James Jonsson Builds Affordable Homes for Utah

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Humility, honesty, a strong work ethic, and a passion for construction aren’t the only values James Jonsson absorbed from his father. In fact, one of the most valuable traits Jonsson inherited turned out to be instrumental for his decades-long tenure in construction leadership.

“He was a very good reader of people. He knew that a lot of times, you say more by how you carry yourself, how you walk, how you approach people,” Jonsson says of his father. “He could get a handle on someone in just a few seconds of meeting them and knew how to communicate with them from there. That really influenced the way I approach people and inspired me to look deeper into a person to understand how to reach them.”

Jonsson has been in construction for over 40 years and currently serves as vice president of construction for Ivory Homes. Since 2004, he has leveraged his ability to lead high performing teams at Ivory, Utah’s number one home builder that has built over 26,000 homes for Utahns, including luxury apartments, homes for active adults, townhomes, small lot cottages, condominiums, and single-family homes in various communities. Jonsson has been proud to spend his tenure at Ivory serving its customers and seeing his team grow throughout the process.

“I always tell my staff that you never get a second chance to make the first impression.”

James Jonsson

“We have a lot of homes to build in the coming year and some will be higher-end and custom homes, which are always a fun challenge. Some of these custom homes have one-offs with features that you’ll never replicate again, which really pushes our staff to be creative,” he says. “It also pushes us to make sure we leave our customers satisfied. I always tell my staff that you never get a second chance to make the first impression.”

In recent years, Jonsson and his team have turned their attention to not only providing exceptional customer service but also solving the state’s housing affordability crisis. According to a 2023 Salt Lake Tribune report, Utah is experiencing its least affordable housing market in the last 50 years, with rents escalating faster than wages. The median home price was reported to be more than six times the state’s median yearly income. Utah Governor Spencer Cox has called the price of housing “the single largest threat to our future prosperity.”

That threat spurred Ivory to introduce seven groundbreaking housing projects targeting both renters and homeowners, including townhomes, apartments, and modular housing offerings. About a quarter of homes at the sites will be rented at market rates while 35 percent will be set aside for those making 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Around 40 percent will be for those earning 60 percent of AMI.  

Jonsson and his team are spearheading one of the affordable townhome projects: Innovation Park at Holbrook Farms. It’s slated to be a community in Lehi containing over 240 affordable townhomes strategically located near the new hospital. The VP says he’s proud to build something that not only offers relief for Utah homeowners but also pushes the boundary on the innovation front.

“This project has several innovative features that’s new for the state of Utah,” he says. “All heating and air condition systems will be electrical; it will have charging stations for electric vehicles and will be energy efficient at the highest levels on other ways.”

“The American dream of home ownership is important for every generation and for growing wealth. We need government and other stakeholders to help us come up with creative ways . . . to bring costs down and still create quality homes that people take pride in.”

James Jonsson

As a leader, what you see is what you get with Jonsson. He isn’t afraid to speak the truth and values collaboration, inclusion, and a solutions-based approach to leadership. He also believes in the ability to learn from mistakes.

“If you make mistakes and learn from it, that’s OK. I can tolerate that as long as you learn and you’re better for it,” he says. “I also have an open-door policy. It feels good when people want to talk to me about their personal issues and trust me enough to give them advice.”

Beyond those values, he believes in showing up for his team.

“Homes don’t get built in an office,” he says. “I love to get out and interact with our trades and our superintendents. When you get out and walk the sites, it helps others feel like you’re open, honest, and approachable.”

Moving forward, Jonsson is looking forward to collaborating with community stakeholders to tackle housing affordability in the state.

“The American Dream of home ownership is important for every generation and for growing wealth,” he asserts. “We need government and other stakeholders to help us come up with creative ways of financing, incentives, or programs to bring costs down and still create quality homes that people take pride in.”