Utah’s homebuilding boom led the nation last year, adding homes and apartments at a rate nearly three times the national average. But economists say more is needed to reduce shortages and help lower current high prices that shut out many people from buying or renting.
“We need more units. That’s the bottom line,” James Wood, a fellow at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, said. He has researched Utah housing since the 1970s.
“It’s inevitable that you’re going to get stress in the housing market when you lead the country in employment and demographic growth,” he said.