Salt Lake County, Utah

What it costs to finance a home in Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County has the sharpest threshold problem of any county in Utah, and it is not the one people expect. The conforming limit clears the county median easily. The FHA limit does not. It sits below the median single-family sale price, which means an FHA buyer shopping at the middle of this market is already over the ceiling. Knowing that before you write an offer changes what you look at.

Scott Asbell · NMLS 270856 · Lending Manager
Call 801-368-2900 Visit AsbellTeam.com
The county lending profile

Salt Lake County loan limits and thresholds

Published federal figures, not offers. Each names its source.

Conforming, 1 unit
$832,750
FHFA, 2026
FHA, 1 unit
$637,100
HUD, 2026
Median single-family
$645,000
Q2 2026 quarterly market report
Median condominium
$417,900
Q2 2026 quarterly market report
Conforming, 2 unit
$1,066,250
FHFA, 2026
VA, partial entitlement tie
$832,750
VA, tied to conforming
USDA area limit
$433,020
USDA, effectively unused here
Utah Housing price cap
$562,000
Utah Housing Corporation, 2026
The relationship that matters. The FHA limit is roughly eight thousand dollars below the median single-family sale price. Not close to it, below it. Meanwhile the conforming limit clears that median by nearly two hundred thousand dollars. In this county, the question is not how much house you can afford so much as which program you are using, because the two answers are almost two hundred thousand dollars apart at the same address.

Loan limits are set annually and take effect January 1. FHFA and HUD publish new figures late in the calendar year, so figures shift. Ask for a current read before relying on any of them.

Reading the numbers

What these numbers mean if you're buying here

Three thresholds sit underneath the Salt Lake County median, and they stack. The FHA limit is below it. The Utah Housing purchase price cap of $562,000 is $83,000 below it, the widest gap of any county we lend in. And the county down payment assistance program is capped and competitive. A buyer who qualifies for help on paper can still find that every program stops short of the middle of the market.

The answer is usually property type, not price

The condominium median here is $417,900. That is more than two hundred thousand dollars below the FHA limit and comfortably inside the Utah Housing cap. It is also the one segment where prices eased rather than rose, down 2.81 percent year over year, while sales volume went up 4.11 percent.

So when the thresholds do not reach the detached market, the honest move is often to change what you are shopping for rather than to keep stretching for something the program will not finance. That is a real answer with real inventory behind it, not a consolation prize.

Assistance here is a patchwork, and it moves

Own in Salt Lake County offers up to $20,000 as a deferred, no-interest loan, federally funded and administered by the Community Development Corporation of Utah. On top of that sit separate city-level programs at different amounts, with their own rules. Funding cycles matter: these programs open and pause as allocations are released and spent.

That is why we do not publish a funding-status table here. It would be wrong within a month. What we do is check which programs are actually open in your city, in your price band, at the moment you are ready to write.

The county is twenty jurisdictions, not one

Salt Lake City, Sandy, West Jordan, South Jordan, Murray, Millcreek, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and the metro townships each set their own rules on assistance and on accessory dwelling units. County-level answers are the wrong unit of analysis here more often than anywhere else we lend. Verify the city, not the county.

Who is behind this page

Scott Asbell, Salt Lake County

I have originated loans since 1997, when my wife Ann and I started Rocky Mountain Mortgage Group. I served as managing partner there for thirteen years. Before that I practiced as an accountant and held my CPA from 1994 to 2016, which is why I read a loan for its structure and its tax effects rather than only its payment.

I grew up in Provo and then Draper, and graduated from Alta High. I watched Draper go from the far end of Salt Lake County, the place people drove past because land was cheap and nobody wanted it, to some of the most expensive zip codes in the state. That is not a nostalgia story. It is the reason I take seriously where a client is buying and not only what they are paying.

Our office is at 1440 N 900 W in Mapleton, and most of our work never requires anyone to drive there. I have personally owned more than fourteen properties over the years, homes, commercial and land, most of it in the markets I lend in.

I work alongside Zachary S. Asbell, NMLS 1535031, and Kristen Moyes, our loan partner since 2004. We operate as Homeside Financial, a dba of Lower, LLC, NMLS 1124061, and are licensed in 48 states.

