Good news for Salt Lake City: developers are finally building slightly higher density housing.

An article by my colleague Tony Semerad explains that a developer is building a series of townhouses in South Salt Lake. The developer plans to open model units this weekend and has already sold two units. Though I’m not a huge fan of the buildings’ actual look, they have better street engagement than what is usually considered a “townhouse” in Utah.

Here’s are some of the more interesting things about this development:

• As the article points out, it signals a trend in the housing market toward more “urban” — i.e. dense — housing.

• Apparently the supply of single family homes along the Wasatach Front is “dwindling.” I find this a little hard to believe because there is a lot of space and a lot of listings, so the takeaway here is probably that demand for housing is outpacing supply, driving up prices. That could be bad news for younger people wanting to buy a single family home, but it may also be good news for those interested in seeing more high and medium density development.

• People are choosing where they want to live before they choose the house they want to live in. That bodes well for places like downtowns, which are well-connected.

• Related to the above points, these new townhouses are located near a transit stop, meaning Utah’s growing transit system is having the kinds of effects it is supposed to.

(Cross posted from About Town.)