Moving up in
Hurricane.
Sand Hollow on one side, Zion on the other.
There are really two move-up markets in Hurricane in 2026. The primary-residence step-up from Dixie Springs or Sky Mountain into a bigger family home. And the STR-eligible step-up into Sand Hollow Resort, where the math runs on rental nights instead of bedrooms. Here is how I think about both, and where the next house actually lives.
REALTOR with Real Broker LLC. Listing your Hurricane home, financing your next one.
Population per Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Median price per Redfin, October 2025.
Hurricane is two markets pretending to be one.
I work move-up families across all of Washington County, and Hurricane has a personality of its own. The locals living in Dixie Springs and Sky Mountain are running primary-residence move-up math, the same math you would run in Washington or St. George. The buyers coming in from California and the Wasatch Front are running a different equation entirely, one that includes STR nights, Zion proximity, and the difference in value between a Sand Hollow address and a regular Hurricane address.
If you live in Hurricane and you are thinking about moving up to the next house, the most useful thing I can do is help you separate those two markets. Your buyer pool, your inventory band, and your timeline are not the same depending on which side of the line you are on. Below is how the move-up math actually plays out, neighborhood by neighborhood, with the data I am watching in 2026.
The move-up neighborhoods, the price bands, and the STR question.
The 2026 market context, plainly
Hurricane has cooled from the 2021 to 2022 sprint. Per Redfin data from October 2025, the median sale price came in around $580,000, down roughly 2.5 percent year over year, with median price per square foot at $273. Days on market are running longer than the boom years, in the 60 to 90 day range across the city, with broader Hurricane Valley reporting closer to 87 days on average per Movoto. Inventory is healthier than it has been since 2020. None of that is a crash, and none of it is going to change move-up math the way a 1 percent rate move would, but it does mean sellers are not getting the over-list bidding wars they got two years ago, and buyers have room to negotiate that they did not have then.
For a move-up family, that environment is actually a friendlier one than the boom. You will probably take a haircut against peak pricing on your current home, but the next house has come down too, often by more in dollar terms than the loss on the smaller home. The trade is most often net-positive when you run it. The valuation questionnaire and the equity position calculator will give you the real numbers in about ten minutes between them.
The STR question, before the offer, not after
Hurricane is one of the few Southern Utah cities where short-term rentals are still actively part of the move-up calculation, but only in specific places. Under Hurricane City Code Sec. 3-10-11, whole-home short-term rentals require a business license, a certificate of occupancy issued for transient use, compliance with the building and fire code for transient occupancy, and a license that has to be transferred within 45 days of resale. The well-known STR-eligible pockets are Sand Hollow Resort, the Villas at Sand Hollow, TAVA Resort, and a small list of other zoned communities. Most of the standard residential subdivisions inside city limits do not allow nightly rentals at all.
What this means for a move-up buyer: if your plan to make the next payment work depends on offsetting it with STR income, the zoning analysis has to come before you write the offer. I have seen buyers fall in love with a Hurricane property that looked nightly-rentable on every aspirational level, only to find out the underlying subdivision does not allow it. That conversation is one of the first ones I have with anyone considering an STR-overlay move.
And the inverse is also true. If you are selling a current home inside a Sand Hollow Resort lot, you are selling to a pool that includes investors who run the numbers on revenue per night, not on bedrooms per dollar. The marketing for that listing is a different exercise than for a standard primary-residence sale on the Hurricane Fields side of town. I run both regularly.
The neighborhoods that actually trade
Dixie Springs. The reliable family corridor. Newer construction, sidewalks, parks, and the highest density of move-up trades inside Hurricane. Buyer pool is mostly local: young families graduating from a starter or relocating from Washington Fields. Typical move-up step here is from a 3-bedroom on a smaller lot to a 4 or 5-bedroom with more garage. Entry move-up range, roughly $580K to $750K.
Sky Mountain and the Sky Mountain Golf Course homes. A mature golf community with an established move-up pool. Buyers here are often empty-nesters and semi-retired, but the larger view lots also pull move-up families who want more space and the mountain backdrop. The Courtyard at Sky Mountain and Clubhouse Series at Sky Mountain are the patio-home niches inside the broader community. Move-up bands run $650K to $900K, with view-lot custom builds clearing that.
Sand Hollow Resort. This is the resort-zoned community on the southwest edge of town, anchored by the Sand Hollow Golf Club and a few minutes from Sand Hollow Reservoir and Sand Hollow State Park. The pool of buyers here is more national than local, and the price band runs from $700K townhomes and villas to $2M-plus custom homes on golf course frontage. STR eligibility is the single biggest reason most of these listings trade. If you are selling here, your buyer is running revenue projections, not just monthly payments.
Cordero. Custom homes on larger lots without the ultra-luxury price tag of the very top end. Architecturally varied, mostly desert contemporary and Mediterranean, with strong mountain views. A natural step-up from a Dixie Springs or Sky Mountain home for families who want more land and more flexibility without committing to a full ranch.
Painted Sands and the larger-lot pockets. For move-up buyers who want acreage, RV parking, room for outbuildings, and a build environment that does not feel restrictive. Less HOA, more land. The move-up case here is usually lifestyle-driven, not square-foot-driven.
Dixie Heights and Legacy at Sand Hollow. The two newest active master-planned communities, with Holmes Homes building in Dixie Heights and a Holmes-and-Visionary mix in Legacy at Sand Hollow. Worth considering if your move-up is a move-up into new construction, where the timing and the contingencies are the real conversation. The new construction Hurricane page goes deeper, and the move-up into new construction guide covers how to keep the earnest money safe while the build finishes.
