You are currently browsing the Tucson Real Estate Blog: Michael Oliver on Real Estate in Tucson AZ weblog archives for February, 2008.
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The Casas Adobes area of Tucson is bordered by Thornydale on the west, Orange Grove on the south, First Avenue on the east, and Overton Road on the north. This area is home to over 50,000 people, many of whom would not consider living anywhere else in Tucson because of its unique character. The history of Casas Adobes is pretty interesting.
With the Accenture Match Play Championship concluding this week, I thought it would be interesting to point out some super luxury homes being developed by the super luxury hotel. Ritz-Carlton has just a handful of these homes, called “The Residences,” at its more than 100 worldwide locations. These properties are developed with convenience and super luxury in mind for the owners, who receive access to everything the hotel has to offer. However, residents will be required to join the golf club. Those member ships cost $100,000 plus annual fees, which have yet to be determined. The price of these homes will “start” at $2.25M (which includes a home site at the lower range of the spectrum) and go up to prices that will be in excess of $4.3M. These properties will be on the very high end of the market, especially for the Marana area. The actual neighborhoods are Amolillo, Seven Saguaros and Rockpoint Ridge. The Amolillo and Seven Saguaros neighborhoods feature highly customized homes, with a choice of 5 floorplans. Rockpoint Ridge will have custom home sites ranging from approximately 1.5 acres to almost 7 acres. The thinking is that many second, third, and fourth home owners will want a desert location in the spectacular Dove Mountain area complete with vistas of the entire Tucson Valley. Prospective buyers of “The Residences at Ritz-Carlton” within the Dove Mountain area will very willing to pay for a premium name in a premium area.
This was reported recently in the Arizona Daily Star. The newspaper article stated that Rancho Sahuarita experienced a very high number of new home starts in 2007, even though the general real estate market is bad. The exact number given was 452. This placed Rancho Sahuarita in first place for new starts in all of Tucson’s new-home communities. The statistics for Tucson’s major communities stats are as follows:
Rancho Sahuarita: 452
Red Rock Village (all Pulte) 235
Rancho Vistoso: 224
Madera Highlands (also in Sahuarita): 198
It’s a team effort these days keeping up with the many clients we have been signing up recently. I could never assist as many clients without my team, which is driven to offer superior service and knowledge to all clientele. 
One of the newest listings we have is a beauty! Located at 12728 S. Owl Head Canyon Rd, Marana AZ 85758, this home is tucked away in Dove Mountain, which hosts the annual Accenture World Match Play Championship. (Next weekend is the tourney!) Dove Mountain is one of the most sought after master planned communities in the Tucson region due to its amazing golf amenities and the general growth of its luxury market. A Ritz Carlton is due to open next year in the Dove Mountain area — the first of its kind in the Tucson/Southern Arizona area. In the greater region, many very expensive homes are being developed due to the overwhelming demand to live near the Tortolita Mountains. Our new listing can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of these
homes. We are placing this wonderfully appointed 3-bed, 2-bath home, complete with professionally stained concrete flooring and many designer touches, for a the very reasonable price of $189,900. If you check the comps, a home in this area under $200k is very rare. Given the condition of this home and all the special touches, it will be snagged quickly. This home is perfect for winter visitors who would like a nice home in a highly desirable community, with quick and easy access to I-10, and true world-class gold amenities within walking distance. If you have additional questions about this property or would like to schedule a private showing, please contact me at (520) 247-4134. See additional pictures and information by clicking here.
From the executives who brought you the First Magnus disaster, please welcome their new endeavor called Stonewater Mortgage Corporation!
Seriously, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved Stonewater and three related corporations on Jan 31 and Feb 1, 2008. Some of the companies have ties to a Delaware holding company, and one lists the name of First Magnus Chief Operating Officer Karl F.W. Young. Also, a domain-registry database shows that the web address stonewatermortgage.com has been reserved by Gforce-1, a partnership formed by First Magnus President and CEO G.S. Jaggi and Young. The same people that ran First Magnus into massive problems are getting ready to start up a new entity.
