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The backyard of Parade of Homes house No. 25, "Modern Elm," is pictured Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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The swimming pool at the Parade of Homes house No. 25, "Modern Elm," is pictured Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Parade of Homes house No. 25, "Modern Elm," is pictured Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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A Parade of Homes logo is pictured Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Thousands of people have flocked to the Utah Valley Parade of Homes this month to see some of the newest and most impressive houses across the county.

With 41 houses to see, over 30,000 tickets sold and an average of 12-14 home visits per ticket, Utah Valley Home Builders Association Executive Director Steve Caldwell estimated there will be nearly a half-million home visits by the end of the two-and-a-half-week span, which started June 5 and ends Saturday.

While giving residents of all stripes the chance to stare in awe at stunning real estate has surely fueled the parade’s popularity, its role as a marketplace of ideas for builders and prospective homeowners serves as the underlying reason for its success.

“It’s a big endeavor,” Caldwell said. “It is really interesting because they look not just to buy, they look for colors to do remodels with, new products on the market they haven’t seen before or new ideas for their home. It just creates a lot of interest in the building industry and that’s what we try to do.”

Becoming more acclaimed

This year’s parade is the largest to date, with homes stretching from Pole Canyon to Mapleton and Genola to Alpine. These properties are built by a variety of home builders, and range in price from $800,000 to $18,000,000, with some built for a specific homeowner, while others go on the market.

The parade has stepped up its game in recent years, according to Robert Newbold, a Layton resident involved in the real estate business.

“In the past, these were boring homes,” he said. “They were very traditional homes for the area, but they’ve really expanded. The three best (parades) are St George, and No. 2 would be either this or Park City.”

Newbold is impressed with these homes’ “freedom to do different expressions,” alluding to home No. 8, “Auberge de la Famille,” built by Raykon Construction in Lehi; home No. 15 “Evergreen Summit” in Alpine, also by Raykon Construction; and home No. 25 “Modern Elm,” built by Robison Home Builders in Orem.

“Modern Elm,” the largest of the bunch, was selected the Tier 1 Winner of the parade’s Judges’ Choice Award and appeared to spare no expenses.

The 14,985-square foot, six-bedroom, traditional-style mansion was built as two separate homes on the same property and boasts amenities like a “Cabo resort style pool,” a pickleball court, greenhouse, health and wellness center, and solarium.

Robison Home Builders property manager Brandon Jensen believes the home’s highlight is its pool area, which has a custom stainless steel slide imported from the U.K. and a 150-inch folding outdoor TV.

“(The TV) accordions up, and then it lays over, a panel comes off the pool deck, it goes down, and then folds, totally disappears, and then you can walk across it,” he said.

The creativity of homes like these only seem to amplify the parade’s reputation.

“I’ve heard that the Utah Valley Parade of Homes is one of the most sought after ones that people come to,” Jensen said. “We’ve had people from Texas that have come just to the parade. We have people from Florida that come just to this parade. So we have people from all over the country that come to see the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. It’s pretty awesome.”

An exchange of ideas

Orem residents Darren and Jo, who declined to give their last name, said they are looking to revamp their own home and came to the parade to seek inspiration — to see what types of design, innovation and materials they’d like.

“You just see so much in such a short period of time,” Darren said. “You just get a lot of ideas and find out who the great crafts people are that do the work.”

This couple isn’t alone in their search. It is not abnormal to see people come in with a camera to photograph carpet design, or a tape measure to check a window’s length.

Jensen said the homeowner for “Modern Elm” opened his home to the parade for this purpose.

“He wanted to inspire other builders and other people who are building homes, and help them come up with creative ideas based off of certain things he’s done in his house,” Jensen said.

And with so many prospective home owners coming through, there’s also a big incentive for the builders to participate in the Parade of Homes.

“Why builders get involved is different for each one, but name recognition for their product (is important),” Caldwell said. “Obviously, they’d like to get some sales or people interested.”

With opportunity comes responsibility, though.

Builders face tight deadlines to build and stage houses in time for the parade. Some developers who participate in the event annually were already working on next year’s parade home before this year’s parade started.

“Modern Elm” took 18 months to build, Jensen said, including just 10 months to build the wellness center and to landscape.

Similar efforts are taken at all 41 houses, leading to a grand display of ingenuity and creating a center of commerce.

“For our industry,” Caldwell said, “it’s a huge endeavor that involves a lot of people and a lot of money, and a lot of subcontractors, painters, electricians and cement people. … It just includes a lot of people, a lot of members of our association.”