The Utah MLS is sitting on more active multi-unit listings right now than at any point in at least ten years. As of mid-Q2 2026, there are 369 multi-unit properties listed for sale statewide, up from 309 at the same point last year. That is a 19 percent jump year over year. It is also a 103 percent jump from the recent floor of 182 listings in Q1 2024. The MLS defines multi-unit as any property with two or more rental units, so the bucket runs from duplexes up to small apartment buildings.

The supply story has been building for a year and a half. Q2 2026 is when it broke out. The previous high on this chart was 326 listings in Q3 2025. The new mark of 369 is a fresh peak, and we are still six weeks from quarter close.

The price chart tells you what that supply is doing to value. Median asking price per square foot is sitting at $256.30, down from $258.80 a year ago. That is a 1 percent slip in twelve months. Pull the lens back further and the gap widens. The cycle peak in Q2 2022 was $269.20 per square foot, so today's median is 4.8 percent below where the market topped four years ago.

The pattern is not subtle. From mid-2022 through today, listings roughly doubled. Asking prices went sideways and then drifted down. That is what a buyer's market looks like in commercial real estate. The supply of available product is rising faster than the pool of buyers willing to pay 2022 cap rates can absorb it.

If you own a Utah multi-unit property and you are listed: the broker package needs to reflect this market, not 2022. Buyers are now comparing your property against 368 others. The ones that move are priced right out of the gate. The ones that sit chase the market down for six months before they correct. Pull recent comparable sales from the past 90 days, not the past 18 months, and price to the data.

If you are thinking about listing this summer: do not wait for the supply picture to improve. The chart does not show a tightening market. It shows the opposite. The longer you hold while inventory climbs, the more competition you create for yourself when you do list.

If you are a buyer with capital ready to deploy: you have more shots on goal than you have had in years. The wider selection means you can be patient on terms, and motivated sellers exist at every price point. Lead with offers that protect your downside on rents and operating expenses, not just your gross price.

If you are underwriting a deal this summer: the seller's pro forma is almost certainly built on 2022 and 2023 rent and cap rate assumptions. Use the trailing twelve months for actual income and current comps for cap rates, not the peak rates of three years ago.

Utah multi-unit listings just hit the highest level on a ten-year chart, but the median asking price per square foot has actually drifted down. Supply is winning. If you own, price the market. If you are buying, you have leverage you have not had in this cycle. We will keep watching to see whether Q2 closes at the new high or if sellers start pulling listings as the gap between bid and ask stretches further.

_{Source: UtahRealEstate.com / WFRMLS, Active Multi-Unit Listings and Median Price per Square Foot, Utah statewide, through May 20, 2026.}

The 30-year fixed climbed to 6.75 percent this week, up 19 basis points from a week ago and up 46 basis points over the past month. Year over year, the 30-year is still 24 basis points lower than it was in May 2025. The 7/6 SOFR adjustable rate is at 6.48 percent, up 18 basis points on the week and up 57 basis points on the month. The ARM is climbing faster than the fixed, so the spread between the two has tightened to just 27 basis points. The ARM is losing its pricing advantage, and for many borrowers the math has shifted back toward locking the fixed rate.

The 10-year Treasury yield is at 4.629 percent today, down 4 basis points from yesterday but sitting just below the 52-week high of 4.690 percent. The 10-year has climbed roughly 30 basis points since late April. Because the 30-year mortgage tracks the 10-year more than any other benchmark, this is the rate that is pushing mortgage costs higher right now. Unless the Treasury rolls back over, do not expect mortgage rates to soften this summer.

Source: Mortgage News Daily/Market Watch

Utah Headlines

Box Elder Residents Push Back on O'Leary's Proposed Stratos Data Center — Residents of Howell (population under 250) are protesting the speed of project approvals on the massive data center and power plant proposed by O'Leary Digital, citing environmental concerns over Bear River water use and protected sage grouse mating grounds on adjacent land.

Osmonds Plan 20,000-Seat Vesper Amphitheater at the Mouth of Provo Canyon — David and Donny Osmond announced plans for an indoor and outdoor music venue with 20,000 summer capacity, 110 acres of restored land, and resort-style hotel villas at the base of Provo Canyon, with groundbreaking targeted for spring 2027.

National Headlines

Mortgage Rates Hit a 7-Week High as Buyers Pivot to Riskier ARMs — The MBA's weekly average 30-year fixed climbed to 6.56% last week, the highest in seven weeks, while the ARM share of mortgage applications jumped to nearly 10%, the highest since October 2025.

House Strips Forced-Sale Rule from Trump Housing Bill in Win for Build-to-Rent — The U.S. House is poised to clear a revised housing affordability bill on Wednesday that keeps a 350-home cap on institutional purchases of existing single-family homes but removes the Senate's seven-year forced-sale rule on build-to-rent properties.

CRE Lenders Finally Trade "Extend and Pretend" for Discounted Loan Sales — Distressed CRE debt hit $132 billion in Q1 2026 with workouts now outpacing new distress for the first time since 2022, and lenders including Ready Capital and Goldman Sachs are clearing loans at 30% to 85% discounts on Sunbelt apartments, NYC condos, and LA studios.

Multifamily Cap-Rate Premium Over Treasuries Has Halved Since 2021 — The spread between apartment cap rates and the 10-year Treasury yield compressed from roughly 335 basis points in 2019 to 2021 down to about 150 basis points in early 2026, erasing more than half of the risk premium that historically justified the asset class.

Nearly 9 Million Young Adults Still Live with Parents as Housing Costs Squeeze Independence — One in five Americans aged 25 to 34 (19.5%) lives with parents or in-laws, roughly double the share from 2000, with NAHB modeling showing that higher local housing-cost burdens directly suppress household formation even after controlling for income, employment, and marriage.

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David Robinson - Principal Broker | Investor