The Salt Lake Tribune reports on the race to unaffordability in Utah. "Those with properties in the Sugar House area in Salt Lake City saw median selling prices rise by one-third in the first three months of the year. Selling prices in Hooper in Weber County jumped 40 percent. Think that's crazy? How about the Alpine area in Utah County, where prices are up an unbelievable 57.2 percent."

"Just how long can the party last? A lot longer than you might think. Economists and people who make their living in Utah's residential real estate industry are betting the state's housing market will be hot for some time."

"Homeowners such as Shannon Harrison can't help but thinking how long it all can last. 'It's just crazy right now.' But overvalued? 'I don't think so, not yet,' said Harrison, who has lived in Utah for more than two decades."

"Mark Knold, senior economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said Utah's home-price run-up, like the one that occurred in the early to mid-1990s, is driven in great part by the state's strong employment growth. Many have sold homes in other hot real estate markets. Many people in that situation are not as motivated to haggle over the selling price, which tends to further boost overall appreciation in the area."

"Although Utah's economy has all the components needed to sustain a hot real estate market for what could be years, there are some factors that could slow things down. One important factor is mortgage rates. Another potential factor in a slowdown in some other hot real estate markets such as Phoenix and Las Vegas is that prices have risen to a level at which many buyers are priced out of the market."

"'Housing prices can only go so far before they are outrunning the ability of local people to afford them,' Knold said. 'You just can't double the price of a house in three years and expect that to continue and be the norm and have people still be able to buy.'"

"Residential real estate investor Murray Dallin Wall, like many investors in the Utah market, scoffs at the idea of the Wasatch Front becoming truly overvalued anytime soon. 'I think the St. George area is just about the only area that doesn't have a strong upside potential,' said Wall, a member of the Utah Creative Real Estate Investors Association, an organization of people who buy real estate as an investment."

"Still, he said, the strong appreciation of the past year along the Wasatch Front has caused many investors to drift to the outlying areas of the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding counties for the biggest upside potential. Wall said he has begun scouting for investment properties in Weber County, which in recent years has trailed most other areas in appreciation. Housing prices in most Weber County cities also are much lower than most other areas along the Wasatch Front."

"Jaren Davis is another involved in real estate who thinks Utah homeowners will be rewarded in the coming years. The vice president of Coldwell Banker Utah in Salt Lake City said one key is looking at prices in Utah compared with other states."

"'Here in Utah, many people consider Park City and St. George to be 'overvalued,' he said. 'But on a national scale, even Park City and St. George are still affordable. Utah is absolutely poised for a sustained period of appreciation.'"