PHOTOS: Inside a $17 million Versailles-inspired home up for auction

PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — In just a few weeks, a $17 million home in Utah will go up for auction to the highest bidder.

The Versailles-inspired estate, located at 255 West 3300 North in Provo’s Riverbottoms neighborhood, will become available Dec. 7 in a worldwide, online auction conducted by Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions.

The 10-bedroom home is a rarity in Utah, although experts told KUTV high end-properties have become more common as more millionaires have moved to the Beehive State.

“That’s naturally driven the demand for high-end housing,” said Dejan Eskic, a senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Jeff Rhoades, business developer for Sotheby’s, took KUTV on a tour of the property Thursday afternoon.

This is literally a one-of-a-kind property,” Rhoades said as he walked through the fully furnished mega-mansion. “Originally the place was built after a French château.”

It feels like it, from the library to the kitchen – which even includes a separate “butler’s pantry” – to the indoor pool with a retractable roof.

“When you want the sunshine, you can open up,” Rhoades said, “and even snow can come in while you’re here.”

It’s not just the house people are bidding on. Everything inside goes with it, including the antique piano, the artwork and the furniture.

“This is a very special home,” Rhoades said.

Homes like this make up a very small part of Utah's real estate market.

“This is really rare for the Wasatch Front,” said Eskic. “Typically, this is something we would see on the Wasatch Back.”

Eskic said high-end homes can take a long time to sell depending on the location. They typically involve cash offers, he said, and the luxury real estate market generally is more susceptible to downturns in the stock market.

But this is different. It’s not every day a house goes up for auction. Rhoades said bidders have to prove they have the money, but there’s no starting bid. It could go for any amount.

“When the auction closes and it’s done, the highest bidder at that point will win the property,” Rhoades said. “By mid-December, this property will be sold.”

Rhoades noted there’s a $100,000 bidder deposit required, but it’s refundable if you don’t win.

“To have a trophy estate like this that you can win at auction,” he said, “it’s just an opportunity that’s not going to come around again.”