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Draper • At the height of the Wasatch Front's real estate market a few years back, the mansion on Stag Ridge Drive was a $1.8 million Parade of Homes entry, an example of just how much opulence you could stuff into 6,500 square feet.

Four years later, the showpiece is on the market for $1.3 million — even after upgrades such as a pool and waterfall.

The high-end home market has taken a beating during the past four years, even more so than the market for more affordable properties. Whereas many homes priced under $300,000 have fallen by 20 percent to 25 percent in value, most homes in the million-dollar range have plummeted as much as 30 percent to 50 percent or more.

A lot of that has to do with the tighter lending standards put in place after the nation's foreclosure crisis began. Even as many potential buyers struggle to purchase a home priced at $200,000, those in higher-income brackets also struggle under today's more conservative lending environment to buy luxury properties.

You either need to have a lot of cash to buy a property in this price range — about a third of such homes along the Wasatch Front are purchased with cash — or a fairly high six-figure income. And in these challenging economic times, there just aren't enough of those types of folks around.

"That's why many people who don't have to sell a home in this price range in this economy aren't selling," said DeAnna Dipo, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

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Affordability • Even with falling prices in the luxury home market, homes around $1 million are still out of reach of most people in Utah and represent only a tiny portion of overall sales. So far this year, for example, 40 homes have sold for $1 million or more in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Weber counties. In all of 2010, only 91 homes sold at $1 million or more, an increase from 81 in 2009. That compares with sales of 20,842 homes in all prices range in 2010, down 9 percent to from 2009.

Today, about 300 homes priced at $1 million or more are on the market in the four-county area. That's down by as much as one-half from the market's peak. The economy is at play, here, too. About one-fifth of today's $1 million-plus homes are distressed properties in which the owner isn't able to keep up on payments. Most will remain on the market for a while .

In the years leading up to the market's peak in spring 2008, $1 million bought less and less of a home. By 2005, more homes for $1 million that needed updating or renovating began appearing. In fact, many buyers in the market for a home in the million-dollar range were hearing words such as "compromise" and even "fixer-upper."

So what can you get for $1 million today? A lot still depends on location, of course. As with most residential real estate, east-side properties often sell at a premium, as do homes in coveted areas such Federal Heights near downtown Salt Lake City.

And as Dipo demonstrated on a recent tour of homes priced around $1 million, you can get more for your money in this price range than at any time in the past four years.

Generally, buyers with $1 million can expect an updated home with luxury features such as a gourmet kitchen, high-end appliances and fixtures, professional landscaping and spacious master suites and bathrooms.

By all those measures, the 6,500-square-foot home in Draper near 12658 South and 1906 East doesn't disappoint. The home has the feel of a resort, with its pool, waterfall, fire pits and an outdoor gathering area called a grotto. There's a patio off the master bedroom, which has a bathroom suite with a fireplace that's the size of some studio apartments. There's a second kitchen in the basement, a home theater system and wall-mounted televisions throughout.

Also in Draper, Lisa Armstrong is trying to sell another former Parade of Homes property, this one built in 2002. She and her former husband bought it in 2003; outdoor features such as a pool were added in 2004. It has no shortage of luxury items throughout its 7,600 square feet.

In 2008, Armstrong had the home on the market for its appraised priced of $2.1 million, but took it off when there were no takers. "Now, prices are back to where they were in 2002," she said. Now remarried, Armstrong says she'd like to sell the home for about $1.1 million — an amount, she says, is what she has invested in the property.

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Foreclosure hit. • Although a greater portion of higher-end homes sell for cash than those in lower price ranges, many well-heeled buyers took out mortgages during the boom years — some stretching their incomes to the limit or taking out exotic loans to qualify for jumbo home loans.

It's no surprise, then that the nation's foreclosure crisis has made its way into the high-end market, as well.

In Riverton, a seller is trying to unload a mansion via a short sale for just under $1.5 million. Like many luxury homes on the west side of the south valley, this one is on a large lot — about one acre. In fact, everything about this home is supersized. It has nearly 8,200 square feet, an eight-car garage and seven bathrooms.

This one probably could have fetched as much as 50 percent more at the height of the market.

Home-buying dollars generally go the farthest in the southwest Salt Lake Valley and north of Salt Lake County, in Davis and Weber counties. In Kaysville, $1.25 million can buy nearly 7,400 square feet of space on nearly one acre. That's about $168 per square foot.

Price per foot and acreage can vary widely. Last year, the median price-per-square foot for homes selling above $1 million was $172, compared with $146 per square foot in 2009.

For buyers, $1 million doesn't go as far in the most coveted neighborhoods near downtown Salt Lake City, such as Federal Heights. At nearly $215 per square foot, a 4,500-square-foot home priced at $969,000 in that neighborhood is the most costly on a square-footage basis, but it doesn't have all the land and amenities of its suburban rivals.

In Alpine, for example, a home is listed for $1.1 million, or $114 per square foot, and includes 9,500 square feet on 1.5 acre. The home has all the features expected in this price range, as well as a tennis court and swimming pool.

Whether it languishes unsold remains to be seen. It's not uncommon for properties in this price range to be on the market for one to two years, or more. One property in Provo listed for $3.6 million has been for sale for nearly 1,300 days; another, in Alpine, was on the market for more than 1,500 days before the owner took it off.

Some who can buy a $1 million home are opting for lower price ranges so they will have an easier time selling should they want to move, Realtors say.

And that makes it tough on sellers such as Ginger Williams of Draper, who has her home, with 8,332 square feet of space, listed for $995,000. She and her husband purchased the lot with the stunning views at the height of the market in 2006, designing and building their home in 2007. Williams said they have about $1.4 million invested in the property.

"We bought the lot at the very worst time you could have possibly bought," she said.

Although the couple want to sell and design and build another home nearby, Williams says she's not going to give her house away to do it.

"If it doesn't sell for this price, we'll just take it off the market. This is as low as we're going to go."

lesley@sltrib.com Twitter: @cheapchick