Live Alpine listings, filtered
Homes with an ADU or casita in Alpine.
Alpine listings with a second living space on the property, whether that is a basement apartment, a detached casita, or an attached suite, fed straight from the MLS and sorted newest first, with a clear read on what makes an accessory unit legal here and what to verify before you write an offer.
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Newest first
The newest ADU and casita listings.
Fed straight from the local MLS and filtered to Alpine homes that note an accessory dwelling unit, a casita or guest house, a mother-in-law suite, or a basement apartment: new listings appear here as they list, and sold homes drop off. The read on what makes one legal is just below.
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The full Alpine inventory with the map, list view, and search filters. No account needed to look.
Hear about new matches first
Tell me what you are after and I will flag new listings that fit, usually the morning they go live.
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Browse every Alpine listing, or slide sideways: homes with a basement, single story, no hoa.
If the grid looks thin today, that is the real Alpine market, not a glitch: a finished basement is common on these foothill lots, but one set up and listed as a separate unit with its own entrance is a narrower slice, a detached casita is narrower still, and the legal-versus-existing question (below) tightens it further. Alpine is also a small, slow-turnover town where homes recently averaged around 138 days on market, so expect limited choice. If you only need the extra square footage rather than a second kitchen and a private door, the broader homes with a basement page is the deeper pool. Tell me what you are after and I will have the Alpine-area partner agent I work with flag the next match the morning it lists.
Listing information comes from the local MLS and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
The local read
What an ADU or casita really means in Alpine.
An accessory dwelling unit is a property feature, not a promise, and Alpine listings reach for several words to describe the same idea. ADU is the zoning term. Casita and guest house usually mean a detached building standing apart from the main home. Mother-in-law suite usually means an attached space sharing a wall with the house but keeping its own entrance. And basement apartment, by far the most common form here, means the lower level has been built out as a self-contained space: a second kitchen, its own bathroom, a separate exterior entrance, and sometimes a separate utility meter. Every one of those labels describes the space and nothing more, and every one turns on the same piece of homework, which is whether the space is actually legal and permitted.
Alpine is structurally good ground for the lower-level version for one clear reason: the foothill grade. The city climbs sloped benches under Lone Peak, and on those east-bench and canyon-mouth lots a basement frequently opens to daylight or walks out to grade, with full windows and a real door. That makes a lower level that lives like its own floor rather than a dark, fully below-grade basement, which is exactly the setup a separate-entrance unit needs. Finished and walkout basements are the norm on the slopes here, and the larger custom homes on the benches are the most likely to carry a deep, tall lower level with room for a second kitchen and a real bedroom downstairs. Detached casitas are the rarer form in Alpine, because a second structure needs a parcel with room around it, so they concentrate on the larger lots out toward the canyon mouth. The older grid core can carry built-out basements too, though the layout varies home to home.
Here is the part that matters more than the photos. A finished basement is not the same as a legal apartment, and a casita on the listing is not the same as a permitted accessory dwelling. A second kitchen and an outside door do not make a unit conforming on their own, and what is even allowed depends on the specific parcel's zoning. Accessory-dwelling rules are set by Alpine City, they change over time, and a great many existing units in older homes were finished over the years without permits or were built before today's rules, which makes them non-conforming. That is not a reason to walk away, but it is the reason to verify rather than assume. The two questions that decide everything are whether the unit is permitted with Alpine City for that parcel and whether it has its own legal egress, meaning a code-sized window well or door out of every sleeping room below grade.
I will keep this strictly about the property. I am not going to characterize who would use a second unit or put an income or payment number on a page like this, because what a space could do depends entirely on its legal status and rules that change, and a non-conforming unit cannot be relied on at all. What I can do is point you at the right stock. If what you actually want is the extra square footage rather than a second kitchen and a private door, start with homes with a basement, which is the much deeper pool. The walkout-friendly slope lives on the larger bench lots, so the single-story page is a useful next stop, a detached casita needs room around it, which is what the acreage page is for, and a separate-entrance layout often lands on a larger established parcel, which is where the no-HOA page helps. Earlier in the process than show me listings? Start with the Alpine guide, and when a home below reads right, that is the moment to reach out.
