CHART: Weber County Residential Lot Values
Published On: December 31, 2020 Posted by: Jeremy Peterson
House prices have been on a tear for years now along the Wasatch Front. New construction is in high demand as housing supply has not kept up with population growth. Since land prices are a component of the cost of new construction, I thought it was time to take a look at the value of lots in Weber County and see how they were trending.
Here is today’s chart on this subject:
This chart represents the price per acre of residential lots sold in Weber County from 1995-2020. The lots were limited in size from .25 acres to .3 acres in orrder to keep it among the most common lots sizes in residential development. While the raw data is very noisy with many peaks and valleys, our 30-transaction moving average makes more sense of the trend in the market.
You can clearly see the peak in value in late 1990’s and then the building recession in the early 2000’s. The Housing Bubble also carried lot values higher until they collapsed in 2010-11 as builders and land holders capitulated to a distressed market. Since 2013, however, prices have steadily increased.
One thing to note is that it appears that lot prices have plateaued over the past year or so. Meanwhile, house prices have continued their parabolic trajectory upward. Part of this could be attributed to the increased costs associated with lumber and labor. COVID supply line disruptions have kept lumber from getting to market efficiently. Also, travel and immigration restrictions have kept labor form entering the market to keep costs down. Since the monthly payment on the mortgaged sum of land, lumber, and labor used to construct a home limits what people are willing to pay for it all, something has to give if labor and lumber costs are increasing. In this case, it appears that land is the variable that is giving way to these forces.
So what does the future hold for residential lots in Weber County? Time will tell. If labor or lumber become cheaper, we may see the values continue to increase. We will keep our eyes on the market.
If you are interested in learning more about land opportunities in Weber County, give me a call at 801-390-1480.
