Raising Arizona
Scottsdale and Tucson lead the way for the state’s high-end resort developments.
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The other two results of Scottsdale’s decreasing land supply are decidedly urban for a city that prides itself on its rural character: infill and vertical development. Just south of Desert Mountain, for example, well-known developers like Toll Brothers and Baron are creating residential enclaves on diminutive parcels. Baron’s Baraca Estates, for example, consists of just 16 lots with no custom home opportunities. Esperanza at Pinnacle Peak is a separate infill project nestled between a mountain preserve and the well-known Estancia development. A custom-home community, it offers just 17 estate-size lots at five acres apiece. Land prices start at $4 million.Condominiums, meanwhile, are more abundant than cacti in south Scottsdale, but they have never quite made it north. That is about to change, however, with DMB’s One Scottsdale, which will include more than 1,000 residential lofts, condos and townhomes within its mixed-use environs. "You’ve seen it in Las Vegas, you’ve seen it in San Diego, you’ve seen it in markets in Los Angeles," explains Kent. "So there is definitely a movement in that, and you will see that same movement going into Scottsdale." Sales are anticipated to start by the beginning of 2009.
Tucson
Two hours southeast and perhaps 20 years back in real estate
time is Tucson, a city with a slower lifestyle pace, slower growth and slower
traffic. To the northwest especially, where the bulk of luxury communities are
taking root, the desert seems to integrate more fully with development than in
Scottsdale. Like their neighbors to the north, Tucson’s homes have mountain
views and city lights, but homeowners are more apt to admire the stars and
saguaros than the handful of tall buildings downtown. A golf course may brush up
against Native American petroglyphs; hiking is something Tucsonans do more for
nature than for caloric burn; and sights to see include observatories, desert
museums and Biosphere II. The city is also home to the University of Arizona,
which, though situated a considerable distance south of this northwestern luxury
corridor, exudes a palpable intellectual influence and cultural appeal.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Stone Canyon in Tucson offers buyers a private Jay
Morrish golf course, clubhouse and eight new designer homes priced around $3
million each. (Click image to enlarge)
"Until recently, the top range for luxury homes in Tucson was
considered to be about $800,000 and up," says Briggs. Now, however, the average
luxury price hovers around $2 million. As an example, Briggs cites Street of
Dreams, a national home show event where homes on one street in a high-end
development are decorated and open to the public. It came to the Estates at Honeybee Ridge in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson, in 1998, and the show’s homes were
then priced between $650,000 and $750,000. "At the time, there was a real
question of whether or not Tucson could support those kinds of homes," Briggs
recalls. This spring, Street of Dreams returned, this time to Oro Valley’s
high-end golf community Stone
Canyon, where its eight homes are valued at a
total of $24 million.
Right now, the luxury market in Tucson faces conditions similar
to those in Scottsdale. Houses are selling, but the swollen inventory means they
are not selling fast, not even at the super high end. Tucson’s most expensive
listing—which Briggs represents—is a staggering $22 million. The house is dubbed
Campbell Cliffs, and when it was completed in early 2004 (it went on the market in March
2003), Briggs invited real estate agents from Scottsdale and Beverly Hills to
view it. "The broker from Beverly Hills didn’t think that there could be a home
here worth that kind of money," says Briggs. "But after she was in it, she
completely changed her tune and said, ‘If there were a comparable piece of land
and a home like this in Beverly Hills, it would cost
$100 million.’"
Campbell Cliffs encompasses 31,000 square feet (25,000 of which is air-conditioned) and straddles two of its six 3.3-acre lots. The list price includes the custom furnishings by designer Elizabeth A. Rosensteel of Phoenix as well as the owners’ collection of more than 100 paintings, sculptures and bronzes.
Campbell Cliffs, however, is definitely the exception rather
than the rule of Tucson’s luxury market. At Stone Canyon, for example, lot
prices have increased from $400,000 to $700,000 on average, most likely due to
the extensive golf market that the community taps into. Its 18-hole, Jay
Morrish–designed course has won numerous accolades. Additionally, plans for its
Marsh & Associates–designed, 44,000-square-foot clubhouse have re-cently
been unveiled. Build-out for this 1,300-acre property is not scheduled for
another eight to 10 years, and with a total inventory of just 700 lots, that
means the developers are taking their time and
banking on appreciation.