When my family moved to Draper it was the far end of Salt Lake County, the place nobody wanted. Today it is the pinnacle. The overlooked places of today are the Drapers of tomorrow, and the question worth asking is where the opportunity is now.

Scott Asbell
Sixty things worth knowing

The Salt Lake County lending deep dive

Financing specifics for this county, grouped by what you are trying to figure out. Every figure names its source.

Loan limits and thresholds
  1. The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit property in Salt Lake County is $832,750. Above that figure a loan is jumbo. (FHFA)
  2. The 2026 FHA limit for a one-unit property is $637,100. (HUD)
  3. That FHA limit sits roughly $8,000 below the county median single-family sale price of $645,000. An FHA buyer at the median is over the ceiling before they start. (HUD, Q2 2026 market report)
  4. The FHA limit has moved here, unlike some Utah counties. It ran $619,850 in 2023 and 2024, $629,050 in 2025, and $637,100 in 2026. It is rising, just not as fast as the median. (HUD)
  5. Salt Lake County carries no high-cost designation and sits at the national baseline, while neighbouring Summit and Wasatch counties are elevated to $1,150,000. (FHFA)
  6. The 2026 national FHA floor is $541,287 and the ceiling is $1,249,125. Salt Lake County sits between them. (HUD)
  7. VA imposes no loan cap for a borrower with full entitlement. The $832,750 conforming figure is the tie for partial entitlement and zero-down calculations. (VA)
  8. The conforming trend runs $726,200, $766,550, $806,500 and $832,750 across 2023 through 2026, a 3.26 percent increase in the most recent year. (FHFA)
  9. There is no high-balance tier in this county. The move from conforming to jumbo is a single step with no intermediate product. (FHFA)
  10. Multi-unit conforming limits for 2026 are $1,066,250 for two units, roughly $1,288,000 for three and $1,601,750 for four. A duplex you live in half of is measured against the two-unit figure. (FHFA)
  11. The USDA area loan limit is $433,020, but Salt Lake County recorded zero USDA originations in both 2023 and 2024. Treat USDA as unavailable here unless a specific address proves otherwise. (USDA, CFPB HMDA)
  12. The condominium median of $417,900 sits about $219,000 below the FHA limit. Property type, not price alone, decides which ceiling binds. (Q2 2026 market report, HUD)
Programs live in this county
  1. Utah Housing Corporation's FirstHome pairs a 30-year fixed first mortgage at a below-market rate with down payment assistance up to 6 percent, structured as a second with no monthly payment, due when the first is paid off, the home sells, or it refinances. (UHC)
  2. The UHC purchase price cap for Salt Lake County is $562,000 against a $645,000 median single-family price. That $83,000 gap is the widest of the four Utah counties we cover. (UHC, Q2 2026 market report)
  3. UHC income limits for Salt Lake County are $117,600 for a one or two person household and $137,200 for three or more. (UHC)
  4. FirstHome requires a 660 minimum credit score. The Score program reaches borrowers between 620 and 659 on a similar structure. (UHC)
  5. Own in Salt Lake County provides up to $20,000 as a federally funded deferred loan at no interest, administered by the Community Development Corporation of Utah. (CDCU, Salt Lake County)
  6. Own in Salt Lake County requires the buyer to contribute 50 percent of the required down payment from their own funds. (CDCU)
  7. Own in Salt Lake County becomes repayable in full on sale, transfer of title, refinance for any purpose other than reducing the interest rate, or when the home stops being the primary residence. (CDCU)
  8. Funds for the county program are limited and distributed first come, first served, and typically take around 25 to 30 days to fund after a Letter of Commitment is issued. Build that into your timeline. (CDCU)
  9. Individual cities inside the county run their own programs at their own amounts, on top of the county program. Availability changes through the year as allocations are released and spent, and programs pause between funding cycles. Confirm what is open in your city before an offer depends on it.
  10. The Federal Home Loan Bank HELP grant offers up to $20,000, forgivable, for first-time buyers at or below 80 percent of area median income, with a minimum $500 borrower contribution, on owner-occupied one to four unit properties. (FHLB)
  11. These programs can often be stacked, but lien position governs. A city or county assistance loan generally sits in third position behind a Utah Housing second, and each program has to agree to that.
  12. HUD-approved homebuyer education is a common requirement across the county, city and state programs. Completing it early removes a bottleneck later.
What it costs to close here
  1. Utah charges no real estate transfer tax at the state or local level. Utah Code Title 57, which governs property conveyances, contains no transfer tax provision. Buyers relocating from states that charge one can remove that line entirely. (Utah Code Title 57)
  2. Recording is the only government cost at transfer, charged per instrument rather than as a share of price. Expect roughly $45 per instrument, so a deed and a deed of trust together land near $90. (County recorder fee schedule)
  3. Utah is a filed-rate title state, so title premiums are published and comparable across companies. The lender's policy is one of the few closing costs a buyer can genuinely shop.
  4. Lender and third-party closing costs generally run 1 to 3 percent of the purchase price. Adding prepaid interest, insurance and the initial escrow deposit typically puts total cash to close in the 2 to 5 percent range.
  5. A Utah appraisal typically runs around $700. If it returns requiring repairs, budget for a re-inspection and a return trip, not only a delay.
  6. In Utah it is customary, though not legally required, for the seller to pay the buyer's owner's title policy while the buyer pays the lender's policy. Everything in the Real Estate Purchase Contract is negotiable.