Sell first or buy first, in this market
The honest answer is that the market has shifted enough that listing first is less risky in Hurricane today than it was a few years ago. With days on market running 60 to 90 days and inventory healthier than the boom, there is more time built into the timeline. If you are pricing right at market and your home shows well, you can usually land a contract and use the contingency period to find the next house, especially if you are comfortable with a short rental or a lease-back from the buyer.
That said, the buy-before-you-sell path still wins for two specific families. One: families with school-aged kids who cannot tolerate a temporary move. Two: families targeting a specific listing in a specific neighborhood that does not come up often, like a particular lot in Sand Hollow Resort or a particular view in Cordero. For those families, a HELOC against the current home, a bridge loan, or a recast-eligible non-contingent offer can be the right tool. The buy-before-you-sell calculator models both paths against your actual equity, rate, and holding-cost tolerance.
What I am watching in the market right now.
Inventory is healthier than it has been since 2020. Sand Hollow Resort listings trade on different math than the rest of Hurricane, with STR-permitted units commanding a meaningful premium. Sky Mountain and Dixie Springs remain the most active primary-residence pools.
Sources: Redfin (Oct 2025 city data), Movoto (Hurricane Valley DOM). Updated monthly.
Run your real Hurricane equity number before you go looking at the next house.
Whether the next house is a primary-residence step-up in Dixie Springs or an STR play in Sand Hollow Resort, the math starts with what your current home is actually worth in the 2026 Hurricane market. The valuation questionnaire takes about three minutes, costs nothing, and there is no signup wall on the other side.
Honest pricing band. No marketing list.
If the next house is in Sand Hollow, you probably need to buy first.
The right Sand Hollow Resort or Cordero listing does not come up every week. When it does, a contingent offer is not always competitive, and you may need to buy non-contingent. This calculator models the bridge financing, the carrying-cost window, and the real net difference between sell-first and buy-first for a Hurricane move-up.
Run the Buy-Before-You-Sell Calculator- HELOC vs bridge loan vs cash-out refi
- Carrying-cost months you can stomach
- Sale-side timing and proceeds
- Net out-of-pocket on each path
One person across both sides of your Hurricane move.
I am dual-licensed. Listing agent on the Hurricane home you are selling, mortgage lender on the next home you are buying. The buy-side REALTOR is a trusted partner I refer in, because Utah does not let one person serve as both buyer-agent and lender on the same purchase. That is a guardrail, not a loophole, and it is the part most move-up families say felt missing the last time they moved.
What you actually feel: one strategy meeting, one shared timeline, one phone number, and one head holding the whole board, from the Hurricane listing photos through the Sand Hollow or Coral Canyon or Sky Mountain closing.
Read how the coordinator model worksThe questions I get from Hurricane sellers.
What is the typical move-up price band in Hurricane right now?
Three bands, roughly. Entry move-up runs $580K to $750K in Dixie Springs, Sky Mountain, and the Hurricane Fields side. Premium move-up runs $750K to $1.2M in Cordero, view-lot custom builds, and Sand Hollow-adjacent communities. Luxury and STR-eligible estates inside Sand Hollow Resort and along the golf course often clear $1.2M to $3M and beyond.
Median citywide was around $580K in late 2025 per Redfin, down a few percent year over year, with longer days on market than the boom years.
Does Hurricane allow short-term rentals on a move-up purchase?
Hurricane allows whole-home short-term rentals only in single-family zones that meet the city ordinance for transient occupancy, with a current business license and a certificate of occupancy. Sand Hollow Resort, the Villas at Sand Hollow, and TAVA Resort are the well-known STR-permitted pockets.
Most standard residential subdivisions in Hurricane do not allow nightly rentals. If your move-up plan depends on offsetting the new payment with STR income, the zoning analysis has to come before the offer, not after.
Should I sell my Hurricane home first or buy the next one first?
It depends on your equity position, your current rate, and the inventory in the price band you are buying into. With days on market in the 60 to 90 day range in Hurricane right now, listing first carries less timing risk than it did in 2021 or 2022.
For families who cannot tolerate a temporary rental, or who are targeting a specific Sand Hollow or Cordero listing that does not come up often, the buy-before-you-sell path with a HELOC or bridge is worth modeling. The buy-before-you-sell calculator runs both paths against your real numbers.
How does the coordinator model work on a Hurricane move-up?
I am the listing agent on the home you are selling and the mortgage lender on the home you are buying. The buy-side REALTOR is a trusted partner I refer in, because Utah does not let one person serve as both buyer-agent and lender on the same purchase. That is a regulatory guardrail, and I follow it.
What you get on the other side: one phone number, one shared timeline, one strategy meeting, and one head holding both sets of numbers. That is the version of a move that most families say felt missing the last time they did it.
Keep reading on the move-up.
The hub, two sister cities for comparison, the strategy guide for non-contingent buys, and the new construction route if a builder timeline fits your move.
Move-Up Hub
The full move-up library: decision frameworks, equity math, the buy-before-you-sell strategy, and the six-city playbook.
Moving up in St. George
The largest move-up pool in the region. Little Valley, Desert Color, and the price bands that actually trade.
Moving up in Washington
The fastest-growing family corridor next door. Coral Canyon and Sienna Hills are the relevant comps.
Buy before you sell
Bridge financing, HELOC strategy, and how to write a non-contingent offer on a Sand Hollow listing.
Move up into new construction
If Dixie Heights or Legacy at Sand Hollow is the next house, the contingency strategy is its own conversation.
Search Hurricane neighborhoods
The active home search lives on MovingUtah.com, with full neighborhood pages for Sand Hollow, Sky Mountain, Dixie Springs, and the rest.