Looking to buy real estate in Utah? The market has changed over the past few years and is going to continue to change over the next few (drastically) and here are a few things you should consider before buying any Utah real estate.

First, the Olympics didn't affect the state as much as people thought it would. Before the olympics, people thought the olympics would bring with it a rise in home values. It didn't.

Second, unlike California, real estate values in Utah have not shot up in the past 10 years. Things have really kept a steady pace of increasing. One of the reasons for this is because of the availability of utah real estate. All over the Wasatch front there has always been a surplus of available land on which to build a new house.

Over the next few years, this is going to change. With new communities being built all over the place, land is becoming more scarce. This is one of the reasons California real estate has gotten so expensive, because there isn't anywhere else to build a new house, you have to buy a house from someone who already owns one. In Utah, and especially in Salt Lake County and Utah County, land is running out so expect home prices to begin to rise more sharply over the next 10 years.

Third, are you planning on buying rental real estate? Be careful of where in Utah you are going to rent. Many markets have been saturated over the past 3-5 years with a surplus of brand new apartments for renters to choose from. Many markets in Utah real estate rentals used to have a shortage of apartments and a surplus of renters (often students) which made building apartments in those areas very luctative to investors.

Recently however, because a lot of investors saw the opportunity at the same time, there are too many apartments and landlords are having a hard time filling them. If you are looking for investment properties, you might want to look at this Utah real estate help site. They have put together a list of resources for people looking to buy real estate in Utah.

Fourth, be careful. Utah is on a major earthquake fault line. Be sure you can get earthquake insurance in your neighborhood. Often it's not an option because insurance companies won't allow it in certain areas. While floods have not historically been a problem, there are many damns in Utah that are aging and are threatening the real estate and populations that lie below them. Be sure to do your own due diligence before you buy any Utah real estate.