  7. Utah exempts 45 percent of a primary residence's fair market value plus up to one acre from property tax, so an owner-occupant is taxed on 55 percent of value. (Utah Constitution Article XIII, Section 3; Utah Code 59-2-103)
  8. Utah Code defines a primary residence as one occupied 183 or more consecutive days in the calendar year, with one exemption per household statewide. Second homes and condominiums held in rental pools do not qualify. (Utah Code 59-2-102)
  9. On a $600,000 primary residence in Salt Lake County, plan on roughly $3,300 to $3,500 a year in property tax, varying by tax area. The largest share of county households pay in the $3,000 and above band. (Utah State Tax Commission, ACS)
  10. Condominium and townhome purchases carry association transfer and start-up fees, and an estoppel or resale certificate fee, that detached purchases do not. This matters more here than elsewhere, because condominiums are where the FHA and assistance thresholds still reach.
Property types and local conditions
  1. Utah Code § 10-21-304, enacted by S.B. 284 in the 2026 general session, takes effect October 1, 2026. It requires every city over 5,000 people in the populous counties to permit a detached accessory dwelling unit on lots of 11,000 square feet or larger that already hold a single-family home. (S.B. 284 enrolled copy)
  2. Salt Lake County adopted its own ADU ordinance on June 4, 2024 for the unincorporated county and metro townships, ahead of the state requirement. (Salt Lake County Office of Regional Development)
  3. Under the county ordinance, an internal accessory dwelling unit requires a lot of at least 6,000 square feet and a detached unit requires at least 7,000 square feet. (Salt Lake County)
  4. Only one accessory dwelling unit is permitted per lot, internal or detached, and it cannot be sold or subdivided onto a separate lot. (Salt Lake County)
  5. A detached unit may be up to 20 feet tall, or match the height of the main home, depending on its setbacks. (Salt Lake County)
  6. At least one additional on-site parking space must be available for the unit, beyond the parking required for the existing home. (Salt Lake County)
  7. An internal unit cannot have separate utility meters. A detached unit may be separately metered so long as the property owner receives the bills for both. (Salt Lake County)
  8. The county requires a recorded owner-occupancy affidavit and a business license for the rental unit. Short exceptions of up to two years may apply for military deployment, medical need or religious service. (Salt Lake County)
  9. Salt Lake City removed conditional use requirements for detached units in single-family zones and expanded the eligible zoning districts through ordinance updates, so a property that did not qualify a few years ago may qualify now. The city still requires the owner to live in one of the two units. (Salt Lake City Planning Division)
  10. City minimum lot sizes can sit above the state threshold. South Jordan's ADU code carries a 14,520 square foot minimum, well above the 11,000 square foot figure that opened eligibility elsewhere, so the statute does not automatically change the answer there. Verify the city, not the county. (South Jordan Municipal Code 17.130.030)
Who buys here and how
  1. Median household income in Salt Lake County is $97,494, higher than the state and roughly 21 percent above the national figure. (ACS)
  2. The homeownership rate is 66.1 percent, just above the national 65.2 percent and below the Utah County figure. This is a county with a larger rental base than its neighbours. (ACS)
  3. Median property value was $525,700 in 2024, up 8.5 percent from $484,500 the year before. (ACS)
  4. County population is roughly 1.22 million, the largest in Utah. (Census)
  5. Average commute is 22.3 minutes and most residents drive alone, which matters when an affordable price point pushes a search toward the west and south ends of the valley. (ACS)
  6. Salt Lake County held 808,900 covered jobs as of September 2025, the highest of Utah's five largest counties. (BLS)
  7. Average weekly wage was $1,490 in the third quarter of 2025, the only Utah county above the national average of $1,459. Wage level supports qualifying, but it also feeds the price pressure. (BLS)
  8. 13.9 percent of the population was living with severe housing problems in 2025, down 2.49 percent since 2014. (Census)
Market context for financing
  1. The median single-family sale price reached $645,000 in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.88 percent year over year and the highest quarterly median on record for the county. (Q2 2026 quarterly market report)
  2. The condominium median fell 2.81 percent over the same period, from $430,000 to $417,900, moving in the opposite direction from detached homes. (Q2 2026 quarterly market report)
  3. 862 condominiums sold in the second quarter, up 4.11 percent from 828 a year earlier. Volume rose while price fell, which points to buyers moving down in property type rather than out of the market. (Q2 2026 quarterly market report)
  4. New listings of all types rose 3.56 percent year over year, giving buyers more to choose from than in the prior year. (Q2 2026 quarterly market report)
  5. A separate three-month measure through May 2026 put the county median at $568,000, up 0.3 percent year over year, on 1,162 sales in May. Different windows and property mixes produce very different medians, so always ask what a quoted figure includes. (Redfin)
  6. Conventional's share of county originations fell from 80.13 percent in 2019 to 72.17 percent in 2024, while FHA rose from 14.07 percent to 22.06 percent, pressing more buyers against the lower ceiling. (CFPB HMDA)
  7. VA originations rose 51.11 percent between 2023 and 2024, the fastest growth of any program in the county, and VA carries no loan cap for a borrower with full entitlement. (CFPB HMDA, VA)
  8. Average loan-to-value in 2024 was 70.10 percent on conventional loans against 93.50 percent on FHA. The two programs are serving very different equity positions in the same market. (CFPB HMDA)
Situations we handle