What counts as an accessory unit
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Basement apartment: the most common form in Alpine. A lower level with a second kitchen, its own bath, and a private exterior entry, which the bench grade often turns into a true walkout door at ground level.
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Detached casita or guest house: a standalone building set apart from the main home, with its own roof and walls. It needs a parcel with room around it, so it is the rarer form here and it follows the larger lots.
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Attached mother-in-law suite: a space on the main floor or above a garage that shares a wall with the house but keeps its own private door. Read the floor plan for whether that entry is genuinely separate.
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Kitchen and egress: a full kitchen or a kitchenette is the marker that separates a unit from a spare room, and every sleeping room below grade needs a code-sized window well or a door to the outside. Confirm both in person.
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Permitted, not just present: some units have their own gas or electric meter, or at least split HVAC. That is a convenience, not proof of legality, so note it but never read it as a permit.
The local map
Where the ADUs and casitas actually are.
A second living space turns up across Alpine, but each form follows its own geography: basement units concentrate where the foothill grade and the larger floor plans line up, and detached casitas follow the parcels big enough to hold a second structure. These are informal settings for orientation, not formal boundaries. Here is where to look, and the due-diligence note attached to each.
Walkout and daylight bench lots
On the sloped east-bench and canyon-mouth lots, a lower level can open to grade with full windows and a real door, which is the ideal setup for a separate unit that lives like its own floor rather than a dark basement. This is the most natural place in Alpine for a separate-entrance layout, and the most common reason a basement here reads like an apartment at all. Confirm the egress on every below-grade bedroom and the permit status with the city.
The larger custom homes on the benches
The bigger custom homes that fill the east benches often have the deepest and tallest basements, which makes a comfortable second kitchen and a real bedroom downstairs more workable than in a low, short basement. A newer custom build is more likely to have been finished with permits, but you still verify it for the specific parcel, since what is allowed depends on the zoning.
The older grid core
The established and mid-century homes in the original Mountainville townsite on the flatter valley-floor ground can carry built-out basements too, though the layout and the ceiling height vary home to home. This is also the most likely place to find a lower level that was finished years ago without a permit, so it is the area where verifying the unit's legality matters most.
The canyon-mouth and north edges
The higher, more rural edges toward the mouth of American Fork Canyon, including the Box Elder and Willow Canyon areas, hold the larger lots. This is the part of Alpine where a detached casita or guest house has room to sit apart from the main home at all. Two property checks come first out here, though: pressurized irrigation is not available in Box Elder or parts of Willow Canyon, and septic versus sewer varies in some pockets, so confirm both services for the parcel before you count on a second structure.
Attached suites in larger plans
The bigger established two-story and multi-level homes across the city are where an attached mother-in-law suite shows up, sometimes on the main floor and sometimes above a garage bay, alongside the full, deep basements a lower-level unit needs. Look at the actual layout for a real kitchen, a private entry, and code egress, rather than assuming finished space is a legal unit, and read the floor plan for whether the entrance is genuinely separate.
Anywhere with a separate exterior entrance
Because Alpine is largely built out and trades mostly resale and one-off customs, a true accessory unit is not a single enclave but a feature that turns up lot by lot wherever a walkout grade, a built-out lower level, or a lot with room for a second building happens to land. The address matters more than any neighborhood name, so the live listings above are the honest map on any given week.
Before you tour: what to actually check
Is it permitted for this parcel: ask the listing agent for the permit history and confirm the unit's status with Alpine City. What is allowed depends on the parcel's zoning, and a second kitchen and a side door do not make a unit legal on their own.
Egress on every bedroom: each sleeping room below grade needs a code-sized egress window and well, or a door to the outside. Look at the actual window wells, not just the listing photos, and a walkout door counts only where it serves the room.
Conforming vs. existing: many older accessory units are non-conforming, built or finished before today's rules or without permits. That applies to a converted outbuilding just as much as a basement. Understand exactly what you are buying and what can and cannot be relied on, because rules change.
Separate systems: check whether the kitchen, HVAC, and any meter are genuinely separate, and whether the wiring and gas work for the second kitchen were done to code and inspected.
