There are a lot of things for homebuyers to consider when they’re in the market for a home, including whether or not they will build or buy, what architectural style they want and how they might furnish their home.  

In the United States, a majority of homebuyers (77%) purchased a single family detached house, according to a survey by Zillow. Townhouses and rowhouses made up another 7% of the market while condos enjoyed the same demand.

In Powell, Metzler Construction and Harvell Construction’s customers look for well-built homes that will last.

Tim Metzler of Metzler Construction often builds homes in the middle of the cost spectrum, he said. The size is typically in the 2,500-3,000 square foot range and they are usually single level homes.

“There’s a pretty good market for it because there’s always somebody who is elderly wanting to come out here and retire or [build] a second home,” Metzler said.

But the homes are not completely zero entry homes — burying wood in concrete in order to make the house zero entry could cause problems later on because of moisture, he said. 

Metzler will also try to talk customers into having a concrete boundary installed around their home, it prevents water stains and also provides a walking path. 

Another common trend in homes built by Metzler involves shingle roofing  over metal roofing. The former will usually last 50 years while metal roofs will last in the range of 20 years.

Metzler, who grew up with the mountains as his backyard, often works on homes on the North Fork and Crandall area. For his mountain homes, Metzler incorporates heated flooring, and air conditioning is standard for most home he builds these days, he said.

Chad Harvell, owner of Harvell Construction which is building Cottonwood Villages off of North Clark Street, said his home buyers are looking for homes that have efficient and quality items, not entry level homes. His customers will look at designs provided by the company and tweak them to match what they want.

Harvell homes tend towards neutral colors for the interior.  The homes are also on larger than average size lots and have their own looks, personal to the owner.

To save on costs, buyers in the area often choose vinyl windows, Harvell said, but his homes use warranted window packages from Pella. According to the Pella website, Energystar voted the company most efficient in 2023. The walls of the homes are also made with insulated concrete which means that a 2 ½-inch piece of foam is put on either side of 6 inches of concrete. This leads to greater resistance of heat flow that is nearly double what is required to build in Powell. Spray foam is also used to insulate the attic spaces and is rated at R-50-60. With energy efficient materials and low maintenance costs Harvell’s homes can cost around $250 a month in energy costs, he said.