As to your question about investing in Utah, YES it does make sense. As to your question about investing in Lehi/Bluffdale, NO it does not make as much sense unless you can afford short term losses. Among the 1,300 units my company manages, we have over 60 townhomes in the Lehi/Bluffdale area--it is overbuilt from a rental perspective. We used to rent them out within a couple days, but last year we started seeing demand slow down and this year was especially tough. We are now seeing at least a month, sometimes two between renters. Simply too many were built and sold to too many investors. Rent to mortgage ratios are very tight so once HOA dues and other costs are factored in most owners are not cash flowing much. So when you toss in two months of lost rent, then that's it for cash flow for a couple years. As others have mentioned, Lehi/Bluffdale is an appreciation play. However that appreciation will slow as interest rates go up and the building catches up. A lot of our appreciation is propped up by interest rates allowing homeowners to move up due to newfound equity.
Also, with Covid even renters are looking for larger places with yards for kids and a home office for themselves. Total opposite from last year. Not sure if that's a long term trend but it seems to be.