Which of these is your situation

Own a Home Cheaper Than Rent, book cover

Buying a home that helps pay for itself

House hacking, accessory dwelling units and small multi-unit purchases. In a county where the FHA ceiling sits under the median, a second unit changes the arithmetic.

Own a Home Cheaper Than Rent 12 SECRETS to Improve Your Credit Score, book cover

Your score is standing between you and a program

The gap between a 620 and a 660 is the gap between two different Utah Housing programs. The mechanics of closing it are learnable.

12 SECRETS to Improve Your Credit Score STOP Paying Extra, book cover

You have an offer pending and no time

The five fastest-moving strategies pulled out of the full system, for when the clock is already running.

STOP Paying Extra

Self-employed income, jumbo above $832,750, condominium project approval, investment property and assistance layering all come up constantly in this county. If your situation is not on a card above, it is still one we work on.

In their words

Five-Star Client Reviews

★★★★★

As a first time home buyer, working with the Asbell team was fantastic. Scott helped us know how to plan our finances, look at our housing options, understand the loan process, and prepare to buy a house.

Thomas Ferrin
via Google
★★★★★

Scott went above and beyond in helping us purchase our new home. He met with us regularly to make sure we understood this process and what the next steps would be. He also went over each page of our closing document with us.

Robert & Shay Gohl
via Google
★★★★★

Zach is the man! Most people today stress about being able to get into a home and he is a master at providing solutions to move his clients forward and help them achieve their dreams of home ownership.

