You’re ready to buy. You’ve done the research, saved the money, and picked the city. Now you’re staring at one last question: “townhome or single-family home?”

It’s a bigger decision than most people realize. The type of home you choose shapes your mornings, your weekends, your kids’ friendships, and your financial future. The good news? There’s no wrong answer. There’s just the answer that fits your life right now.

At Firefly in Eagle Mountain, one of the fastest-growing cities in Utah, you get to choose from both: townhomes starting in the mid-$300s, single-family homes from the low $500s, 22 new home designs, and 2,780 acres of master-planned community built around getting your kids off devices, and getting your family outside, active, and together.

Here are the top 10 things every buyer should know before making the call.

Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Townhome at Firefly

1. You Get Into Homeownership Sooner

This is the big one. According to Redfin data from 2025, the national median price for a single-family home was $434,303. The median townhome? $365,177. That’s roughly $69,000 less, or about 16% lower.

At Firefly, townhomes start in the mid-$300s. For first-time home buyers, that means a lower down payment, a more manageable monthly mortgage, and more money left over for the life you actually want to live. These are some of the most affordable homes in Utah in a community this well-designed.

Bottom line: A townhome gets you into the market faster, with less financial stress on the front end.

2. Someone Else Handles the Maintenance

You read that right. In most townhome communities, exterior maintenance, landscaping, and common area upkeep are managed by the HOA. Your Saturday morning belongs to you.

Here’s why that matters. Research tells us that 75% of the time spent under the same roof with your kids is gone by the time they turn 12. Do you really want to spend those weekends resealing a driveway?

Bottom line: Less maintenance means more time at the skate park, the pickleball courts, and the pump track. All of which are steps from your front door at Firefly.

3. Your Kids Will Make Friends Fast

Townhome living puts neighbors close together. Front stoops near each other, so neighbors greet each other and kids find each other faster. Redfin notes that townhouse communities “often encourage a strong sense of community since neighbors live closer together and share amenities.”

In a community like Firefly, where the whole design is built around getting families outside together, that proximity is a gift.

Bottom line: Closer neighbors means faster friendships, especially for families with young children.

4. It’s a Smart Financial Starting Point

A townhome isn’t where your homeownership story ends. It’s where it begins. You can build equity while your income grows, and your family grows. And when the time is right, you can always move up. Here’s something most people don’t know: at Firefly, your townhome can include a full finished basement. That means extra storage, a playroom, a home gym, or a guest space, all in a home that costs less per square foot than in any other comparable community.

Plenty of families use a townhome as the financial launchpad that makes a single-family home possible a few years down the road.

Bottom line: Chapter one of a great homeownership story often begins in a townhome.

5. You Still Get the Full Firefly Experience

This is what makes Firefly different from every other townhome community in Utah: you’re not giving anything up. Every Firefly homeowner, townhome or single-family, gets access to the same 350-plus acres of parks, trails, and open space. The same skate park, pump track, downhill mountain bike trails, pickleball and basketball courts, and the region’s only full-time Activities Director planning weekly events for families of every age. And the best is still coming: a splash pad, amphitheater, disc golf course, multi-sports complex, underpass climbing wall, and a campground complete with archery and axe throwing are all in the works. Firefly is the most family-friendly community in Utah, and it comes with every home.

Bottom line: The lifestyle is the same. The price of entry is lower.

Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Single-Family Home at Firefly

1. Your Backyard Is Yours to Design

This is the benefit people underestimate most. A private yard isn’t just space, it’s your space. A trampoline, a garden, a firepit for Friday nights, and space for your dogs to run. Your backyard is an extension of your family’s life. At Firefly, single-family homes start in the low $500s. And if you want to go all in, Firefly Ranch offers one-acre-plus homesites built for swimming pools, sport courts, horse corrals, and custom outdoor living that most neighborhoods can’t touch.

Bottom line: If your family’s life happens in your yard, a single-family home gives you the canvas to build it exactly the way you want.

 Real Privacy, Real Quiet

No shared walls. No muffled sounds from the unit next door. No wondering if your family is too loud. Single-family homes give you a level of quiet and personal space that attached homes simply can’t replicate. Whether you have a baby who needs to sleep, a teenager with a new drum kit, or you just want a Friday night movie at full volume, a single-family home gives you that without sending everyone to the basement.

Bottom line: In a single-family home, you never have to turn down the volume, or the fun.

3. Your Home Builds More Wealth Over Time

Utah real estate has tripled in value since 2000, according to state market data. Single-family homes have shown strong appreciation over time, driven by more square footage and consistent demand from buyers at every stage of life. In March 2026, the median home price in Utah County was $533,000, up 3.5% from the prior year, according to Redfin. Homes in Utah County are selling in an average of 55 days, a strong sign of continued buyer demand right here in the market where Firefly calls home.

