596 N 1420 East
Richard and Lilia,
Thank you for having us through the house. We came away impressed by the property, especially the acre, the terraced yard and the basement suite, and we wanted to put our thinking in writing before we sit down together so you can see how we arrived at every number. What follows is our best reading of what the market will pay for your home today, built from what nearby homes have actually closed for rather than from asking prices or online estimates. We have given the acre, the suite and the views every dollar the evidence supports, and we have been equally direct about where the evidence stops. We have also included a plan for a $1,290,000 launch, because we expect that number will be on your mind after seeing the online estimates, and a net sheet showing what each price would leave you after the loan. Some of the numbers are harder than we would like; we would rather you hear them from us now than from a buyer's agent in October, and we hope you will ask us anything at all when we meet.
— Peter & Steph
Sold homes carry all of the weight here. Asking prices are shown for context only, because an asking price is a hope, not a data point, until a buyer agrees to it.
Your home, as we are valuing it
- Built
- 2005 two-story, county quality "Average Plus", stucco and cement fiber
- Finished area
- 5,119 sq ft: 3,412 above grade plus the 1,707 sq ft basement, which appeared fully finished when we walked it (the county still shows 256 sq ft unfinished; an appraiser will measure)
- Baths / garage
- 3.5 baths · 690 sq ft attached three-car garage · EV charger
- Lot
- 0.939 acre on the county record, most of it usable (see the aerial below). Zillow still shows the original 1.91-acre double lot; the listing and disclosures should use 0.939 so no buyer expects land that was sold with the other half
- Basement suite
- Full second kitchen and walkout: a ready-made internal ADU. Provo licenses an internal unit on application, with owner occupancy and four off-street spaces, which you have, so a buyer can put it to work the month they move in
- Detached ADU
- Provo allows one internal and one detached ADU per property, and Utah SB284 (effective October 1, 2026) requires the city to permit a detached unit on any lot over 11,000 sq ft with an existing home. Your 40,903 sq ft qualifies nearly four times over and the open back third is the natural site. Provo's ordinance was still unwritten as of September 1, so setbacks and size rules are not yet fixed
- Solar
- Rooftop system, treated here as owned outright; we will want to confirm that with you, because a leased system is usually adjusted at zero by an appraiser
The sales that set your value
We reviewed eighteen properties on the bench. Seven closed sales are similar enough to adjust to your home; the rest are shown because you will hear about them. Three questions decide how much a sale matters: how close it is, how similar the lot is, and how similar the house is in age and size.
See photos of every comparable and competing listing →
| Closed sale | Distance | Lot | Built | Fin sq ft | Closest to yours on | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 406 N 1420 E · $905,000 | Your street | 0.36 ac | 2006 | 4,274 | Location · age — the twin on the house | 25% |
| 943 N Terrace Dr · $1,575,000 | 0.4 mi, same elementary | 0.93 ac | 2002 | 6,700 | Location · lot · age — the only sale matching all three; a Parade of Homes custom 30% larger | 15% |
| 664 N 1440 E · $945,000 | Next street | 0.25 ac | 2016 | 4,271 | Location | 15% |
| 1922 N 1550 E · $835,000 | 1.7 mi, Oak Terrace | 0.42 ac | 2006 | 4,841 | Age · size, hillside view lot | 15% |
| 1383 E 320 N · $880,000 | 0.3 mi, Foothill Park | 0.27 ac | 2006 | 4,243 | Location · age | 10% |
| 4640 N Brookshire Cir · $1,250,000 | 4.3 mi, north Provo | 0.92 ac | 1999 | 6,177 | Lot · terraced yard · apartment · walkout | 10% |
| 3936 Foothill Dr · $978,250 | 3.6 mi, Sherwood Hills | 0.61 ac | 1997 | 5,497 | Lot · size | 10% |
| 4601 N Foothill Dr · $2,088,000 | 4.2 mi | 0.87 ac | 2006 / 2017 | 5,065 | Lot · age · size — but a 2017 luxury remodel, no basement | Ceiling only |
| 758 E 3030 N · $1,900,000 · 3411 N Piute · $1,435,000 · 3079 N 100 W · $1,150,000 · 3702 N 920 E · $1,070,000 | 3–4 mi, north Provo | 0.26–0.53 | 2015–2022 | 3,824–5,021 | Newer or custom product | Ceiling only |
The two highlighted rows are the ones to study first. 406 N 1420 E is the twin on the house: same street, one year newer, finished basement, sold off-market at $905,000 in January. 943 N Terrace is the twin on the land: 0.93 acre, 2002, same school, terraced yard, second kitchen, EV charger. It listed at $1,840,000, cut to $1,575,000 and was under contract in 20 days last December. What separates it from yours is the house itself, a Parade of Homes custom build with about 1,600 more finished feet, a four-car plus lower garage and 5.5 baths. After adjusting for size, quality and garage it still lands well above the Foothill Park sales, which is the point: buyers will pay for an acre on this bench when the house on it earns the price.
