Salt Lake County Apartment Rent Up 1.2% as Free Rent Reaches a Full Month

Utah Market Data

This week's numbers come from Wadsworth Multifamily Research's third-quarter survey of 67,500 apartment units in Salt Lake County.

Salt Lake County Apartment Rent

Average rent was $1,664 per month in Q3, up $20 (1.2%) from $1,644 a year ago. Rent fell the three years before that, by 1.9% in 2023, 1.0% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025. Today's average is $91 below the third-quarter high of $1,755 in 2022.

Studios average $1,201, one-bedrooms $1,452, two-bedrooms $1,805 and three-bedrooms $2,204. Per square foot, studios rent for the most at $2.66 and three-bedrooms for the least at $1.61.

Vacancy and Concessions

Total vacancy (all empty units, including new buildings still filling up after construction) fell to 8.1% from 9.4% a year ago. Stabilized vacancy (buildings that are done filling up) rose to 6.7% from 5.4%. That is the highest third-quarter stabilized rate in Wadsworth's table, which goes back to 2016. The gap between the two rates shrank to 1.4 points from 4.0 points a year ago.

Concessions (free rent offered to sign a lease) average 1.0 month, up from 0.8 month a year ago. They were 0.1 month as recently as 2022.

Downtown Salt Lake has the highest vacancy at 12.8%, with concessions averaging 9 weeks of free rent. Suburban Salt Lake properties have 5.6% vacancy, 2.0% rent growth and three to four weeks of concessions.

New Construction

Builders finished 7,221 new apartment units in Salt Lake County in 2025. Wadsworth expects 3,840 this year, 46.8% fewer. Deliveries then rise to a projected 5,008 units in 2027, which is 1,168 more than this year.

Another 7,682 units are under construction, and 3,663 more could start soon. A further 16,615 units are in early planning and are years from delivery, if they get built.

Jobs and Wages

Salt Lake County's unemployment rate was 3.4% in August, compared with 4.1% nationally. Employment grew 0.7% over the past year, adding 5,820 jobs, while the U.S. grew 0.3%. In Wadsworth's Q2 report, county job growth was 1.8% and 15,097 jobs. Wages rose 2.9% over the year through Q1 2026, below the national rate.

Owning Compared With Renting

The median Salt Lake County home price was $547,000 in Q3, down 0.5% from a year ago. Wadsworth puts the monthly cost to own that home at about $4,450. The average renter pays $2,109 a month for rent, fees and utilities, so owning costs about 2.1 times as much. A household needs about $178,000 a year to afford the median home at 30% of income, compared with about $66,560 for the average rental.

The Bottom Line

Salt Lake County apartment rent rose 1.2% to $1,664 in Q3, and total vacancy fell to 8.1%. Stabilized vacancy rose to 6.7%, the highest third-quarter rate since at least 2016, and concessions reached a full month of free rent. New deliveries drop to 3,840 units this year and rise to 5,008 in 2027, while county job growth slowed to 0.7%.

_{Data sourced from Wadsworth Multifamily Research, Salt Lake County Market Trends Q3 2026. The Q2 job figures come from Wadsworth's Salt Lake County Market Trends Q2 2026.}

Sold Multi-Units This Week

Seven multi-unit properties closed across Utah between October 6 and October 12. Prices ran from $156,111 to $1,275,000. Five sold below their final asking price, one sold at asking and one closed just above. Six were duplexes and one was a Salt Lake City fourplex. An American Fork duplex sold in 5 days, while a Salt Lake City duplex closed after 189 days on the market.

Mortgage Rates & Financing

Mortgage rates eased this week. The 30-year fixed sits at 7.46%, down 0.10 from a week ago. It is still 0.34 higher than a month ago and 1.14 above a year ago, and 0.15 below its 52-week high of 7.61%. The 15-year fixed is at 7.14%, FHA is at 7.13% and jumbo loans are at 7.62%. The 7/6 SOFR ARM is at 6.88%, which is 0.58 under the 30-year fixed.

The 10-year Treasury closed at 5.21% on October 13, down from 5.27% a week earlier. Mortgage rates track the 10-year, so the dip in yields pulled rates down. Investor loans usually price 0.50 to 0.75 above the owner-occupied 30-year, which puts a rental purchase near 7.96% to 8.21% right now.

_{Source: Mortgage News Daily, rates as of October 13, 2026. 10-year Treasury yield from the U.S. Treasury daily yield curve.}

Utah Headlines

Salt Lake City Weighs Selling a $12.2 Million Rio Grande Site for $2.5 Million — A city staff report points to "falling rents, increased vacancy and lower investor demand for multifamily" to explain a Denver developer's offer of about $25 per square foot for 2.33 acres, where it plans 94 apartments and 22 townhomes.

Impact Fees on New Salt Lake City Construction Will Nearly Triple — The City Council approved higher water and sewer connection fees that start at 70% of the new rate on January 1, 2027 and reach the full rate on July 1, 2028, the first major increase since 1999.

91% of Utah Renter Households Can't Afford a Median-Priced Home — That share was 59% in 2015, and housing affordability ranked last of 20 factors in the 2026 Utah Community Quality of Life Index with a score of 2.1 out of 5.

University of Utah Buys 14 Acres in the Power District for a New Clinic — The site at 50 N. Redwood Road appraised at nearly $23.2 million and is part of the Larry H. Miller Co.'s 100-plus-acre west side district.

National Headlines

Inflation Rose to 3.7% in September, Making Another Fed Hike More Likely — Consumer prices rose 0.6% from August as gas prices jumped, and shelter costs rose 0.4%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Apartment Values Are 22% Below Their 2022 Peak — Apartment prices are down 4% from a year ago, while all commercial property is 12.8% below its peak, according to Green Street's price index.

Lease Renewal Increases Fell to the Lowest Level Since Before 2020 — Renewal rents rose 1.7% in September and average advertised rent was $1,775, up 0.7% from a year ago, according to Yardi Matrix.

Pending Home Sales Fell to Their Lowest Level Since 2014 — Contracts dropped 4% in September, the biggest monthly decline in more than three years, as homes for sale hit their highest count since March 2020, according to Redfin.

Rent-Based Investor Loans Now Make Up a Third of Non-Standard Mortgages — DSCR loans, which qualify a borrower on the property's rent instead of personal income, were 33% of non-QM (non-standard) lending in September, and adjustable-rate loans reached 14% of rate locks, the highest share since Optimal Blue's data begins in 2019.

Investors and Second-Home Buyers Made Up 20% of September Home Sales — That share is up from 15%, and the West was the only region where the median price fell, down 0.3% to $613,600, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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