Ceiling height, light, and the grade: an older basement can be low and dark. Stand in it. A tall, daylight, or walkout lower level on the bench grade lives very differently from a short, fully below-grade basement. On a detached casita, check how it is heated and whether water and power run to it properly.
Water, sewer, and the rest: Alpine City provides culinary water plus pressurized irrigation, but the irrigation does not reach Box Elder or parts of Willow Canyon, and septic versus sewer varies in some pockets, so check both for the parcel, and on any older-core home, date the roof, furnace, electrical panel, and sewer or septic line.
Want a real accessory unit without the guesswork?
Tell me your budget, the part of Alpine you like, whether you want a lower-level unit inside the home or a detached casita on its own footprint, and whether you need a fully permitted, conforming unit or are open to an existing space you would verify against the parcel's zoning and possibly bring up to code. I will connect you with a trusted Alpine-area partner agent for the on-the-ground work and stay on the file for the homework and the financing, with straight answers about which spaces are legal accessory units and which are just finished square footage with a door on it.
Selling an Alpine home with a casita, a mother-in-law suite, or a basement apartment? The buyers reading this page want exactly that. List it with the Alpine-area partner agent I connect you with, and your home gets featured across MovingUtah, on the pages they are already reading.
Quick answers
ADU and casita shopping, answered.
It is a secondary living space on the property, and Alpine listings use several words for the same idea. The most common form here is a basement apartment, a lower level built out with a second kitchen, its own bathroom, and a separate exterior entrance. You will also see detached casitas and guest houses standing apart from the main home, and attached mother-in-law suites that share a wall with the house but keep their own private door. All three describe the space and nothing more. A finished lower level with a kitchen is not automatically a legal accessory dwelling unit, so the real work is confirming whether the unit is permitted and conforming with Alpine City for that specific parcel, since what is allowed depends on the zoning.
Some are and some are not, which is exactly why you verify rather than assume. An accessory dwelling unit, whether it is a basement apartment, a detached casita, or an attached suite, has to be legal and permitted with Alpine City, and what is allowed depends on the parcel's zoning, so it is not a citywide yes or no. Many existing units in older homes were finished over the years without permits or were built before today's rules, which makes them non-conforming. That is not a dealbreaker by itself, but you need to know which one you are buying. Confirm the zoning, the permit history, the unit's status, and the egress independently before you rely on it, and I will help line up those checks.
Basement units land most naturally on the sloped east-bench and canyon-mouth lots, where the foothill grade lets a lower level walk out to daylight with its own door, and in the larger custom homes on the benches that carry deep, tall basements. A detached casita or guest house needs room around it, so it turns up on the bigger parcels toward the mouth of American Fork Canyon. The older grid core can carry built-out basements too, though the layout and ceiling height vary home to home, and an older-core unit is the most likely to have been finished without a permit. These are informal settings for orientation, not formal boundaries, and the live listings above are the honest count on any given week.
Only where the unit is legal for that parcel, and that is the whole point of the verification. A permitted, conforming accessory dwelling unit is a different thing from a non-conforming space that happens to have a kitchen, what is allowed depends on the parcel's zoning, and the rules can change, so this is a question to confirm with Alpine City for the specific property, not to assume from the listing. I will not put an income or payment figure on a page like this, because it depends entirely on the unit's legal status and the specifics, but I can connect you with a local partner agent who will get you straight answers on what the city allows.
Egress is a legal, code-sized way out of every below-grade sleeping room, usually an egress window with a window well sized for a person to climb out, or a door to the outside, which a walkout grade can provide. It is both a safety requirement and a piece of what makes a basement bedroom or apartment count as legal living space. It is the first thing to confirm in person, because a room marketed as a bedroom downstairs is not really one without it. We check the actual window wells and doors, not just the photos.
Tell me the budget, the part of town, and whether you want a lower-level unit inside the home or a detached casita on its own footprint, and whether you need a fully permitted suite or are open to an existing space to verify against the parcel's zoning. I will connect you with an Alpine-area partner agent and flag matching listings as they go live. Alpine is a small, slow-turnover market where homes recently averaged around 138 days on market and a true separate unit is a narrow slice, so a standing alert and a clear must-have list are how you catch the right one when it lists.