The Salt Lake City real estate market is currently experiencing acute and continued effects of the economic downturn that began last year. Some real estate agents and analysts have speculated that the real estate market has bottomed out, and will inevitably trend in an upwards direction in the future. Realtor Mark Watterson disputes the absolute nature of these assertions, stating that “The market data is not showing enough signs at this time to call a bottom. There are initial signs of a bottom and prices are showing signs of stabilizing. There are more buyers looking and more buyers making offers.” In other words, there is no way to know for sure until buyers start investing and examining the impacts of those purchases on the market.
On the other hand, an article published on July 14, 2009 in Deseret News stated that the first and second quarters of 2009 were a possible indicator for what Salt Lake City real estate has in store. A report created by the brokerage firm Commerce CRG - the “Mid-Year 2009 Market Review”, found that “Norlund said that the faltering economy and increasing unemployment have had significant impacts on the office sector as companies downsized and therefore have required less space to operate. 'When the financial bubble burst nationwide...the people that were looking around basically put everything on hold. The whole market is in flux now because of loss of jobs.”
The Salt Lake Tribune further found that the commercial real estate portion of the Salt Lake City real estate market has slowed considerably in the wake of the economic downturn. “After several boom years, Utah's commercial real estate sector is slowing as companies of all sizes, stung by recession, put off expansion plans and close locations.” Even so-called “short sales” are growing in volume and are becoming increasingly difficult to process. KSL, a local news radio station, published a piece on July 16, 2009, that stated that “frustration is mounting among buyers, sellers, and real estate agents as short sales take longer and become increasingly difficult.”