Brandon Sheetz
via Google
Read and leave reviews on Google
Questions we get

Salt Lake County lending questions

What is the FHA loan limit in Salt Lake County?

$637,100 for a one-unit property in 2026. That sits roughly $8,000 below the county median single-family sale price of $645,000, so an FHA buyer shopping at the median is already over the limit. It is the single most consequential threshold in this county. (HUD, Q2 2026 market report)

What is the conforming loan limit in Salt Lake County for 2026?

$832,750 for a one-unit property, and $1,066,250 for two units. The county carries no high-cost designation, so it sits at the national baseline. Above $832,750 a loan is jumbo. (FHFA)

Can I still use FHA in Salt Lake County?

Yes, and about 22 percent of county originations did in 2024. The limit does not stop you from using FHA, it caps the loan amount. With the condominium median at $417,900 and townhomes below the detached median, there is real inventory inside the ceiling. What it rules out is an FHA purchase at the detached median with a small down payment. (CFPB HMDA, Q2 2026 market report)

What down payment assistance is available in Salt Lake County?

Own in Salt Lake County offers up to $20,000 as a deferred no-interest loan through the Community Development Corporation of Utah, with the buyer contributing 50 percent of the required down payment. Utah Housing FirstHome and Score run statewide, the Federal Home Loan Bank HELP grant offers up to $20,000 forgivable at 80 percent of area median income, and individual cities run their own programs on top. Amounts and availability change through the year.

Why does the Utah Housing price cap matter here?

Because at $562,000 it sits $83,000 below the county median single-family price, the widest gap of the four Utah counties we cover. A first-time buyer using state assistance cannot buy the median detached home in Salt Lake County. They can buy well inside the condominium and townhome market. (Utah Housing Corporation, Q2 2026 market report)

Is any part of Salt Lake County eligible for a USDA loan?

Practically, no. The area loan limit exists at $433,020, but the county recorded zero USDA originations in both 2023 and 2024. USDA eligibility is decided address by address on the Rural Development map with the final determination made on a complete application, so a specific parcel can always be checked, but do not build a plan around it here. (USDA, CFPB HMDA)

Can I build a backyard unit on a Salt Lake County property?

Often, and the rules are unusually developed here. The county adopted its own ADU ordinance in June 2024 for the unincorporated county and metro townships, requiring 6,000 square feet for an internal unit and 7,000 for a detached one, with one unit per lot, an owner-occupancy affidavit and a business license. Salt Lake City removed conditional use requirements for detached units in single-family zones. From October 1, 2026 the state also requires cities over 5,000 people to permit detached units on lots of 11,000 square feet or more. Some cities set higher minimums, so verify the city.

How much are property taxes in Salt Lake County?

On a $600,000 primary residence, plan on roughly $3,300 to $3,500 a year, depending on your tax area. Utah exempts 45 percent of a primary residence's value plus up to one acre, so you are taxed on 55 percent. Rates reset annually through the certified tax rate process, so confirm your exact figure with the county assessor.

The full picture

Every question we get, answered in one place

This page covers financing in Salt Lake County. Our Authority Center covers the rest of what we do, in Scott's own words, across more than two hundred questions.

Visit the Authority Center
Elsewhere in Utah

Three more counties, three different answers

The conforming limit is the same in all four. Everything that actually decides your options is not.

Utah County

The FHA limit sits about two thousand dollars above the median and has not moved since 2023, while a quarter of the county now uses FHA.

Conforming
$832,750
FHA
$601,450
Median
$599,350
Cities
Provo, Orem, Lehi, Spanish Fork

Davis County

The one county of the four where FHA clears the median comfortably, with roughly $175,000 of headroom, alongside Utah’s largest county assistance program at up to $50,000.

Conforming
$832,750
FHA
$744,050
Median
$568,450
Cities
Layton, Bountiful, Farmington, Kaysville

Washington County

St. George and southern Utah, where prices held roughly flat year over year and inventory rebuilt to about five months of supply.

Conforming
$832,750
FHA
$607,200
Median
$520,000
Cities
St. George, Hurricane, Ivins, Santa Clara
Call
801-368-2900
Email
Web
AsbellTeam.com
✓ Copied to Clipboard