Price is king for the standard Utahn trying to purchase a house, however luxurious homebuyers are targeted on places that match their way of life — and in Utah, the high-end housing market is doing effectively.
A report on the outlook of the state’s luxurious actual property market from Sotheby’s describes the general housing market within the U.S. as “sluggish,” whereas the luxurious market reveals “continued signs of strength.”
Utah’s basic housing market throughout the Wasatch Front has began to stagnate and recuperate, mentioned Scott Colemere, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors and principal dealer at Colemere Realty Associates, however first-time homebuyers want extra properties.
Yet housing alternatives abound even for individuals getting into the state’s luxurious market, mentioned brokers with Summit Sotheby’s International Realty.
“There’s been so much wealth creation in the last few years,” mentioned Gretchen Hudgens, an agent with Summit Sotheby’s who is also president of the Park City Board of Realtors.
And slightly than ready a long time to inherit wealth, she mentioned, youthful patrons are more and more getting into the luxurious market with monetary assist from dad and mom, permitting them to buy resort properties earlier in life.
‘Price is paramount’
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A rest room throughout a tour of a luxurious house in Park City on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Amid Utah’s ongoing housing disaster, Colemere mentioned, most individuals are pushed by their price range.
“We’re seeing that price is paramount to buyers,” he mentioned. “If they have to go further out to get price and affordability, they’re looking to do it.”
Lots of people need to be within the southern a part of the Salt Lake Valley for his or her commute, he mentioned, however Utah County gives a extra inexpensive different to the state’s most populous county.
In the primary three months of this 12 months, the center worth level for properties bought in Salt Lake County was $610,000, in accordance with knowledge offered by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. It was round $580,000 in Utah County.
For individuals who work downtown or round Capitol Hill however can’t afford to dwell in Salt Lake City neighborhoods, the standard house worth was $550,000 in Davis County and beneath $500,000 in Tooele and Weber counties.
It’s primarily “drive ‘til you qualify,” said Colemere, a third-generation realtor with 30 years of industry experience.
(Summit Sotheby’s International Realty) Luxury homes sit near Park City Mountain Resort’s Tombstone Lift just outside the resort boundaries.
That isn’t new to the Wasatch Front housing market, he mentioned, however it’s “really looming large right now” as rates of interest stay excessive.
Current rates of interest are round 6.5% in Utah. That’s good for lots of different markets, Colemere mentioned, however “the price increase during COVID-19 with that makes affordability a crisis.”
Colemere is “in meetings constantly where affordability is the point of conversation,” he mentioned, and the actual property trade is a part of work to enhance issues by advocating for fewer authorities rules and serving to people take steps like shopping for down rates of interest to enhance their buying energy.
Home values aren’t leaping as a lot as they have been, he mentioned, which is an indication of restoration. That course of is uncomfortable for patrons, he mentioned, however it’s going to get higher with time.
‘About the lifestyle’
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) The front room throughout a tour of a luxurious house in Park City on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Luxury patrons aren’t feeling that very same ache.
As the Sotheby’s report places it, headlines concerning the financial system haven’t modified the truth that the “world’s wealthiest buyers were quietly doing what they’ve always done – buying.”
Their wealth means they don’t have restricted buying energy, mentioned Lacy Harrison, who works with Hudgens at Summit Sotheby’s.
“It’s more about the lifestyle than necessity,” she mentioned whereas sitting on the eating desk at a house on the market within the White Pine Ranches. The six-bed, eight-bath property contains devoted ski-in, ski-out entry to the Tombstone carry at Park City Mountain Resort. “They have the time and the luxury to wait and buy that perfect property that fits all of their needs.”
A luxurious house has traditionally been outlined as large and lavish, Harrison mentioned, however is being redefined by accessibility and enjoyable, together with “privacy and quality of life.” Health, wellness, way of life and social connectivity are priorities, the Sotheby’s realtors mentioned.
The house in White Pine Ranches has a big, open front room but additionally has smaller, intimate areas for gathering with what Hudgens and Harrison describe as curated design and a homier really feel.
It’s nestled within the timber with direct entry to a ski carry, however can be lower than quarter-hour from the center of Main Street.
All for a price ticket of $23.5 million.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lacy Harrison, left, and Gretchen Hudgens from Summit SothebyÕs International Reality focus on the options of a luxurious house throughout a tour in Park City on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
And although luxurious patrons aren’t as deterred by rising insurance coverage prices, increased property taxes and inflation, they do have some issues.
New properties are rather less interesting due to rising labor prices and tariffs making it tougher to cost supplies, the report reads.
Buyers need a accomplished house, Hudgens mentioned, that they will stroll into and begin having fun with.
“They don’t want to have to worry about a remodel,” she mentioned. “They don’t want to have to put their mark on it.”
Even if their very own new-build house have been performed, she mentioned, having development in the remainder of the neighborhood would have an effect on their way of life. They’d desire every little thing already be “dialed in,” she mentioned.
“When they get to a resort destination, they want to unplug,” she mentioned.
There are exceptions, she mentioned, like some individuals who will purchase from the Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria and related manufacturers irrespective of the place they construct.
Good indicators throughout
For the customer wanting farther from Salt Lake City to personal a house and the one deciding between Park City, Aspen and Sun Valley, the distinction comes down not simply to cash, however motivation.
“We’re all in different phases of life,” Harrison mentioned. “The broader market looks very different to luxury buyers and what they’re wanting to chase down.”
While the 2 segments of the market are vastly totally different, brokers mentioned, there are indicators of steadiness in each that weren’t there throughout and instantly after the pandemic.
The luxurious market in Park City is especially wholesome, Hudgens and Harrison mentioned, as individuals uncover it’s extra inexpensive in comparison with the remainder of the Mountain West, and there’s entry to an airport, Target and Costco.
And the general market is beginning to recuperate, Colemere mentioned, with decrease appreciation and flattening costs elsewhere within the state.