A charging economy nearly set the alarms off in Utah real estate. The state’s housing markets have seen record growth, but the hammers of building new housing developments for newcomers have been quieted.

Utah home sales have slowed and the prices on some homes are beginning to slip. The protection Utah has witnessed from all-time record growth is waning as the credit crunch begins to make an impact.

A booming population buoyed by job growth, exports, manufacturing, 2% unemployment and quality-of-life amenities have driven Utah’s markets.

In Salt Lake it will be a case of slower growth, according to the Housing Predictor forecast for 2008, which will see the state’s largest metropolitan area with comparatively modest appreciation to other years.

Utah will be one of those rare places in the next few years in America’s real estate landscape, according to economists, who expect Utah markets to produce slower real estate sales, but not completely halt as a result of the credit crisis. The state’s economy is attracting too many new businesses to stop growing, and is in the top five Housing Predictor states for real estate growth in 2008.

Affordability has been the key to Salt Lake’s growth in housing. The median price still hovers around $230,000 and is forecast to appreciate a modest 3.8% by Housing Predictor for the year.

In Provo the market has powered double digit appreciation for at least two successive years, but things are beginning to move at a slower pace in Provo. Mountain views make the community charm any home buyer wanting a better quality of life, making Provo one of the nation’s strongest housing markets for years.

But the once booming market seems to be coming to an end. A higher inventory of homes and lack of qualified buyers have cooled this once hot market, and 2008 will see a slower kind of housing market in Provo. Provo will appreciate slightly at 3.1% for the year.

In Ogden sales have also slumped from previous years, but housing price increases should at least be close to inflation through 2008 moving upward 2.7% before the music stops.

The real estate market in Logan has also seen a slower pace, but homes are still selling. Housing sales usually cool off with the winter weather in Utah and this year is no exception, but the credit crunch has begun to impact sales more as many potential buyers are unable to qualify for mortgages.

Housing Predictor forecasts Logan to complete 2008 with fewer homes sales than last year on 2.4% appreciation, which just shows it’s not all over in Utah.