Your competition today
| Active listing | Asking | Was | Days | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 596 E 4190 N #5 | $999,999 | $1,200,000 | 140 | 2002 rambler, 0.25 ac, licensed 2,510 sq ft attached ADU |
| 4145 N Foothill Dr | $1,049,900 | $1,079,000 | 54 | 2013, 0.28 ac, 4-car, lake views, walkout |
| 4612 N Bristol Cir | $1,099,000 | $1,235,000 | 137 | 1977 / 2007, 0.53 ac, basement apartment rented at $1,400 |
| 2774 N 370 E | $1,150,000 | $1,300,000 | 482 | 2009, 0.28 ac, 5,492 sq ft |
| 1040 N Oakmont Ln | $1,374,990 | $1,399,990 | 239 | 0.4 mi from you; full 2025 remodel, lake views, 0.41 ac |
| 3272 N Mohawk Ln | $1,550,000 | — | 7 | New construction, 0.23 ac |
Six listings, 1,059 combined days on market, five of them already cut by $29,000 to $200,000. Two are ADU homes and neither has sold. This is the shelf your home lands on the day it lists, and it is why the launch price matters so much.
Adjusting the sales to your home
No comp is identical, so each sale is adjusted for how it differs from yours: a positive number means the comp lacks something you have, a negative one means it has something you do not. The largest credits are the acre and the ADU-ready suite, because those are the two things almost none of the competing homes can offer.
| Item | 406 N 1420 E | 664 N 1440 E | 1383 E 320 N | 1922 N 1550 E | 943 N Terrace | 4640 Brookshire | 3936 Foothill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sale price (after concessions) | $901,000 | $937,500 | $880,000 | $835,000 | $1,575,000 | $1,225,000 | $960,250 |
| Location / quality | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Custom · −$236,250 | N. Provo · −$50,000 | −$25,000 |
| Size @ $50/sf vs 5,119 | +$42,250 | +$42,400 | +$43,800 | +$13,900 | −$79,050 | −$52,900 | −$18,900 |
| Age | $0 | −$25,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | +$10,000 | +$15,000 |
| Lot (yours 0.94 ac, usable) | +$55,000 | +$60,000 | +$60,000 | +$40,000 | $0 | $0 | +$20,000 |
| Garage / baths | +$10,000 | $0 | +$5,000 | $0 | −$30,000 | $0 | +$10,000 |
| ADU-ready suite (kitchen + walkout) | None · +$50,000 | None · +$50,000 | Walkout only · +$40,000 | Walkout only · +$40,000 | Has apartment · $0 | Has apartment · $0 | Potential only · +$50,000 |
| Yard & views | +$5,000 | +$5,000 | +$15,000 | −$10,000 | −$10,000 | −$5,000 | $0 |
| Solar · EV · detached-ADU-eligible lot | +$16,500 | +$21,500 | +$16,500 | +$16,500 | +$15,000 | +$16,500 | +$16,500 |
| Adjusted value | $1,079,750 | $1,091,400 | $1,060,300 | $935,400 | $1,234,700 | $1,143,600 | $1,027,850 |
| Weight | 25% | 15% | 10% | 15% | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Weighted value | $1,082,350 → $1,060,000 – $1,105,000 | ||||||
Every Foothill Park comp shares your slope and mountain view, so the "yard & views" line pays for your terraced, landscaped yard relative to theirs, not for the view itself. The 15% quality allowance on 943 N Terrace is the largest judgment in this report; it is conservative for a Parade home, which is why that sale carries 15% weight rather than more. Adjustments run 13–20% of price, at the upper edge of what an appraiser accepts, which is one more reason the paperwork matters.
