The newest listing in northwest Tucson’s very desirable, active-adult community, Sunflower, is 1296 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, on a corner lot. This home features an extra large screened-in patio (grandfathered in as these are no longer allowed in Sunflower), high ceilings, new carpeting, new paint, window coverings, and water softener. The flagstone front patio area, complete with low stucco wall, gives the home dramatic curb appeal few homes in Sunflower attain. At least one of the residents of a home in Continental Ranch’s Sunflower active-adult community must be at least 50 years of age. Residents of the close-knit, master-planned Sunflower community can enjoy full access to the clubhouse that houses a fitness center, community pool area, spa, game areas (think cards and other games), tennis courts, botchy ball, horseshoes, and many other activities. In addition, many residents are involved in clubs and groups that meet regularly. If you’re looking for the advantages of an active-adult neighborhood, Tucson’s Sunflower Community in Continental Ranch on Tucson’s northwest side is almost impossible to beat. This home is priced to sell at $219,900. If you would like additional information, please feel free to let me know. This property should be very attractive to potential buyers in the marketplace. For more details and photos, please click here.

People constantly ask me, ‘Which builder gives the most for the money?” My answer is, “Depends.” In this post, I’m only going to discuss the largest production builders selling homes in Tucson. For a discussion of semi-custom builders, please refer to the previous post, Which Builder Builds the Best Quality.

Every buyer client I have ever taken on always asks the same question, “Which homebuilder builds the best quality?” I will try to explain the differences and quality issues as I see them. First off, unless you’re talking about a full-blown custom home, there’s not a significant difference in quality for most homes under $500k. The municipalities govern the homes being built through building codes and plan approvals. They ferret out a lot of bad building practices from the onset. However, the municipalities are not working for you, the customer, in any way. They are just making sure homebuilders are abiding by the ordinances and building codes. If they are, then they do nothing to point out better practices or the way something should be done but isn’t by the builder.

For foreign buyers — especially from Canada — purchasing real estate in the United States can be fairly simple. With the U.S. dollar falling in value against many foreign currencies, American real estate markets are inexpensive now compared with 5 to 10 years ago. The current U.S. real estate recession means homes can be purchased for 50-60 cents on the dollar when considering dollar depreciation. A Canadian buyer can purchase a nice home with amazing views in Tucson AZ for $250k. Ten years ago, with their currency devalued and home prices up, the same homes would cost 120%-130% of what they cost now. Essentially, homes are now on sale for 50% off! This is why interest in American properties is rapidly growing. So how do you obtain a home in the United States?