Ground broken for nearly 300 new starter homes in Weber County
Oct 31, 2024, 2:00 PM
The 275 starter homes in Weber County will be a part of a larger development consisting of about 1,000 total housing units. (Adam Small/KSL NewsRadio)
(Adam Small/KSL NewsRadio)
PLAIN CITY, Utah — State and local leaders rejoiced Thursday as they and a Weber County developer broke ground for 275 new starter homes in Plain City.
The homes are single-family, detached units meant to help first-time homebuyers break into Utah’s booming housing market.
Jed Nilson, owner and president of Nilson Homes told KSL NewsRadio the homes will be sold for less than $400,000. Those prices will not go up if the market does.
Nilson said the only thing that would allow them to raise the prices is if building material prices go up. But, if and when those material prices go back down, so do the housing prices.
There also won’t be any bidding wars for these homes.
It’s first come, first serve for first-time homebuyers, active military members, veterans, teachers and first responders.
The 275 starter homes will be a part of a larger development consisting of about 1,000 total housing units.
Related: Housing experts say Utah needs to build more starter homes
The starter homes are also part of a larger initiative from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to build 35,000 starter homes in the Beehive State within the next five years.
“This is what it’s all about… to have people… get into their own home and have that American dream and build wealth,” said Weber County Commissioner Jim Harvey.
Harvey told KSL NewsRadio he initially opposed the idea in the early stages of planning.
Harvey said before the pandemic, they drew up a new master plan with a lot of community input in mind. Weber County used to have homes on 1 acre of land, but the new plan allowed homes to be built on 1/3 acre lots.
“That’s what the community wanted,” Harvey said.
At some point around that time, Harvey said he had a sleepless night and a dream. He said after that dream, he thought to himself, “I’m not any better than anybody else and people deserve a chance.”
On Thursday Harvey said, “I want to be a champion for people who want to buy their own home…[and] sometimes we have to start a little smaller.”
“It’s the right thing to do… and I’m glad to be able to do that for our kids [and] our grandkids,” Harvey said.
Nilson said people can already sign up on the waitlist for the first 12 starter homes. They are expected to go up for sale in December and be ready for buyers to move in in February.
Nilson said it could take upwards of seven to eight years before all 275 starter homes are complete.
