"We are probably 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the average view lot around the county," Rogers said. "I'm sure that over the next six months there could be some price raising. Any lot that is bought right now, my guess would be that they'll gain 20 to 30 percent over the next one to three years."

Soaring property values have made millions of dollars for people smart enough to buy at the right price and sell at the right time, according to Stephen Wade, who moved from Salt Lake City to St. George 14 years ago after purchasing a financially distressed car dealership.

Today, Wade owns five automobile franchises, six motorcycle franchises and the local television station. He also co-founded a local bank and is chairman of the board for Dixie State College.

"I look at some people here in St. George, and it's phenomenal what they've done with real estate," Wade said. "There is a certain element about real estate deals that is like gambling. It gets under your skin, and you want to do it. There is a frenzy that comes with it. You get excited as you do things."

Wade should know. He has made a small fortune from several of his own real estate deals. Currently, Wade and five other partners are developing a 20-acre piece of ground known as River Road Development, which will include restaurants, offices, a bank, hotel and a bridal shop.

"This whole region is on fire," Wade said. "It's not just St. George."

Yet it is St. George's lush golf courses, red-rock cliffs, vast recreational possibilities and proximity to national parks, monuments and Las Vegas that are attracting what Wood refers to as "equity refugees."

"That's what they call these people from California and Nevada," Wood said. "They bought a home in 1975 in Santa Monica for $110,000. It's now worth $800,000. They've paid it off. What they plan on doing is taking the money out and retiring."

Many equity refugees moving to Washington County are baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 78.2 million baby boomers in the United States. And while only 23 percent of Utah's population is comprised of baby boomers, their numbers here are projected to grow.

Between 2005 and 2010 the number of Utahns over age 60 will grow twice as fast as those under 60, according to Wood, who added that boomers from California, Nevada and Arizona are now crucial to Washington County's market.

"I feel the wave has just begun as far as baby boomers moving to St. George," Burt said. "With the lifestyle and the prices, I just feel it's a great value that's really going to expand as the baby boomers retire. They are coming here from all over the country, and they are willing to dump a lot of money in here."

In 2004, about 55 percent of people in Washington County applying for Utah drivers' licenses were new residents from California, Nevada and Arizona.