What Can You Buy for $1.5 Million?

In a regular column, The New York Times look at what exactly $1.5 million can buy in different towns across the country and this week a Fairfax home (for sale by Sotheby's) got the treatment.

At $563 per square foot, the Fairfax three-bedroom, 1.3 acre property up in the hills was by far the most expensive locale. Compared to Salt Lake City ($223/sq. ft.) and New Jersey ($150/sq. ft.), our local real estate seems down-right insane -- even if Fairfax is known as being the working man's Marin town.

And this is what The New York Times had to say about the setting of it's $1.498 million destination in California:

Fairfax is a town of about 7,500 residents in Marin County, a half-hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The house sits at the crest of a hill overlooking Ross Valley and Mount Tamalpais; Mount Diablo and a slice of San Francisco Bay are also visible. Downtown Fairfax, five minutes from the house, is known for having an impressive music scene for a town of its size. The area also has trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

So, is our high price tag worth it? Did The Times get it right? Or, should we all move to Salt Lake City?