Utah Is Failing in Affordability and Homebuilding: Can Gov. Cox Rebalance the Market?

Utah’s housing market has been one of the country’s fastest-growing—but also one of the hardest-hit by rising costs.

The Realtor.com® State-by-State Housing Report Card gave the Beehive State a C, reflecting a steep drop in affordability and lagging new construction relative to demand. The report—part of the Let America Build campaign—grades states on how well they manage the balance between home prices and new housing supply.

President Donald Trump recently put pressure on homebuilders to increase construction nationwide, given the issues with construction in the country. In a post on his Truth Social platform in early October, he accused major builders of hoarding lots to prop up prices—likening them to OPEC, which restricts oil output to maintain high prices.

“They’re my friends … but now, they can get Financing, and they have to start building Homes. They’re sitting on 2 Million empty lots, A RECORD,” Trump wrote. He urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to intervene and “get Big Homebuilders going” to “restore the American Dream.”

Utah’s grade shows that while the state continues to attract new residents and businesses, its housing pipeline hasn’t kept pace.

Utah’s “C” grade explained

Realtor.com’s analysis gave Utah a total score of 51, placing it squarely in the middle of affordability nationwide. The state’s median listing price climbed to $602.230 in 2024, while the median household income reached $88,438—strong earnings but not enough to offset high home prices.

Utah accounted for just 1.6% of national housing permits in 2024, despite holding 1.0% of the U.S. population. That results in a permit-to-population ratio of 1.0, a moderate figure that looks solid on paper but falls short in meeting the needs of one of the nation’s fastest-growing populations. The new construction premium—the price difference between new and existing homes—was 9.3%, reflecting high material and land costs that have pushed new builds out of reach for many families.

Realtor.com economists note that Utah’s housing challenges stem from a perfect storm of strong demand, limited land availability, and rising construction costs. Even with steady permitting, supply can’t keep up with population growth—particularly along the state’s Wasatch Front corridor.

The West’s affordability crisis

Nationally, new construction is helping narrow the affordability gap, but the West continues to lag behind other regions. The Realtor.com New Construction Insights report found that the median new-home price held steady at $450,797, while resale prices climbed 2.4%. That brought the national new construction premium to just 7.8%, the lowest in recorded history.

But the West saw a different trend. Realtor.com data show that while the total number of homes under construction has risen, the share of new-construction listings has dropped—the result of higher costs, restrictive zoning, and limited buildable land.

But again, the pinch is being felt all over.

“America is short more than 4.7 million homes, and every new home built helps close that gap while fueling local economies,” says Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors®.

“NAR research shows that the U.S. has faced a persistent housing shortage for more than a decade, driving up prices and limiting options for buyers. Expanding housing supply creates jobs, supports small businesses, and affords families the opportunity to build generational wealth.”

Governor Cox’s housing reforms take shape

During his 2024 State of the State address, Governor Spencer Cox announced a goal to build 35,000 starter homes in Utah over the next four years.

Since then, he’s made strides to increase construction, but is looking to do more by changing the laws around zoning and permits.

On October 30, 2025, Cox served as the keynote speaker at the Ivory Prize Summit, held at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. The event brought together more than 100 housing experts from across the country to discuss solutions to the nation’s housing affordability challenges.

One of the central theme of the summit was Utah’s ongoing debate over how much authority the state should exert in addressing the housing crisis—whether local governments need more state support and autonomy, or whether the state should intervene directly to meet housing goals.

During a discussion at the event, Cox said he believes that, without government regulations, housing shortages would be less severe, citing Texas as an example of a state that has reduced restrictions to allow more flexible development.

The governor also previewed what he described as a “more aggressive” strategy to increase housing supply, which could include statewide zoning preemption measures allowing for smaller and less expensive housing units, regardless of local ordinances.

Utah has recently enacted several housing-related policies aimed at accelerating development, including limited preemptions requiring local governments to approve housing near public transit and to expedite permitting.

This article was produced with editorial input from Dina Sartore-Bodo and Gabriella Iannetta.