $550,000 as of February 2026 is approximately $146,188 per year. The median household income in the Salt Lake City metro is $95,045 (2023 Census). That leaves a gap of roughly $51,143 annually between what the market requires and what the median household earns.

The affordable home price for Salt Lake City's income base is approximately $357,586, meaning the median listing price is roughly 54% above what local incomes can support on a standard 30-year mortgage.

The Economic Backdrop Is Strong

Salt Lake City's unemployment rate is 3.4% as of December 2025. That is among the lowest unemployment readings in the PropertyIQ database and reflects a genuine economic strength that separates this market from purely speculative boom-bust cases. The technology sector, healthcare, and finance provide a diversified employment base.

The population skews young: median age 33.7 years (2023 Census), the youngest of any market in this batch. The homeownership rate is 67.82%. Salt Lake City has a structural homebuying demand base that should support the market as affordability gradually improves through income growth and, potentially, further price moderation.

The Zillow home price forecast is plus 1.4% over the next year as of December 2025: modest appreciation, not a recovery signal, but not further decline either.

The Rent Picture

Average rent in Salt Lake City is approximately $1,611 per month as of December 2025. With median home values near $558,000, the monthly gross rent-to-price ratio is approximately 0.29%, well below what most cash flow-oriented investors require. Salt Lake City does not pencil as a yield play at current prices.

What the Score of 64 Reflects

A 64 in Salt Lake City reflects a market where reasonable transaction velocity and low unemployment partially offset significant overvaluation and a weak demand signal. The 5-year negative appreciation and the ongoing supply surge are the primary downward pressures on the score. The score would be lower if not for the strong employment picture and the fact that transactions are still completing at a reasonable pace.

PropertyIQ score as of February 28, 2026. Listing and inventory data as of February 1, 2026. Rent and forecast data as of December 2025. Census and economic data 2023. All data for informational purposes only.