In a report released on February 26, 2008 by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), Utah still ranks as one of best places for real estate, as real estate values are still on the rise. There were 291 metropolitan areas involved in the report and more than 25% reported year over year decreases in prices.

The report did reveal the home appreciation value ranking for St George, Utah was 220. What this means is that there was a decline in home values in the St George area. The report actually lists it as a -0.14% change from the 2007 third quarter reported numbers and a total change of -1.91% for all of 2007. When compared to the appreciation values of other cities in Utah, the report lists Utah County home values having a 0.77% increase, with a 10.14% increase in the past year.

When looking at the posted five year appreciation numbers, St George home values have increased 77.85%, compared to Salt Lake City home values, which climbed 59.84% and Ogden’s reported five year home value appreciation of 41.95%. These numbers are all good, especially for those who own Southern Utah real estate and sold properties during the past five years. These numbers also bring hope to the real estate entrepreneurs who have the capital to start buying up properties while the market is on the decline.