In-migration, high home prices push Utah's demand for rental housing
Utah continues to see record in-migration, increasing demand for rental housing, according to the Rental Housing Association (RHA) of Utah.
In 2022, Utah saw an influx of 91,341 new residents, most of whom came from California, according to a recent report by the Census Bureau. However, RHA said it’s worth noting that the number of Californians moving to Utah in 2022 fell 20 percent from 23,219 in 2021. The report also showed that other states like Washington, Idaho, Texas and Arizona played a big role in Utah’s population growth in 2022.
The top states feeding Utah’s population growth in 2022 include California (18,669 migrants), Washington (8,845), Idaho (7,774), Texas (7,070), Arizona (5,357), Colorado (5,327), Nevada (3,549), Florida (3,025), Oregon (2,413) and New York (2,236).
“Demand for rental housing has never been higher,” said Paul Smith, executive director of the RHA Utah. “Higher mortgage interest rates have sidelined many people from homeownership. This has placed even greater demand on all types of rentals.”
Record migration combined with higher interest rates is making Utah’s housing shortage worse. In 2017, Utah had a housing shortage of roughly 56,000 housing units. By 2022, it was reduced to 28,000 units. However, by 2024 the deficit is projected to increase to around 40,000 units as new residential home production slows, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
In 2022, there were 14,236 authorized permits for multifamily units on the Wasatch Front (Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber counties), down 25 percent from 19,081 permits in 2021. In the first half of 2023, just 5,782 permits were approved for multifamily housing.
The Rental Housing Association of Utah is a nonprofit trade association designed to protect, educate, connect. and grow the rental industry in the state of Utah. RHA represents roughly 3,500 rental operators and more than 160,000 units.