Kamas Valley Is the Park City Market Nobody Watches. Sales Volume Just Jumped 70%.

Most of the attention in our market goes to the places you would expect. Deer Valley. Promontory. Empire Pass. Whatever is going up next at the Jordanelle. Meanwhile there is a stretch of Summit County sitting 16 miles east of Park City that almost nobody puts on a relocation list, and it just posted one of the biggest quarters in the entire Wasatch Back.

I am talking about the Kamas Valley. Kamas, Oakley, Francis, Peoa, Marion. The gateway to the Mirror Lake Highway and the Uinta Mountains. Working ranch land, real small towns, and a drive to Park City Mountain that is shorter than a lot of people's commute in Salt Lake.

The Park City Board of REALTORS just released the second quarter 2026 market report, and the Kamas numbers deserve a closer look than they are getting. So let's walk through what actually happened, what it costs, and where the honest tradeoffs are.

What Actually Happened in the Kamas Valley in Q2 2026

Kamas Valley single-family sales in the second quarter of 2026 came in at 22 transactions generating $45.2 million. That is a 16% increase in units and a 70% increase in dollar volume over the same quarter in 2025. The average sale price rose 47% to $2.05 million.

The board's own report flagged Kamas Valley with a notable-flag callout and described the Kamas corridor as attracting buyers who want the mountain lifestyle at prices significantly below Park City proper. When the local MLS board writes that about a submarket, it is worth reading twice.

For context, here is where the second quarter single-family medians landed across the Wasatch Back:

• Park City limits (Areas 1 to 9): $3,800,000
• Jordanelle (Areas 24 to 29): $3,669,000
• Snyderville Basin (Areas 10 to 23): $2,250,000
• Heber Valley (Areas 30 to 47): $940,000
• Kamas Valley (Areas 50 to 53): $595,000

Same mountains. Same air. Roughly a $3.2 million spread between the Park City median and the Kamas median in a single quarter. That gap is the entire story.

Why Oakley and Weber Canyon Are Driving the Numbers

The surge is not spread evenly across the valley. The Oakley and Weber Canyon sub-area, Area 52, is doing most of the heavy lifting. It logged 10 sales at $23.1 million in the second quarter, a 607% jump in dollar volume year over year.

If you have driven SR-32 north out of Kamas toward Oakley, this will not surprise you. That corridor has acreage, water, and views that would cost multiples inside Park City limits, and it is close enough that a buyer can be at the base of Park City Mountain in about half an hour. Buyers who got priced out of Silver Springs or Old Ranch Road are finding land in Oakley that lets them build what they actually wanted.

The Land Story Is the One I Would Pay Attention To

If you only look at one Kamas number, make it land.

Kamas Valley land posted 14 sales in the second quarter at $15.3 million, a 75% jump in units and a 254% surge in dollar volume. The median lot price rose 201% to $812,500. Over the trailing twelve months, the valley recorded 52 land transactions totaling $52.6 million, with volume up 162%.

Land is a forward-looking indicator. People do not buy dirt for the view alone. They buy it because they intend to build, and building is a two to three year decision. The board's report makes the same point, noting that land activity historically leads the broader housing market by 12 to 24 months. When land volume in a submarket more than triples in a year, somebody is making a bet on where that submarket will be in 2028.

The honest caveat: a 201% jump in median lot price is not a normal appreciation curve. It reflects early-stage price discovery in a market that was thinly traded to begin with. Fourteen sales is a small sample. Do not treat that percentage as a forecast.

The Catch: What Those Kamas Averages Are Hiding

Here is the part a lot of headlines will skip, and I would rather you hear it from me.

The second quarter median single-family price in the Kamas Valley was $595,000. The second quarter average was $2.05 million. That is an enormous gap between median and average, and it tells you the valley is not one market. It is at least two.

On one side you have in-town homes on standard lots in Kamas, Francis, and Oakley, which is where that $595,000 median lives. On the other side you have large acreage and ranch properties trading at prices that pull the average up into seven figures. If you shop Kamas expecting every listing to look like the median, you are going to be surprised in both directions.

