Rents on the Wasatch Front split into two different stories over the past eight months. Multifamily rents climbed through last summer, gave back ground all fall and winter, and have started to recover this spring. Single-family rents barely flinched the entire time. The size of that gap is what matters for investors right now, because it changes what numbers belong in your 2026 pro formas. The data below comes from the Zillow Observed Rent Index, which tracks the typical asking rent in each metro.

Salt Lake multifamily rent peaked at $1,556 in August 2025. By January 2026 it had fallen to $1,491. That is a drop of $65 a month per unit, or 4.2 percent, in five months. March 2026 ticked back up to $1,508, but that is still 3.1 percent below last summer's peak and 1.4 percent below where rents were a year ago.

Provo and Ogden multifamily followed the same shape but with less depth. Provo peaked at $1,483 in September, bottomed at $1,453 in January, and has now bounced back to $1,478. Ogden peaked at $1,453 in August, slid to $1,421 by November, and is sitting at $1,435 in March. Provo has effectively recovered to its prior peak. Ogden is most of the way there. Salt Lake still has the biggest gap to close.

Salt Lake single-family rentals topped out at $2,428 in July 2025 and bottomed at $2,408 in September. That is a peak-to-trough drop of less than 1 percent. By March 2026 the index was back at $2,427, essentially right at the prior peak. Provo single-family followed a similar shape with a 1 percent dip. Ogden never gave anything back at all. It hit a fresh peak at $2,238 in March 2026, up 2.4 percent year over year.

Year over year, single-family rents are up 1.3 percent in Salt Lake, 2.8 percent in Provo, and 2.4 percent in Ogden. Multifamily is down 1.4 percent in Salt Lake, up 1.7 percent in Provo, and up 1.3 percent in Ogden.

The simplest read is supply. Salt Lake County absorbed most of the new apartment deliveries from the 2022 to 2024 building cycle. Each new building competes for the same renter pool, which pushes operators to use concessions, things like a free month of rent, and trim asking rents to keep occupancy up. Single-family rentals were not part of that supply wave, so they did not face the same pricing pressure. Provo and Ogden absorbed less new product, which is why their rents held up better.

If you own multifamily in Salt Lake, price the market, not last summer's number. Asking rents that worked in July 2025 are not the rents that close a lease in May 2026. The bounce off the January low is encouraging, but the market has not given back the full 4 percent it took. Underwriting the next 12 months with flat rent assumptions is closer to right than the 3 percent growth most pro formas still assume.

If you own multifamily in Provo or Ogden, the recovery is real. You can probably push 1 to 2 percent on renewals heading into summer leasing season.

If you own single-family rentals along the Wasatch Front, the segment held through the soft stretch. A 2 to 3 percent renewal push is reasonable, and future acquisitions can underwrite to similar growth.

If you are looking to buy multifamily in Salt Lake right now, the broker package will lean on August 2025 peak rents. Use the trailing 12 months of actual collected rent instead. The seller's pro forma is six months out of date.

Wasatch Front multifamily rents dropped 2 to 4 percent over the winter and have started to recover. Salt Lake has the most ground left to make up. Single-family rents never softened. Underwrite to what the market actually paid in the last six months, not last summer's headline rent.

_{Source: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), single-family and multifamily series, Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden metro areas, through March 31, 2026.}

The 30-year fixed rate sits at 6.56 percent this week, up 2 basis points from last week and up 17 basis points over the past month. Year over year, the 30-year is still 36 basis points lower. The 7/6 SOFR adjustable rate is at 6.30 percent, up 5 basis points on the week and 28 basis points on the month. That tightens the spread between the ARM and the 30-year fixed to 26 basis points, down from 29 last week. The ARM is slowly losing its pricing edge, so the math on a 30-year fixed versus a 7/6 ARM is getting closer to a wash for many borrowers.

The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.49 percent, up 12 basis points from a week ago and pushing toward the top of its 52-week range. Since the 30-year mortgage tracks the 10-year more than any other benchmark, expect further pressure on mortgage rates if the Treasury keeps climbing.

Source: Mortgage News Daily/Market Watch

Utah Headlines

Utah Launches HOA Working Group as Special Assessments Hit Six Figures — The state's HOA ombudsman has opened a formal working group on rising fees and disputes, with special assessments now running as high as $100,000 per unit and roughly four out of every five new homes in the Mountain West sitting inside an HOA.

Wonder Valley Energy Tax Cleared at 0.5%, Far Below the 6% Cap MIDA Could Charge — Utah's Military Installation Development Authority approved a 0.5% energy tax on the Kevin O'Leary data center in Box Elder County, well below the 6% it was authorized to charge. Hundreds of local residents packed a commission meeting in protest of the rushed approval.

National Headlines

Senate Confirms Kevin Warsh as Fed Governor 51-45; Chair Vote Set for This Week — Warsh, who has publicly called for lower interest rates, takes over from Jerome Powell as Fed Chair this week. The next FOMC meeting is June 16 to 17, where markets are currently pricing in elevated odds of a rate hike, not a cut.

Trump Pushes Investor-Ban Bill With 7-Year Forced-Sale Rule for Build-to-Rent — President Trump urged the House to pass the Senate's 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which would force build-to-rent operators to sell single-family homes within seven years. Seventy-six House members have publicly called for the provision to be revised or removed.

Mortgage Delinquencies Stay Healthy at 1.1% as Credit Card Defaults Approach Post-Recession Highs — Just 1.1 percent of mortgage balances were seriously delinquent in Q1 2026, low by historical standards. Credit card serious delinquencies have climbed to 13.1 percent, near post-Great-Recession highs, and auto loan delinquencies sit at the highest level since 2003.

U.S. Apartment Sales Volume Drops 42% Quarter-Over-Quarter as Cap Rates Settle Near 5.75% — U.S. apartment property sales totaled $32 billion in Q1 2026, down 42 percent from Q4 2025 and well below the $55 billion five-year quarterly average. Average price held at $204,061 per unit and cap rates averaged 5.75 percent, still the lowest among major property types.

April CPI Runs Hot at 3.8% on Energy Shock; Shelter Inflation Doubles Its Recent Pace — Headline CPI rose 0.6 percent in April, lifting the year-over-year reading to 3.8 percent, while core CPI is up 2.8 percent year-over-year. Shelter inflation jumped 0.6 percent on the month, roughly double its recent pace, which reinforces the case for the Fed to hold rates steady.

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David Robinson - Principal Broker | Investor