According to WSJ real estate reporter, Deer Valley expansion and open spaces are attracting homebuyers to Heber, Kamas

Reporter Nancy Keates covers real estate, architecture and design for the Journal.

Her October 10 story: “Real estate prices skyrocketed in Park City. These Towns are Taking Advantage examines the impact of the rising cost of living in Park City.

Keates said homebuyers are increasingly turned off by Park City’s overcrowding and high prices.

“Not only are these individual homeowners buying properties in Heber, Midway and Kamas, but these are the developments that are popping up,” Keates said. “These huge, gated luxury golf complexes, and I think that has a big impact on the area.”

With the opening of Deer Valley East Village, Keates said buyers don’t feel like they have to be in Park City itself to be near ski resorts.

“Every single person I interviewed who recently bought there mentioned East Village and the expansion and how it will allow them to get to the slopes much quicker,” she said.

The increased interest is driving up prices. Single-family homes in Heber Valley are selling for a median price of around $980,000 this year, more than double the price before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keates said she expects the Wasatch Back real estate market to remain a hot commodity. She also said that the increase in wealth in the United States is not slowing down.

“People own multiple houses. “I don’t mean just one vacation home, but three or four houses,” Keates said. “Because they see real estate as kind of an essential element to diversify their investment portfolio. “So why not have a property in a place that’s beautiful and outdoor friendly?”

Keates said the scale of development was driving people away. On a recent reporting trip to Idaho’s mountain towns west of the Tetons, she spoke with a group of expats from Park City.

“All those skiers and climbers I met when I was in Driggs and Victor who complained about Park City are now complaining about what’s happening in Idaho,” she said. “It will continue as we develop as a country… There is less and less remote space, more of it belongs to the people.”