The other number worth knowing: the rolling twelve-month Kamas Valley median sits at $795,000, which is down 22% year over year. That is not a price collapse. The board attributes it to a mix of newer, more affordable inventory entering the market and pulling the median down even as total volume climbs. Product mix, not distress. But it does mean the valley is getting harder to summarize with a single number.

Kamas Valley condos are a new category entirely. The area recorded 8 condo sales at $3.8 million in the second quarter with a $485,000 median, versus zero sales a year ago. That is a submarket being created in real time, and eight transactions is far too few to draw a trend from.

How the Kamas Valley Fits Into the Broader Park City Market

Zoom out and the greater Park City market is in decent shape. The second quarter produced $1.358 billion in total sales across all property types, a 7% increase over the same quarter last year on 10% more transactions. Over the trailing twelve months the market generated $5.728 billion from 2,695 transactions, up 9% in volume. Single-family median across the full MLS area rose 10% year over year to $1.7 million.

So Kamas is not an outlier in a falling market. It is the affordability release valve in a market that keeps getting more expensive at the top. When Park City proper prints a $3.8 million median and Snyderville Basin prints $2.25 million, demand does not disappear. It moves east.

Who the Kamas Valley Is Actually Right For

I am not going to tell you Kamas is right for everyone, because it is not.

It is a strong fit if you want land, a shop or a barn, room for horses or equipment, and you would rather drive 20 minutes than pay a Park City premium for a smaller lot. It is a strong fit if the Uintas matter more to you than the ski village. It is a strong fit for a full-time family that wants a small-town feel and does not need to walk to Main Street.

It is a poor fit if you want ski-in ski-out, if you plan to run a nightly rental that depends on resort proximity, or if you want walkable restaurants and nightlife out your front door. Kamas has good local spots and a real community, but it is not Old Town and it is not trying to be.

Two more things to weigh honestly. First, the board's report flags fire risk reclassifications in parts of Summit and Wasatch Counties that are pushing homeowner insurance premiums high enough to affect purchase decisions. Get an insurance quote early on any rural or wildland-adjacent property, not at the end of your inspection period. Second, elevated mortgage rates are still keeping rate-sensitive buyers on the sidelines across several Wasatch Back submarkets, which cuts both ways. Less competition for you, but also a slower resale if you need to move quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Buying in the Kamas Valley

How far is Kamas from Park City?
About 16 miles east on SR-248, which runs roughly 20 to 25 minutes in normal conditions. Winter weather and construction can stretch that, so drive it in February before you commit.

What does a home actually cost in the Kamas Valley?
The second quarter 2026 median single-family sale was $595,000, with a trailing twelve-month median of $795,000. Both figures come from the Park City Board of REALTORS. Large acreage properties trade well above that, which is why the quarterly average was $2.05 million.

Is Kamas a good place to buy land right now?
Land activity is clearly heating up, with 52 trailing twelve-month transactions at $52.6 million and volume up 162%. That said, the median lot price jumped 201% in a quarter on a small number of sales, so pricing is still finding its footing. If you are buying land here, underwrite the build cost and the utility and access questions carefully before you fall in love with the parcel.

Is Kamas better than Heber for an affordable Wasatch Back home?
They solve different problems. Heber Valley posted a $940,000 second quarter median with more services, more inventory, and easier access to the Jordanelle and Deer Valley East Village. Kamas is cheaper and more rural with better access to the Uintas and a shorter drive to Park City Mountain. Which one wins depends entirely on whether you want acreage or amenities.

My Take

The Kamas Valley is not a secret anymore, but it is still early. Land buyers moved first, which is usually the tell. Sales volume is up sharply, the price gap to Park City proper is still enormous, and the submarket is small enough that a handful of transactions can swing the statistics in either direction.

That combination means two things. There is real opportunity here for the right buyer. And there is real risk in reading any single quarter as a trend. If you are considering the Kamas corridor, look at individual comparable sales in your specific sub-area rather than the valley-wide numbers, and get eyes on the property in person before you decide.

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