July 2026 | Urban Utah Homes and Estates

Making Sense

July 27, 2026/in Living Here: Urban Utah Blog /by Babs De Lay

There are things in life that just make sense, and I’ve noticed that we Americans could take tips from other countries how to do things better and smarter.

Japan has public restrooms that play music to mask the sound of flushing, and some have readout screens that show which toilets are free or occupied so you don’t have to bend down and look for feet. They also have air showers that blow pollen off people and clothes to protect those with allergies and emergency toilets in some elevators (not kidding!). The Aukland airport in New Zealand has a child’s toilet and an adult toilet in a single stall for parents to use.

Australia has been testing photoluminescent (glow in the dark) paint on roads that can glow for up to 10 hours after sunset. This improves nighttime visibility in rural and remote areas where there aren’t streetlights. Texas has followed suit by adopting the technology, apparent at Texas A&M University where there’s a glow in the dark path at a campus intersection that helps improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. The Netherlands also has several glow in the dark paths, as does Malaysia. South Korea has light up lines on major street crosswalks.

Moscow’s traffic light poles themselves light up when the traffic light changes so that drivers can see the color change better from yellow to red to green. Croatia’s benches in public areas have built-in phone chargers and public WI-Fi. Several countries have pay for toilets which fund cleanliness and maintenance and in the UK there is an emergency button close to floor level under all the other buttons in case you collapse and need assistance.

Seattle’s airport offers temporary soundproof office spaces for events or meetings. Other airports, including Salt Lake International Airport, have phone ‘booths’ where you can sit with your laptop and talk without others hearing your conversation. This is a trend nationwide in airport lounges.

Italy has pet carts at grocery stores so you don’t have to leave them outside tied to a railing. They also have bottle caps that stay attached to bottles, so you don’t drop or lose them. Germany has grocery carts with a special rack for cases of beer and has cleaning machines for your cart if needed.

Movies theaters around the world are getting creative, with food and beverage delivery to your seats, comfy lounge chairs that can heat, cool and massage you. Croatia has literal single beds in the back row for folks who would rather lay down that sit.

There’s a ski resort in Japan that uses saltwater sprinklers to keep walkways from getting too icy and dangerous. Norway has free book libraries at some bus stops.

How about UTA put up signs all along the FREE bus routes in downtown SLC to save people and conventioneers from walking in the hella heat this summer and to save energy with less cars? There’s a thought!

Staycation

July 19, 2026/in Living Here: Urban Utah Blog /by Babs De Lay

Making Summer plans yet? Many folks will travel out of town this season, but due to high gas prices and airline tickets, others will staycations instead. There is a lot to see and do this year in the capitol city and I’m excited about visiting some of the new attractions.

‘Bug World’ is an immersive, larger-than-life world where insects reign supreme at the Natural History Museum of Utah just south of the U of U campus in Research Park. This new exhibit has bugs the size of cars that helps show the real-life abilities of bugs. The traveling show was created by the Museum of New Zealand and was built by special effect masters who helped create The Lord of the Rings and Avatar. These replicas help show the superhero-like abilities of insects, from the lighting speed of dragonflies to the defense tactics of Japanese honeybees. There are actual bug specimens to explore and the whole show is a visual delight for adults and kids alike. Book tickets for museum the nhmu.utah.

The brand-new Museum of Utah will have its grand opening June 27. It’s located at 450 N. State Street behind the state capitol building, is free to the public and will be open seven days a week. Wait until you see the interior stained-glass dome with a history of Utah in 12 panels. In one of the new galleries, from Summer 2026 to Spring 2027 will be “The Past is Personal”, an exhibit that urges visitors to consider their role in our nation’s history as we mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Drawing upon the Utah Historical Society’s semi quincentennial project, the Peoples of Utah Revisited, this exhibit broadens the lens on Utah’s history and shares the stories of the past through the present. We, the people of Utah, own a lot of historical stuff, and this first state history museum is an extension of the Utah Historical Society who has helped collect our stuff and stories and there will be four floors of rotating displays in this new North Capitol Building. It was just announced that the Mormon Meteor III, a racing car legend on the Salt Flats will have a permanent home now at the museum. The 14,000-piece new stained glass dome of Utah landscapes will blow your mind with the beauty of glass. Museumofutah.com

