It is because Utah assesses a brand-new home on the land only for its first assessment cycle, and sometimes two. The house does not get added to the tax roll until the county assessor catches up, which happens on the January 1 lien date after the home is finished. So the first bill you see…
For new construction, yes – Salt Lake County taxes at a higher effective rate. Based on 2024 assessor records for recently completed homes, a new single-family home is taxed at about 0.55% of its assessed value in Salt Lake County versus about 0.52% in Utah County. The gap is wider on townhomes: about 0.60% in…
The one that trips up the most out-of-state buyers is how Utah counts basement square footage. In Utah, the basement counts toward the home’s total square footage even if it is completely unfinished – a concrete floor, wood framing, one light switch, and rough plumbing for a future bathroom still counts. But national listing sites…
A large share of Silicon Slopes tech workers live in northern Utah County, and many commute from central Utah County as well. A lot of them are relocating from big out-of-state metros – San Jose, San Francisco, Houston – where commutes run multiple hours each way, so a 30 to 40 minute Utah drive feels…
Saratoga Springs generally has lower prices and a larger selection of new construction homes; as of 2026 the median new single-family home there runs roughly $70,000 under Lehi. Saratoga Springs is made up of more planned communities and feels more community-driven, with neighborhoods that are fairly self-contained and do not carry much through traffic –…
There are genuine pros and cons on both sides for a first-time buyer. But right now, most first-time buyers are payment-conscious and are willing to do a little work if it builds equity. They tend to be smart, long-term-value buyers who care more about what the home will be worth than about whether the basement…
There may be a little more appreciation early on with new construction than with a comparable resale home. But all else equal, over a longer horizon – say ten to fifteen years – a resale home and a new construction home in the same area generally appreciate in a similar way. The exception is when…
This is a real worry for a lot of buyers – nobody wants to be between homes if the new build is not ready. If you have an interim housing plan – a short-term rental, an Airbnb, or family you can stay with – it is much less stressful to be under contract to sell…
As of September 2026, the least expensive new single-family homes in Utah County start around $504,840 – roughly the bottom 10% of new-construction listings – and the median is near $703,900. At the entry price the full monthly payment (principal and interest, FHA mortgage insurance, property tax at the Utah County average of about 0.52%…
Daybreak in South Jordan is probably the most developed and complete master-planned community in Utah. The amenities are the draw: multiple clubhouses, gyms, miles of walking trails, lakes you can paddleboard or paddleboat on, basketball and pickleball courts, and a TRAX light-rail station in the community (Daybreak is served by TRAX, not FrontRunner). The downsides…
For new construction in Salt Lake County, the realistic options are Daybreak in South Jordan, Herriman, West Jordan, and Riverton. Daybreak is probably the most developed and complete master-planned community in Utah – clubhouses, gyms, walking trails, lakes you can paddleboard on, basketball and pickleball courts, and a new TRAX light-rail station right in the…
The commute from the Eagle Mountain Ranches area to the Lehi and Draper Silicon Slopes corridor is almost identical to the commute from Herriman. Eagle Mountain City Center is a little further out; north Saratoga Springs can actually be closer. The one exception: if you specifically work in the South Jordan tech industry, Herriman is…