Your acre
Your lot is two to four times the size of every nearby comp, and the aerial shows it is usable ground, not hillside: the parcel runs about 226 feet deep, the house and terraces take the west third, and the land behind is open and gently sloping to the east line. We credit that at $55,000–$60,000 against quarter-acre comps. Two things keep it from being worth more. Excess land attached to a house is worth a fraction of a standalone lot, because a buyer at this price is paying for a yard, not a building site; appraisers typically credit it at 25–50% of vacant-lot value. And 1922 N 1550 E, the same age and size as your home on a 0.42-acre view lot, closed in July for $835,000. The acre is your strongest advantage over the six listings you are competing with, all on a quarter to half an acre, and the marketing leads with it.
What Zillow and Redfin are telling you, and why they are wrong
Zillow and Redfin are $200,000–$250,000 above what the closed sales support. They price by square footage across a wide radius, which on this side of Provo pulls in north-bench custom homes at $238–$412 a foot, and neither knows that no Foothill Park home has closed above $945,000. Zillow is further inflated by the stale two-acre lot. The reliable check is the question a lender's appraiser asks: what closed nearby that looks like this house? The answer today is $835,000–$945,000 for the neighborhood, $1,575,000 for a custom home on a matching acre, and the adjustments above are what bridge between them.
Three things to know before you price
Price per square foot flatters a big house. Foothill Park sales average $213 a foot; times your 5,119 feet that is $1,090,000, and it is tempting. But price per foot falls as homes get bigger: the first 3,000 feet carry the kitchen, the primary suite and the lot, and every foot after that is worth less. The 4,841-foot home on 1550 E sold for $172 a foot and the 6,177-foot home on Brookshire for $202 a foot for exactly this reason.
Unsold listings do not set value. Six homes between $1.0M and $1.55M are for sale on the bench right now, five have already cut, and together they have waited more than a thousand days. An unsold listing tells you what buyers have declined to pay. Appraisers and lenders work from closed sales, so a contract above the sold evidence runs into an appraisal gap even when a buyer is willing.
Starting high has a price. 4640 N Brookshire launched at $1,500,000 and closed at $1,250,000 five months later. 3936 Foothill launched at $1,175,000 and closed at $978,250 with $18,000 in concessions. 3702 N 920 E launched at $1,177,000 and closed at $1,070,000. Meanwhile 664 N 1440 E, one street from you, listed at $949,000 and was under contract in 20 days at 99.6% of ask. Buyers watch days on market, and the eventual buyer negotiates from the cut price, not the original one.
The two-unit potential, and the paperwork that protects it
Your home offers something no competing listing on the bench can: a finished, walkout suite with its own kitchen that a buyer can license as an internal ADU the month they move in, on an acre that qualifies for a second, detached unit under the October state law. That is a multigenerational home, a home with a mortgage helper, or a small compound for the right buyer, and it is the story we will lead with. We have credited it in full in the grid, and the marketing is built around it. Two things protect that value at the appraisal. First, any permit for the basement finish, and a short market-rent letter for the suite, which lets the appraiser treat the space as a unit rather than a second kitchen. Second, proof the solar is owned, with twelve months of utility bills. One honest note from the data: the only listed home with a recorded ADU, 596 E 4190 N, has cut $200,000 and is still unsold after 140 days. Two-unit potential widens your audience and strengthens your price against the competition; it does not suspend the rules of pricing.
