Utah Housing & Homeownership

I have professionally sold real estate since 1994 and bought my first rental property in 1985. In 2005, my husband and I owned 20 rental properties, and some of us, deep in the real estate market at the time, could feel the uncertainty slowly building as federal banking oversight weakened.

I believe an important point is that both parties, driven by a shared belief that markets could largely self-regulate and that expanding homeownership was an unqualified good, caused “the housing bubble and crash” (2007–2009).

Who removed the key guardrails?

• Lawmakers who deregulated finance
• Regulators who chose restraint over enforcement
• Financial institutions that exploited incentives
• Rating agencies that underestimated risk
• A culture that equated credit expansion with prosperity

My perspective is that it wasn’t malice — it was overconfidence, misaligned incentives, and a belief that housing prices would keep rising.

1. Protecting homeownership and property rights

• Modernize Utah’s Homestead Exemption, which currently protects only $42,000 of equity per individual homeowner — an amount that no longer reflects today’s housing market.
• Explore stronger property-ownership protections, including whether Utah should adopt community property principles or offer homeowners the option to hold property as community property.
• Examine whether homeowners should be exempt from state income tax on mortgage debt forgiven through a short sale, so individuals are not taxed on a financial loss while trying to recover and remain stable.

2. Expanding access to homeownership in a changing housing market

• Homeownership matters to our health, stability, and sense of belonging while strengthening communities and our state.
• Address the realities of rising home prices and rental costs by evaluating housing and property laws.
• Stay focused on practical, responsible ways to make the dream of homeownership achievable for more Utahns.

3. Property taxes

More to come.

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