Bottom line: A single-family home at Firefly isn’t just a place to live, it’s could be one of the best long-term investments available in Utah right now.

4. You Can Renovate, Expand, and Customize

Of course your brand new Candlelight Home is designed exactly the way you want when you move in on day one. But what about 10 years from now?  Want to finish the basement? Add a deck? Create a new backyard design now that your toddlers have become teenagers? A single-family home gives you the square footage and the outdoor space to make it happen. The canvas is bigger, and so is the vision.

And here’s something worth knowing: Firefly single-family homes can be built with a separate entrance to the basement. That opens up a whole world of possibilities:

• A mother-in-law apartment so grandparents can be close but still have a separate retreat
• A private guest suite that gives visitors their own space
• A man cave or art studio completely separate from the rest of the house
• A dedicated kids’ playroom or hangout space that keeps the chaos downstairs
• An ADU (accessory dwelling unit) for rental income to help offset your mortgage every month

Bottom line: Your single-family home grows with your family, on your timeline.

5. It’s Built for Every Season of Family Life

Kids get bigger. Families add members. Parents need home offices. Grandparents come to stay. Single-family homes have the square footage and layout flexibility to handle all of it. At Firefly, you have 22 floor plan designs and four elevation styles to choose from: Farmhouse, Contemporary, Scandinavian, and Craftsman. You’re not ticking a box off a list. You’re designing a home that fits your family’s story and your personal style, today and in the future.

Bottom line: A single-family home at Firefly can be built for your life today, and flex to fit your life ten years from now.

Still Not Sure? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

#1:  “What’s your monthly budget?” If a single-family home would create financial stress, a townhome lets you own without that pressure. Stress is a terrible housemate.

#2:  “How important is a private outdoor yard?” If your ideal weekend involves kids in the backyard and dogs running free, lean toward single-family. If you’d rather lock the door and let someone else handle the grass, a townhome gives you that freedom.

#3:  “How long do you plan to stay?” Shorter horizon of 3 to 5 years? A townhome’s lower price point gives you more flexibility. Planting roots for 10-plus years? A single-family home’s appreciation potential becomes increasingly hard to ignore.

#4:  “How much maintenance do you want to own?” If you love a good yard project, that’s a feature in a single-family home, not a chore. If not, a townhome hands that job to someone else.

#5:  “What does your ideal life actually look like?” Take a moment to picture it. Close your eyes. What do you see? Kids running around. Neighbors you know by name. Mountain views. Weekends living the life you’ve dreamed of. What kind of home is in that picture? That’s your answer.

 The One Thing That’s True No Matter What You Choose

Whether you pick a townhome or a single-family home at Firefly, you’re choosing a community unlike anything else in Utah.

350-plus acres of parks, trails, and open space surrounded by breathtaking mountain views. A skate park, bike pump track, downhill mountain bike trails, pickleball and basketball courts, playgrounds, and the region’s only full-time Activities Director. Plus a splash pad, amphitheater, disc golf course, multi-sports complex, underpass climbing wall, and a campground with archery and axe throwing are still on the way.

And a community built around one truth: the time you have with your kids is shorter than you think. Why live close to work when you can live close to what matters most: quality time outside doing activities with your family? Firefly is an easy commute from South Jordan, Lehi, and Herriman. 75% of the time you’ll actively spend with your children is gone by the time they turn 12. Firefly exists to help you make the most of every year you have left.

Ready to See It for Yourself?

There are 6 model homes open right now at 3004 W Wander Lane, Eagle Mountain, UT 84005, and open houses on most Saturdays for Move-In Ready homes nearing completion. Walk through a townhome, then walk through a single-family home. See the layout, experience the difference, then choose the best option for your family. And don’t forget to bring the bikes, scooters, skateboards, and pickleball gear.  We invite you to spend the day enjoying the amenities to see what living at Firefly really feels like.

Your family deserves a home in a community that was built for them. Come see it.

Looking for new homes for sale in Utah built by the only Eagle Mountain home builder with a 95% client satisfaction rate? Candlelight Homes builds new construction homes at Firefly in Eagle Mountain, one of the fastest-growing cities in Utah, and the best place to raise a family. Townhomes starting in the mid-$300s, and single-family homes starting in the low $500s. 6 Model Homes to tour, and quick move-in homes available. Visit CandlelightHomes.com to explore 22 new home designs, join our email list, and book a tour of all 6 model homes.