Pricing plan: launching at $1,290,000
If you want to start high, and many sellers in your position reasonably do, this is how we would do it without damaging the sale: launch at $1,290,000 and reduce early and deliberately if the market does not respond. Be clear-eyed about what the number asks the market to believe: it is 18% above the top of your value range, and the only closed sales above it are a Parade of Homes custom, a 2018 custom and a 2017 luxury remodel. A buyer touring at $1.29M will be comparing your home to the Oakmont remodel at $1,374,990 and the new build at $1,550,000, so the acre, the ADU-ready suite and the photography have to carry the whole argument. It is not a mistake if you treat it as a test with a short clock, not a value.
Showings are the signal, not offers. A correctly priced home in this band draws roughly 6–10 showings in its first two weeks and an offer inside four. Each checkpoint below is a decision made now, so a reduction happens on schedule rather than after a month of hoping.
| Checkpoint | Price | Trigger | What the price says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (one coming-soon week, then live) | $1,290,000 | — | Tests whether a premium buyer exists for a two-ADU-capable acre on the bench before the fall market cools. |
| Day 14 | $1,269,000 | Fewer than 5 showings, or consistent price feedback, and no offer | A visible signal of flexibility; $106,000 under the Oakmont remodel. |
| Day 28 | $1,249,000 | Fewer than 4 more showings and no offer | Re-alerts every saved search in the $1.2M–$1.25M band. |
| Day 45 | $1,219,000 | No offer in hand | Your break-even. The last cut you can make without bringing money to closing. |
| Day 45–60 | Decide | If there is no offer at $1,219,000, the market has answered. Either sell into the value range and bring roughly $110,000–$150,000 to closing, or withdraw, license and rent the suite, pay the loan down and relist in spring with no price history. | |
Each cut is a single visible step of $20,000–$30,000, live on a Thursday so weekend traffic arrives at the new number; small nudges only add to the price-change count buyers see. Between checkpoints we hold, whatever one buyer's agent says. Price history is public, and by day 45 the listing will show three cuts that the eventual buyer negotiates from. Our advice inside this plan: treat day 28 as the real decision. If no premium buyer has surfaced by then, one decisive cut to $1,219,000 gives the listing a second launch at break-even while it is still under a month old, and you will know within two more weeks whether a sale this season clears the loan.
Your net sheet
4.75% total commission, about $6,000 in title, escrow, recording and prorations, and a $1,154,000 payoff, which is the figure shown on the public record; please correct us if it is different. The last column allows for a $10,000 concession request, because every financed comp in this study gave $4,000–$18,000 and cash buyers gave none.
| Sale price | Commission | Costs | Payoff | You net | With $10k concession | Where this sits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,290,000 | $61,275 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | $68,725 | $58,725 | Launch |
| $1,269,000 | $60,278 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | $48,722 | $38,722 | Day 14 |
| $1,249,000 | $59,328 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | $29,672 | $19,672 | Day 28 |
| $1,219,000 | $57,903 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | $1,097 | −$8,903 | Day 45 · break-even |
| $1,149,000 | $54,578 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | −$65,578 | −$75,578 | Where 2774 N 370 E is asking |
| $1,105,000 | $52,488 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | −$107,488 | −$117,488 | Top of market value |
| $1,060,000 | $50,350 | $6,000 | $1,154,000 | −$150,350 | −$160,350 | Bottom of market value |
What this means for your decision. If the payoff figure is right, your break-even is $1,218,000 and your home's market value tops out at $1,105,000. A sale at market means bringing roughly $110,000–$150,000 to closing; even the launch price nets $68,725 before a concession. We want to say this plainly: the $1,290,000 price is a reading of your payoff, not of the market. Clearing the loan this season needs a premium buyer who values the acre and the two-unit potential over the newer homes at that price. That buyer may exist, and the plan above is how we find out in 45 days without wasting the listing.
