Real Estate
Living in Utah is affordable enough that the state ranks eighth nationally in home ownership at 74 percent. The average price of a home in Salt Lake County is $223,447, and in Utah County it’s $215,163*. Home owners enjoy low energy rates, and property taxes are approximately 1 to 1.2 percent of a home’s value.
Another amenity is free-flowing traffic. The average commute time is just over 20 minutes—the 12th-shortest commute time in the nation—thanks in part to $2.1 billion in new road work that was completed in 2002 for the Winter Olympics. Alternative transportation, such as TRAX Light Rail, is also an option. It began operations in early 2000 and reduced the number of cars on the road by 20,000 per day. There is a main north-south line, and an east-west line—from downtown Salt Lake City to the University of Utah. Lines from Ogden to Provo are under consideration.
The community is safe. Utah’s low violent crime rate ranks among the top 10 states . The air and water are clean. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Utah's population has the fourth-longest life expectancy in the nation. Utah has a low infant mortality rate, the lowest cancer-death rate in the nation, the third-longest lifespan in the United States at 77.7 years, and a low risk for heart disease.
Source: MLS Home Sale Tracking Reports, 2005