Geary Morris is owner and President of American Infrared Consultants LLC, in Tucson, Arizona. He is also the owner of All American Home Inspections. Since starting this business in 1983, he has performed over 20,000 building Inspections and investigations.
Swiss drug giant Roche has virtually locked up smaller local Ventana Medical Systems, based in Oro Valley, Arizona. The deal was for $89.50 per share. Based in Basel, Switzerland, Roche tried persuasion with Ventana for over a year, then made a hostile bid in June of 2007. Finally after much negotiation, they came to terms for the company at the $89.50 per share level. Ventana Medical Systems has more than 800 employees worldwide, and 660 of those reside in Oro Valley, Arizona. Ventana develops medical equipment for cancer detection.
I recently accepted a listing on the southwest (SW) side of Tucson Arizona (AZ) located at 6525 S De Concini Dr 85757. The home is located in Sonoran Ranch Villages, a neighborhood built by Richmond American. This particular home was built in 2005 as were most of the others in the neighborhood. The home has 4 bedrooms, a loft, and 3 full baths, making this home hard to pass up. One of the bedrooms is downstairs opposite a full bath, which is a perfect arrangement if you have or ever encounter the need to have a bedroom/bath on the ground floor level. Extra high ceilings make this home feel much larger then its actual 2,171 square feet, as shown in the assessors’ records. The listing also features a built-in BBQ in the back yard that is wired for electric, lots of tile, upgraded staircase, and a great location near Casino Del Sol and AVA Amphitheater, making it a true bargain for the moderate price that the sellers are listing it for, which is currently $150,000.
New listing to hit the market! This home is almost 1700 square feet (1687 square feet, to be exact), 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, just off McGee and Shannon. It’s on the other side of Tucson National, opposite McGee. This home was recently redone with refinished cabinets, new paint, new tile, and other improvements, which make it show like new. With its northwest location and close proximity to Foothills Mall, Tucson National, Pima Community College’s northwest campus, and close access to Interstate 10 and Oracle for north/south travel, this location is tough to beat for the price.
The local schools for this neighborhood are Butterfield Elementary, Tortolita Middle, and Mountain View High School. This home is being attractively priced to sell quickly at $189,900. Check the comps in the area, and if you would like to schedule a viewing please contact Michael Oliver. This home is a short sale and the lender or court must approve all offers. Please allow for time for this process. For additional information about this home and pictures click here.
Don Bourne, CEO of Bourne Partners — one of the largest commercial investors and developers in town — has purchased the AOL building located at 5401, 5421, 5431, and 5451 E. Williams Centre. The buildings total approximately 196,179 square feet of premium office space. Bourne, the original developer of the buildings, completed their construction in 2001 and sold them to a New York based investment group for $30.6M. After a few years of ownership, the group decided to sell because this one office complex was their only asset west of the Mississippi River. They wanted to limit their holdings to properties closer to their base. Don Bourne stepped up and repurchased the property. He stated, “We think it’s great real estate, and we thought there would be good demand for lease space in those buildings for a long time to come.” The major tenant of the complex is AOL, who occupies three of the buildings — about 100,000 square feet. When a major investor and presence in the Tucson real estate marketplace such as Don Bourne takes a stance to step up and buy a very large office complex, that has to set the bar. Markets will take notice that though Tucson’s commercial market, like its residential market, may be soft right now, in the long run, the market is a buy. Buying now may seem like jumping off a cliff, but the biggest money in real estate is always made when everyone is running out of it and no one wants to buy. Well, except Don Bourne and a few others who dominate the local Tucson market, such as Chris Kemmerly and Steve Quinlin, who recently purchased all of the local assets of national homebuilder Standard Pacific. Kemmerly also sold his interest to Standard Pacific a couple years ago, only to buy it right back.