If you cannot bring cash to closing, the safer path is not selling this season. License and rent the suite (the Bristol Circle apartment rented at $1,400; a full suite here should do better), pay the loan down, apply for the detached-ADU permit once Provo's ordinance is in place, and relist in spring as a two-unit property with income history and no days-on-market baggage. Both paths are legitimate. The one path that reliably produces the worst outcome is listing at $1,290,000 and refusing to reduce: a stale listing, a low eventual sale, and a larger check at closing, a year later.
How we will market your home
Your edge over every competing listing is land, and the marketing makes it impossible to miss: drone photography and a short aerial video of the full acre with the parcel boundary overlaid, a site plan labeling the usable ground and where a shop, pool, sport court or detached ADU would go, staked corners so buyers can walk it, and twilight exteriors with a dedicated set of the mountain view from the living areas and terraces. The basement suite gets its own photo set and floor plan and is marketed as an ADU-ready apartment with an estimated market rent, alongside the acre's eligibility for a second, detached unit under the October state law: a two-unit-capable property on a bench where every competitor is a single house on a quarter-acre. Solar and the EV charger go in the MLS feature fields, where buyers filter for them, with a one-page feature sheet showing the ownership paperwork and annual savings.
Preparation is a thorough declutter and edit, professional cleaning, and a staging consultation for the main living areas and the suite so the photographs and the walk-through show the home at its best. We would order a pre-listing inspection so surprises are handled on your terms. The listing runs as a coming-soon for a week to build showing requests, then goes live mid-week with a broker open and a weekend open house, with the remarks stating the 0.939-acre lot plainly. We will target multigenerational families, BYU and hospital professionals and relocating buyers with the aerial video on social, a mailer to the Foothill Park, Oak Cliff and Edgemont streets where move-up buyers already live, and direct outreach to the agents who represented the buyers of the seven weighted comps.
Why we are confident in this plan
Everything above is grounded in closed sales, and everything we have proposed is something our team does every week. The Peter Morkel Real Estate Group has sold real estate in Utah County for more than fifteen years and closes a little over a hundred homes a year; so far in 2026 that is 42 closings and $26.5 million in volume, with 42 more of our clients under contract or closed as sellers. More than 90% of our business comes from past clients and their referrals, which is the only marketing statistic that matters to us. In 2025 our listings sold at 99.5% of asking price, and that number is the direct result of the discipline in this report: price to the evidence, launch hard, and read the first two weeks honestly.
Steph and Peter have listed and sold together for more than five years, and much of that work has been on this side of Provo, on the east bench and the streets around BYU, in the same $600,000-to-$1.2 million range your home sits in. Peter also owns and rents a licensed basement apartment of his own and manages rental homes in Provo, so what an ADU is worth to a buyer, how the licensing works and what a unit actually rents for are things we have done, not read about. Behind the two of us is a full-time team: a listing marketer who builds and runs the ad campaigns, a transaction coordinator who manages every deadline from contract to closing, and buyer agents who show your home the day a lead comes in. Your listing will be presented in person to the 300-plus agents in our Keller Williams market center and we will call the agents who sold the comparable homes in this report by name.
We also put our name behind the plan. Our listing agreement carries an easy-exit clause, so if at any point you feel we are not doing what this document says we will do, you can cancel; we would rather earn the listing every week than hold you to a contract. We are ready to have the drone flown, the corners staked and the listing live the week you say go, and we are confident that, whichever launch price you choose, this is the team that gets you the most the market will pay for this home.