April 27, 2018 (Salt Lake City) - The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute today released a landmark report on the rapid appreciation of housing prices in Utah and the threat to affordability. This report greatly expands upon an earlier research brief released last month. Researchers found that Utah’s rapid employment and demographic growth has produced exceptionally strong demand for housing, which in turn has put upward pressure on housing prices. A housing shortage has ensued, with the supply of new homes and existing “for sale” homes falling short of demand.  While the impact of higher housing prices are widespread, affecting [...]

ST. GEORGE, Utah — St. George is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S., according to new estimates from the Census Bureau. There were an estimated 165,662 people in 2017 in the designated metro area, which includes most of Washington County in southwestern Utah, up 4% from 2016, according to estimates released Thursday. The news may not surprise area residents used to coping with the constant road construction; looking up at new homes, new stores and other construction projects; and watching as housing developments expand away from the city centers and into the surrounding desert.

Utah's economy is booming; there's little doubt. But, there's a small but growing fear that we may be at the peak of that expansion. Juliette Tennert, Cheif Economist with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, says Utah's economy has been expanding for 8 1/2 years, which is a remarkable run, but there is reason to believe that may be ending. "Are we starting to see some deceleration? Probably, but we are still way ahead of the rest of the nation," she said. In fact, according to figures presented at the Salt Lake Chamber's Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit shows [...]

SALT LAKE CITY — A consensus of Utah economic analysts is predicting a measure of continued strength in the state's economy in the New Year. However, they don't all agree on the level of vitality Utahns should expect in the coming year. A panel of renown local economists offered their views on the state's perspective economic fortunes for 2018 during the Salt Lake Chamber's annual Economic Outlook and Public Policy Summit on Tuesday at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek.

New state estimates show Utah’s population continues to boom — adding 59,045 people this year, the equivalent of plopping in another Taylorsville. But demographers see a radical shift in what fuels that growth. Mainly, traditionally big-family Utah is seeing fewer births: they dropped by 1,202 last year, continuing a nine-year streak of declines. Meanwhile, migration accounts for more of the state’s growth as its healthy economy serves as a magnet to job seekers.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Utah) - In an otherwise unpredictable election night, former Provo Mayor John Curtis handily took the congressional seat once occupied by Jason Chaffetz. Now, he prepares to head to Washington, where he will sworn in as early as Monday. Curtis spoke to constituents at the University of Utah's Kem Gardner Policy Institute Wednesday morning, hours after his victory. There, he addressed key issues he wants to tackle when he gets to Washington, including common sense immigration reform and a tax plan that favors not just the rich

By Monday night — less than a week after winning election to become Utah’s newest congressman — John Curtis will be in Washington getting sworn in and casting his first vote. It’s a tad overwhelming, he said with a laugh Wednesday, and “a little surreal.” With a Republican-led Congress eager to pass major reforms, the freshman GOP legislator could offer one more vote toward a tax plan or a health-care proposal. Getting him on board quickly is purely tactical, said David Magleby, a political science professor at Brigham Young University.

During this decade, Utah sped along to the second-fastest growth rate for residents who speak a language other than English while at home, a shift driven by the children of immigrants. That population grew by 20 percent between 2010 and 2016, second only to the 25 percent growth rate in Wyoming, according to a Center for Immigration Studies report released Wednesday, which relied on U.S. Census Bureau data.

Utahns are marrying later, having fewer children than in the past and delaying when they are having their children, according to an analysis by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The change appears to be driven by economic factors that include income levels, an increase in housing prices, student debt and education and work patterns. It’s likely “the new normal,” according to one of the study’s authors, noted economist and demographer Pamela Perlich. Utah remains a place where women are having children. As the report states: “While Utah continues to have the highest fertility rate, youngest population, earliest age [...]

Her mother and older sister each got married at 20, but Aliska Julian was busy nurturing a love of social justice and travel at that age. At 25, in between trips to Kenya to run the nonprofit she started with her mom, Julian met an entrepreneur named Nate while dancing to ’80s covers at Liquid Joe's in Millcreek. The pair wed two years later, when she was 27 and he was 32, then waited another two years to have their first son, Morrissey. Julian is among a growing number of Utah women who start a family later than their mothers [...]