CEDAR CITY – After several years of a struggling housing market in the midst of a severe recession, real estate agents said they believe the Iron County market is showing noticeable signs of improvement.

Dave Taylor, executive officer for the Iron County Board of Realtors, said he has noticed an increase in sales for homes in the lower price ranges, which he defined as being from $90,000 to $135,000.

“The more you go above $130,000, the harder it is to sell,” he said.

Taylor also said although there are still a large number of foreclosures, the housing market has improved.

“It’s not stressed as badly,” he said.

Cedar City resident Avon Payton closed on the purchase of a home on the north end of Cedar City nearly two weeks ago and said she is very happy with it. She said she started to consider purchasing a home six months ago. When she got down to actually searching, the process took approximately three months. She said finding the right home can take a while if someone is only pre- approved for a home loan in the lower price ranges.

“Every one that I looked at was above my qualifications,” she said, “I just couldn’t qualify because I’m a volunteer and I don’t have that big of income.”

She said the real estate agents she worked with were very helpful and kept trying to find a home she could qualify. She said she also searched on her own.

According to a market update distributed by the Utah Association of Realtors for April, the most recent sales information available, closed home sales in Iron County have increased by 17.7 percent in comparison to the same time in 2011. Additionally, the median sale price for a home in Iron County as of April of this year was $86,000, in comparison to $95,000 in 2011.

Janet Naisbitt-Bagley, a real estate agent who works with ERA Realty Center in Cedar City, said prices are good, there are more buyers and there is less inventory this year than last year. She also said, depending on a person’s credit rating, it is possible to obtain interest rates of less than 4 percent on home loans. However, she said anyone interested in buying a home should check with a lender to get an accurate interest rate quote.