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Show • As development expands, installation of entirely new utilities and services passes on additional costs to the buyers of housing. • Compounding the more or less normal increases outlined above is the face that construction costs are reaching all- time highs and are increasing at a faster rate than ever before. The median cost of a new house in May 1976 was $ 43,200, nearly twice the median price in 1970. • As land prices increase, builders turn to apartment or non- residential construction which has a higher return per acre than single family housing. Summary and Implications As a particular geographic area approaches saturation, the rate of development tends to slow down. Economic constraints on the less affluent wage earners in Salt Lake County, plus the additional constraints of inflation and rising building costs, will likely cause the braking effect on development to be felt quicker in the southern area where the less affluent are looking for homes, than it was felt in Holladay, Cottonwood Heights and the west portion of the County. Since there will still be a strong demand for housing, it is possible that a demand for more economical housing types in more compact developments, condominiums and multiple family structures may occur early. In many areas, the speculative value of land may make subdivision of single family lots in the traditional sizes uneconomical as an investment either for developers or home buyers. 270,000 People- Where to Put Them The allocation of the projected population total was made using several assumptions. These assumptions, though idealistic by typical economic standards, describe conditions that guide the manner in which residential 42 |