How Politicians are Cashing in on Utah’s Housing Crisis

Utah is a great place to live, if you can afford to live here.

The state’s housing market remains among the most competitive in the country, fueled by decades of growth and in-state migration.

This rapid increase in Utah’s home prices is tough on families and homebuyers, but it’s great for individuals in the construction, development, and real estate industries.

And odds are, if you’re a member of the Utah legislature, you’re probably one of those individuals.

An analysis by the Salt Lake Tribune using publicly available disclosure data found more than 20% of Utah Senators had earned their primary income from real estate and development, with nearly 50% having some type of financial interest in the industry.

Unfortunately, Utah’s conflict of interest laws require less transparency from its state lawmakers than what is required for federal lawmakers… so it’s difficult to put an exact percentage to these figures.

The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to disclose securities transactions exceeding $1,000 in value within 30-45 days of the trade, as well as real estate assets over $1,000 in value.

Official disclosure reports suggest nearly 40% of the members of the Utah legislature hold financial interests in real estate and development, but who knows how high that number really is, or how deep their interests really are.