Wright said this is the toughest economy for home buyers and sellers that he’s seen during his 25 years in the real estate industry.
"The Great Recession was hard, but for different reasons," he said in his remarks at the luncheon in Heber City. "This one just feels different and seems different because of the dramatic shift from COVID, and the craze to where we are now."
Wright said higher interest rates will be around for a while and will continue to put stress on the market nationwide. But he said, in his opinion, there are two chief factors making homes unaffordable in Utah. The first is zoning laws. He said most are outdated and local city governments have little incentive to change them.
"When citizens in the state of Utah hear ‘high density,’ what do they think? They think apartment buildings in their backyard. But higher density doesn't always mean that," he said. "It can mean instead of four [houses] per acre, six per acre, or maybe eight per acre."
The second driver, Wright said, are the impact fees cities charge developers to build new communities. These are intended to compensate the city for the additional infrastructure new developments require.
"Those costs should be true to what the impact is. But in a lot of communities they're not," he asserted. "They're subsidizing other deficits at the city level. And when a developer gets charged more impact fees, who do they pass them on to? The consumer."
Wright said he’d like to see a "truth in impact fees" movement in which cities are transparent with developers about the infrastructure costs new developments will incur.
Wright told KPCW there are some cities and towns that are making some headway on these points. He declined to speak about policies in Summit and Wasatch counties. But he pointed to Salt Lake City’s recently passed ordinance easing the rules on accessory dwelling units as an example of progress. And he said that change has sparked a conversation across the state about the potential for changes elsewhere.
"I think collectively, if we all sat down and had a conversation, I think we could learn from each other. And I think everyone can improve," he said.