I recently discovered the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum under the 600 North viaduct (467 W. 600 N.). Although it’s expensive, at $20 a person it’s a fun experience that celebrates the legacy of the Land Cruiser in both design and function with over 100 vehicles in a tight but user-friendly display. There are models from the 1950’s to the present, including the first car of its kind ever sold in the U.S., the first four-wheeled vehicle to traverse all seven continents, and right-hand drive diesel imports. If you’re a gear head, you will love this place! Landcruiserhm.com

Is It Limited?

July 14, 2026/in Living Here: Urban Utah Blog /by Babs De Lay

Moving to Chicago? Maybe parts of Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin? Last week thousands of Zillow listings disappeared on that website. Why? Well, the 411 is simple-there’s a battle going on across the country between MLS services and in this case it’s between Zillow and Chi-town’s real estate database called MRED. The database cut off 43,000 listings claiming that Zillow violated its agreement in regard to a new trend of some listings not being advertised on the platform but instead kept from the internet for weeks before you can hear about or see them.

Zillow (and me as well) believe that if a seller wants the best marketing and the most eyes on a property, you go ‘full MLS’ so that millions see the listing. Compass Real Estate owns Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Colwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and Christie’s International Real Estate with about 340,000 real estate agents under their umbrella. Zillow sued MRED and Compass earlier this month stating that those two entities conspired to cut off Zillow’s access to Chicago-area listings.

Holding listings off the MLS is happening here. I just did a search in the Wasatch Front MLS and there were ten of them, most of which were in the Park City area. These look a lot like pocket or limited access listings to me but some and for the consumer you must be working with one of these firms to see the full listing. I have a buyer that found one of these in the Sugar House area listed by a local real estate firm and it wasn’t on the MLS. I was able to show it to her with a bit of research and a week later it appeared on the MLS.

What’s the advantage? First, a buyer might find less competition for a property if the world (internet) doesn’t know about it. Real estate companies can lure in buyers if their listings are private to that firm only. Second, a buyer can get early access before other buyers know about the home. For sellers, some may not want the world to see the property because of a divorce or estate sale situation or they are relatively famous. Others may want to ‘test’ the market through extremely limited marketing to see if anyone bites at a price. Sadly, many sellers still believe in ‘Covid pricing’-listing higher than comparables, which can lead to a long, long time on the market.

According to effectiveagents.com, the reality is that off-market homes often sell for less than list-about 17% less than comparable public MLS listings which certainly benefits buyers but not sellers. If it were me selling a home, I’d want a ‘limited or non-public’ listing broker to charge me a lot less commission for less service. I’d want the seller to handle showings, negotiations and even paperwork with a clear understanding of the limits of this kind of marketing.

ADU UPDATES

July 7, 2026/in Living Here: Urban Utah Blog /by Babs De Lay

SLC has three residential zoning areas, ranging from very low-density single-family areas to high density areas for multi-family dwellings. There are actually 12 residential zones as part of the City’s total of 30 zoning classifications that also include commercial, industrial and special purpose areas. Each zone allows for different activities and supposedly helps prevent conflicts between different uses. You don’t want a noisy, stinky factory next door to your home or as was seen in the ‘80’s and 90’s in Draper, a pig farm next door to your new housing subdivision.

The capitol city has been looking at updating zoning rules as of late and especially those that pertain to single family living regulations. Right now, there are three main zones for homes, with rules that state a new home must be built on 5,000-12,000 square foot lots. Unless you’re a major gardener, have need for a massive garage or workshop, many people don’t use much of their rear yards and the trend now is to build accessory dwelling units on that unused land. Up until a few years ago there were very few laws that would allow for such density but facing a massive housing crunch now and in our future, citizens and city leaders are now putting together proposed new rules that would make adding housing inventory easier than ever before with loosening and regulating adding mini-homes/ADUs in the city.

