Utah Market Data

Multi-unit Inventory Doubles. Prices Soften. Buyers Have the Most Leverage in Years.

Active multi-unit inventory hit 319 listings, up 34.6% from 237 a year ago. That translates to 13.3 months of supply — nearly double last year's 6.8 months. Six months is considered balanced. At 13+, this is firmly a buyer's market. Year-to-date days on market is up 21.5% to 79 days, and new listings keep coming — 265 YTD versus 238 last year (+11.3%).

Active Multi-Unit Listings Count - March

Active Multi-Unit Listings Count - March 2026

Trend of Active Multi-Unit Listings

Year-to-date median sales price sits at $615,000, down 6.8% from last year's $659,500. Sellers are giving ground, and buyers are negotiating harder — sellers received just 93.2% of original list price in March, down from 94.8% a year ago.

Multi-unit is an inherently low-volume segment in Utah, so monthly swings can look dramatic. March saw 24 closed sales versus 35 a year ago (-31.4%), but that's only 11 fewer transactions. Year-to-date closings sit at 95 versus 104 — a more measured 8.7% decline. The forward-looking signal is more encouraging: pending sales jumped to 81, up 19.1% from 68 a year ago. Buyers are writing contracts — they're just taking longer to close.

Single-Family Context

Single-family is healthier but cooling at the margins. Median price up 2.8% to $516,450, inventory up 9.4% to 11,040 homes (3.6 months supply versus 3.2), and pending sales up 16.5% to 5,407. More balanced than recent years, prices holding, buyers active but not urgent.

Median Sales Price for Single Family Homes in Utah

The Macro Backdrop

These Utah numbers don't exist in a vacuum. The U.S.-Iran conflict — now in its fifth week — has sent Brent crude up roughly 60% in March to around $102/barrel today, driven by Iran's partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles about 20% of global oil flows. That energy shock is feeding directly into inflation expectations: the Fed raised its 2026 PCE inflation forecast from 2.4% to 2.7% at the March meeting and signaled just one rate cut remaining this year. The 10-Year Treasury has been on a rollercoaster — swinging from 4.48% to below 4.0% and back to 4.325% this morning — as markets oscillate between inflation fears and recession fears.

Meanwhile, the February jobs report showed the economy lost 92,000 jobs, with unemployment ticking up to 4.4%. The S&P 500 is down roughly 7% year-to-date, and Moody's recession probability model sits at 49% — the highest in years.

For Utah real estate, the through-line is straightforward: elevated oil prices keep inflation sticky, which keeps the Fed on hold, which keeps mortgage rates above 6.25%, which keeps transaction volume compressed. The silver lining is that if ceasefire talks gain traction — Secretary of State Rubio said war objectives would be achieved in "weeks, not months" — a pullback in oil could give the bond market room to rally and take mortgage rates with it. But that's a bet, not a baseline.

What This Means for You

If you're buying multi-unit: The most leverage you've had since before the pandemic. 13+ months of supply, YTD median down 6.8%, sellers accepting 93 cents on the dollar. But the 19% surge in pending sales tells you other buyers see this window too. Underwrite to today's rents and rates — don't bank on rate cuts.

If you own: The YTD median is down to $615,000 — a meaningful but not catastrophic reset from $659,500. If your properties are cash-flowing at current rents and rates, this isn't the cycle to panic-sell into a buyer's market.

If you're selling: Price to today's market. With 319 active listings and YTD closings running 8.7% below last year, overpriced properties will sit. Pending sales are trending up, so buyer demand exists — it just demands value.

The Bottom Line

Utah's multi-unit market is in a correction: YTD median down 6.8%, inventory nearly doubled to 13+ months of supply, closings running below last year's pace. But pending contracts are up 19%, signaling buyer activity is returning. The next 60–90 days will tell us whether that translates into a healthier Q2.

Data sourced from UtahRealEstate.com / WFRMLS, Monthly Metrics — March 2026.

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3 New Deals Added This Week

Mortgage Rates & Financing

Mortgage rates hit their highest level of 2026 as March closed out, with the 30-year fixed at 6.47% — up 48 basis points over the past month and a sharp reversal from February's lows near 6.09%. FHA at 5.97% and VA at 5.99% remain the best options below 6%.

The 10-Year Treasury yield sits at 4.325% this morning. March was volatile — yields swung from 4.48% to below 4.0% and back — as markets priced competing inflation and recession risks. Until oil prices stabilize, expect mortgage rates to stay range-bound above 6.25%.

Source: Mortgage News Daily/Market Watch

Headlines & Insights

Utah Headlines

'Buy America' Law Stalls Affordable Housing as HUD Waiver Process Grinds to a Halt — The Build America, Buy America Act requires everything from HVACs to ceiling fans in federally funded projects to be Made in the USA, but HUD — with staff slashed by the Trump administration — has approved only a handful of waiver applications, adding hundreds of thousands in compliance costs per project.

2034 Olympics Planners Float Relocating U of U Students to Free Up Athlete Housing — Officials from Utah 2034 and the University of Utah told a Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute panel that campus housing could be repurposed for athletes during the Winter Games, with planners now developing a "multipart" solution after studying lessons from Milan-Cortina 2026.

TAP Real Estate Technologies Secures Option to Purchase Zermatt Resort in Midway — The company paid $250,000 for an exclusive 60-day option (effective March 24) to acquire the resort from Wasatch Springs Management Holdings, with the purchase price to be based on appraised value less assumed debt.

National Headlines

Moody's Zandi: Recession "Difficult to Avoid" If Oil Prices Stay Elevated — Moody's Analytics chief economist puts recession odds at nearly 50/50, warning that sustained oil prices above $100/barrel from the Iran conflict could tip the economy into contraction by midyear — the most direct recession signal since the pandemic.

Multifamily Loans From the Rate-Shock Years Are Showing Hidden Stress — Multifamily delinquencies have tripled in two years, pushing losses to their fastest pace since the global financial crisis, even as broader CRE lending conditions show early signs of loosening.

Fannie and Freddie Ramp Up MBS Purchases in Push to Lower Mortgage Rates — Following Trump's directive to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, the GSEs' combined retained portfolios have grown from $158 billion in late 2022 to $278 billion by January 2026 — an intervention that briefly pushed rates below 6% earlier this year.

National Rents Drop -1.7% Year-Over-Year — Steepest Decline Since 2017 — Apartment List's March report shows the national median rent at $1,363 with a vacancy rate of 7.3%, both record levels in their index, while units now take 38 days to lease — five days longer than a year ago.

Thinking about buying, selling, leasing or exchanging property in Utah?

David Robinson - Principal Broker | Investor

Disclaimer: Canovo Group LLC is not a registered broker-dealer, investment adviser, or financial advisor. This email is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any securities or investment strategies. All investments carry risk, including the potential loss of principal. Recipients should perform their own due diligence and consult with their own legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. Canovo Group LLC it’s licensed brokers or agents do not endorse, guarantee, or verify the accuracy of any third-party information provided herein.

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