SALT LAKE CITY —  Is the housing crisis making the “American Dream” unreachable for younger generations? A real-estate agents says now is good time for first-time home buyers to take another look at the housing market in Utah.

“The U.S. housing market is at the beginning stages of the most significant contraction in activity since 2006,” Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac, tweeted Thursday, according to Deseret News.

To slow inflation further, Federal Reserve officials apparently are contemplating raising the interest rate an additional  three-quarters of a point this week, as reported by CNBC.

New listings for houses are up 23% in Utah

Devi Cooper, vice president of the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors, joins Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to discuss the housing market right now in Utah.

Cooper’s advice to young adults contemplating entering the housing market now for the first time: “If you can, I still think you absolutely should.”

“One thing to consider is right now is we are experiencing a correction, not a crash,” she said. “We’re seeing a 23% increase in new listings, even since last May. And sales are down seven and a half percent since last May.”

Cooper added now is a great time to ask the seller to pay closing costs.

“Sellers need to be realistic here. We can’t expect everything all the time. They had their little moment. We’re correcting now with interest rates. . . . Make sure you have that, you know, in your back pocket because that could help you make that payment just a little bit more affordable.”

Bidding wars in Utah housing market are cooling

“For the 20-something year olds who are afraid of getting into a situation where they are in a bidding war or multiple offers . . . but they really want to buy, have those multiple offers cooled off?” Debbie asked.

“Yes, very much so,” Cooper replied. “In between like the three to the 450 [$300,000- $450,000] you’ll still see them, but you’re not seeing them go much more above ask [asking price].”

As the bidding wars for real estate starts to settled down, the market becomes competitive for first-time buyers, she added.

“What kind of price drop gets you excited?” Dave asked. “Is it $10,000? Does that get you excited about a home? $25,000? Is there a number to be looking for or hoping for?”

“If a home is priced correctly right now, it’s not going to see a price drop,” Cooper said. “If you see a price drop right now, it means that the sellers or the listing agent just overpriced it for the market.”

She also recommended that if you are shopping for a house that has been for sale less than two weeks, and the price falls $5,000 to $10,000 price drop, jump on it.

“The buyer at that point is going to get a deal because it was still appraised for that. It’s just these sellers are getting anxious because like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t sell within 24 hours,'” Cooper said.

Related:

Utah’s hot housing market and high inflation rate go hand in hand

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Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.