St. George/Washington County where I often work has had a long-standing OK for ADU’s (aka ‘casitas’) as long as the structure abides by rules covering the size, height, parking, lot requirements and rental use for such in-law/guest house units. Since the area is known for retirees, it makes sense to have extra living space for family members and caretakers for seniors to live, and live affordably. Most of the homes with casitas that I’ve shown and sold have these mini homes in the rear yard and they often look (architecturally) like them main home. They often have around 800-1000 sq. ft, 1-2 bedrooms, 1-2 bathrooms and an open kitchen and great room, but no basement. Parking is sometimes in a third space to the primary home or on the street. Unless you walked into the rear yard you might not even know the second dwelling is there!

If you want to add such a dwelling, call SLC Planning and Zoning at 801-535-7700 or go online at zoning@slc.gov to read the current rules and regulations. Although the city doesn’t know how many ADU’s there currently are, they do put out an annual report about applications and the process updates. If you’re really really interested, you can attend Planning and Zoning public meetings held monthly at the city or watch them on slc.gov television with their live streams on slctv on their YouTube channel. You can also subscribe to the live meetings of the City Council, CRA Board and Historic Landmarks Commission meetings as well.

Summer Shorts

July 5, 2026/in Living Here: Urban Utah Blog /by Babs De Lay

I went out to lunch with friends the other day across from IHC’s mega hospital to a chain restaurant not of my choosing. The food was horrible, like warmed from a SYSCO bag of product produced in San Diego and shipped to chains around the west. Generally, I’ve always seen the parking lot there full, but at the noon rush hour there were only five tables full that hour in a restaurant that seats 144. And I’ve noticed restaurants closing as of late. What’s up? Simply, the economy is beating up both consumers and businesses alike.

For example, according to the USDA, the U.S. beef cattle herd has reached its lowest size since President Truman’s administration (1945-1953), with total cattle and calves at 86.2 million head as of January 1, 2026 — the smallest inventory in 75 years The beef cow herd is even more dire, down 1% to 27.6 million head, the lowest since 1961. Predictions are for a small calf crop and tight feed supplies will push beef prices higher and higher this year, which explains in part why ground beef is at $6 a pound these days. Other factors such as drought in much of the country is causing some ranchers and farmers to cull their herds. Plus, the price of fertilizers and gas is rising drastically.

If you like a good steak, then you may also like a garlic-based chimichurri sauce on top, or garlic fries with your slab of meat? There’s a garlic shortage outlook for this year due to (again) weather, production and supply chain issues. California produces about 90% of the U.S. crop of this spicy bulb but garlic powder, granulated garlic and chopped garlic (think ‘jar-lic’, the chopped stuff in a glass jar) for most food brands is produced in China. China produces over 10 billion pounds of garlic a year, grown by over 1.2 million farmers there.

I gleaned from several websites’ predictions for more shortages this year. I’m not trying to scare you, just sharing some facts based on weather, labor and supply issues affecting food. For example, olive oil production is at a low because areas in Spain, Greece and Jordan have experienced both massive drought, heatwaves and heavy rainfalls. Increased demand by people on Keto/high protein diets has seen massive demand for low carb alternatives like frozen veggies, and farmers have also been victims of extreme weather and crop yields. Same is true with spices like black pepper and cumin and there were some early frost kills in the southern U.S. that has affected citrus production there and the supply chain has shifted more towards California for our need for lemons, limes, oranges, etc. You may have noticed that after 80 years, Minute Maid orange juice concentrate has been discontinued. Grain harvests have been in chaos and profits at your favorite cereal producer (General Mills) were down 32% last year, causing some products to be discontinued. Happy news tho-some cereals will bring back prizes in the boxes to lure you to buy their product later this year.