The secret about Salt Lake City is out. Realtor.com released its annual list of the top ten housing markets in the United States for 2022. Much to the disdain of locals, Salt Lake City is the number one ranked market. The city is well regarded as a gateway to the outdoors, as skiing, hiking, and many other outdoor activities are a short drive away. As someone who lived there for nearly five years, I was kinda taken aback by the amount of development that had occurred since I ditched the Beehive state when I visited last summer. A lot of these are luxury apartments that don’t really help the state’s rising affordable housing crisis. This is without even mentioning the proposed Olympic bid in 2030 or 2034, or the massive Draper state prison that will become a city in itself.
Several other ski markets make the list. Boise, Idaho is growing rapidly, and Bogus Basin is located only forty minutes away from the city. Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue area features three elite ski resorts within two hours: Summit at Snoqualmie, Crystal Mountain, and Stevens Pass. Spokane, Washington features the nearby Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 49 Degrees North, Silver Mountain Resort, and Lookout Pass. The
Then there are the cities where the ski culture is a little more under the radar. Worcester, Massachusetts is extremely close to Wachusett Mountain, which is well regarded for its family atmosphere and groomers that go out twice a day. Providence is within thirty-five minutes of Yawgoo Valley, with bigger mountains up north. There’s even skiing within ninety minutes of Indianapolis and Columbus if you bring your expectations down a bit. With rapidly rising prices and high inflation though, it may be best to wait for the housing market to cool down a bit before looking to pick one of these places to live. A video by Realtor.com explaining their methodology for their rankings is below.
Image Credits: Realtor, Visit Salt Lake, Visit Spokane
