OCR Text |
Show House prices increase ; Copyright 1981 The Iron County Record This article is the final in a three-part series examining the cost of living in Iron County. Today's story looks at the area's housing prices, both for apartments and for homes. Now that the series has studied a complete year of costs, it will now be run every six months, rather than every three as in the past. By RANDY DANIELS Record Reporter CEDAR CITY - In general, the prices on advertised houses for sale in Iron County have risen in the past three months; however, the prices to rent have dropped during the last months and also for the year. According to a Record survey, prices have lowered 13 percent during the last three months for two-bedroom apartments in the County, from an average of $253 a month to $219 a month. One-bedroom apartments didn't have quite as much of a decrease, with only a 4.1 percent drop from $168 to $161 a month. The most consistent raises in housing purchase prices, came in the three-bedroom three-bedroom homes located across the County. The biggest price increase, on the average, was found in the homes in Cedar Valley and Enoch. Those houses reported a 22.7 percent increase in listed prices from $48,217 three months ago, to $59,192 as an average price for a home. Another housing area that had a very substantial increase was three-bedroom three-bedroom homes throughout the rest of the County. Their prices increased 20.8 percent to an average price of $88,750. Three-bedroom homes in Cedar City only increased 1.3 percent from $55,700 1, I ,jr-WW fi' 5""" v V 4 , . ' ' : i I 1 (.."( f' ' - If - . -1 . I -v; 1 . j .if 'i ! I I ' ' !' i . . . ... 1 L .. .i i 1 ' rm mm mm bum II-. ! - h J !.. -j-. - --...I r-r.: ; - . : ; --'IS ' . . ' . . -.:- :'::-r -: "JtJLi.t.,,'1jJi" ' J ) to $56,437. The County average increase for three-bedroom homes was noted at 8.7 percent to $64,255 from $59,110. The County wide average two-bedroom two-bedroom home listed for $50,326. This price is an increase of 5.1 percent for the last survey period. Two-bedroom homes in Cedar City had a very significant increase of 14.4 percent. Their prices raised to $52,570 from $45,950, as the prices for housing continue to rise. It should be pointed out that the prices for four-bedroom houses in Cedar City did, in fact, have a noteworthy decrease. The average price for a four-bedioom home went down 4.8 percent to $81,332. Unlike obtaining the average prices for gasoline or food, establishing housing costs presents some complexities. Whereas noting prices of gas or specific food items presents no real sampling problems, conducting a housing survey of equal reliability would be almost impossible. Thus, the Record staff gathered prices of apartment rentals and homes for sale which were advertised in the Record over the past six weeks. While this technique, we feel, does show some general averages and trends, some limitations must also be noted. The survey only samples those residences currently on the market. Also, prices are not always listed with home or apartment ads, so only those giving prices have been sampled. In addition, while nearly every category offered enough units to arrive at a solid average, some did not, and a few figures may not be considered as reliable as others. The Record offers this survey as a relatively good indicator of general housing costs in the area, not a satistically-foolproof study. See chart on page A3 I fl i feVN If V ' Y T v jrtf.!.',:rn, . - W Iron County Housing Prices Houses Average High Low Sept. Dec. Sept. Dec. Sept. Dec. 2 Bedroom-Cedar 45,950 52,570 52,000 66,000 35,000 38,000 2 Bedroom-Valley - 53,375 - 61,500 - 49,000 2 Bedroom-Other 49,733 44,980 63,500 49,000 38,800 40,000 2 Bedroom-County 47,842 50,326 57,750 58,833 36,900 42,333 3 Bedroom-Cedar 55,700 56,437 95,000 79,000 35.000 44,000 3 Bedroom-Valley 48,217 59,192 60,000 79,950 30,000 49,900 3 Bedroom-Other 73,413 88,750 105,000 115,000 43,750 45,500 3 Bedroom-County 59,110 64,255 86,667 91,316 36,250 46,466 4 Bedroom-Cedar 85,500 81,322 125,000 125,000 72,700 42,000 4 Bedroom-Valley - 63,000 - 79,000 - 38,500 4 Bedroom-Other - 77,623 - 165,000 - 38,500 4 Bedroom-County - 75,035 - 123,000 - 39,666 : Rentals Average High Low Sept. Dec. Sept. Dec. Sept. Dec. 1 Bedroom 168 161 200 175 140 140 2 Bedroom 253 219 450 325 140 140 |