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SANDY — The number of high-priced homes sold along the Wasatch Front jumped by 32 percent last year, according to recently released data. In 2015, there were 169 homes sold above the million-dollar mark in the five-county area comprising the Wasatch Front — Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele, Utah and Weber — 41 more than sold the year before, according to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.
Homes sold above $1 million in 2015 had a median price of $1.3 million — 2 percent above the median price of $1.2 million in the year prior. Seven-figure homes also are selling faster, on average, than previous years, the report stated. And so far in 2016, 88 homes have sold with a price tag of at least $1 million.
In 2015, the typical million-dollar listing was on the market for 84 days, down from 100 days in 2014. Real estate professionals attribute the Wasatch Front’s strong economy and relatively robust housing market to the rise in sales of million-dollar homes.
“A rising economy helped boost home sales in all price categories, including million-dollar homes,” said Cheryl Acker, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. “However, it is important to realize that three of every four homes sold above $1 million were priced from $1 million to $1.5 million. It remains a challenge to sell a home above $1.5 million, even in today’s strong economy.”
Economic analysts also note that the rise may not indicate a brisk market angling toward pricier houses.
“It is such a small market (segment) that represents a very small sample of the homes being sold,” said Jim Wood, economist and senior fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. “There were 25,000 homes sold on the Wasatch Front in 2015."
He said that such a small sample size could be prone to “skewing” during a single year of observation. He said some million-dollar properties sit on the market for months at a time, which also has a potential impact on the data’s interpretation.
The rise of million-dollar home sales along the Wasatch Front comes in the wake of a separate national study that ranked Provo, Ogden and Salt Lake City the top three “Metro Areas in America with the Most Mansions.”
The SmartAsset study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau survey data on people living in America’s largest 100 metro areas calculating the percentage of owner-occupied homes that had at least five bedrooms and 15 total rooms.
The study showed that in the Provo-Orem metro area, 2.42 percent of homes were considered mansions, far beyond the percentage of any other large U.S. metropolitan area. The Ogden-Clearfield area was second at 1.57 percent, with the Salt Lake City metro area in third place at 1.44 percent.
All of the Utah cities in the survey boasted more mansions as a percentage of homes than larger metro areas such as Dallas, Honolulu, New York City, Orlando, Florida and San Francisco.
“In the last two years, there have been multiple sales of million-dollar homes in Draper, on Walker Lane in Holladay, Pepperwood in Sandy, and Alpine in Utah County,” said Dave Anderton, communications director for the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. “There also are million-dollar condos selling in downtown Salt Lake City.”
The people able to afford such expensive places come from various vocations, including professions in medicine, the law and company executives, said Acker, to small-business owners that came from humble, blue-collar beginnings but now can afford decidedly white-collar digs. Where they settle depends upon where they feel most at home, she said. And that may keep people looking along the Wasatch Front rather than in Park City and other parts of Summit County.
An example is the south valley city of Bluffdale, where seven-figure homes are nestled in semirural pockets among established older homes that are far less expensive. One house, listed for $1.3 million, is located at the end of a gravel road on a two-acre parcel boasting a back yard that resembles the grounds of a country retreat, complete with a manicured garden with colorful flowers and a custom stone walkways that lead to a custom-built swimming area designed to look like a rock-filled pond.
While the 5,500-square-foot home is replete with high-end finishes and upscale amenities, the yard provides an outdoor sanctuary for large family gatherings, said Jolene Breinholt, sales agent for Utah Key Real Estate.
The owners of such properties are looking for more land for horses or livestock or just open space, she said. In other areas, like east Sandy and Draper, the same price may still purchase a large well-appointed home, but typically not as much land, she said.
Those with the means are choosing larger parcels in areas where they can have privacy and solitude surrounded by all the necessary amenities of typical suburban living, she said. In Holladay, for instance, properties may include large lots and big houses next to other oversized parcels with moderately priced homes or situations similar to Bluffdale with pricier homes on large lots near more modest houses on similarly sized parcels, she noted.
“It’s a lifestyle choice,” Breinholt said. “People want comfort and (their ideal) location.”