1650 E. River Road
Rancho Sahuarita Shows Some Strength Compared To Other Master-planned Communities
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
Of all these, Madera Highlands impresses me most, since it is still relatively new and does not have anywhere near the marketing and “push” that Rancho Sahuarita does. Anyone who knows me or regularly reads this blog can tell you I do love the Rancho Sahuarita community and sell a large number of homes in that community. I think I have sold at least 50 homes in Rancho Sahuarita in the past few years. I love the community’s concept, the amenities, even the location, since it’s really not that far from downtown or Park Place mall. If you use Old Nogales Highway and the Hughes Access Road, you can make the trip in 20-25 minutes (traffic permitting). Try that from the much more established northwest side of Tucson, and you would be making amazing time to get there in less than an hour. To me, the master-planed community makes a lot of sense. Also, “The Man Behind The Vision,” as he is called, Bob Sharpe, has a passion for the community because he received the land from his late father and quite literally risked his entire financial livelihood on the “Vision of Rancho Sahuarita.”
Back to the stats… are they good? Well, kind of. Rancho Sahuarita’s home values have been decimated due to overbuilding and sharp competition from the homebuilders who are all trying to compete for the same buyers. I also truly believe a lot of the damage has to do with the psychology of the Tucson real estate marketplace. That should reverse or change gears once it’s perceived that the bottom in the Tucson area has been touched. The stats that the newspaper presents as outstanding are, I think, good, but nowhere near amazing. Rancho Sahuarita had a major problem with speculation, which it is still dealing with. This has led to higher than average numbers of foreclosed homes and a significant decline in prices. If you’re looking to buy, I DO think Rancho Sahuarita is a BUY for sure! Will prices go lower? It could happen, but current prices are already pretty affordable and more people are realizing that Sahuarita does offer a lot for the price. As interest rates continue to drop, more people will step out and buy rather than rent. I also think a lot of the new home starts that were reported as 2007 numbers were actually begun at the end of 2006, which was a pretty strong period.
I’ve talked with a number of new home builder’s sales reps, and most say the same thing: Rancho Sahuarita does not have anywhere near the demand now that it had in 2004-2005. I would guess that sales levels in Rancho Sahuarita are down at least 50% for all the new-home builders in the area. Throw in break neck competition between all the builders for half as many buyers, and prices and incentives are there to stay for a while. From what I understand, very few, if any, new-home builders are considering placing a new community in Rancho Sahuarita, although many builders already either own large tracts of land that they will use for future development or they have options on the land allowing them to stay if they so choose. Time will tell how long it will be before Rancho Sahuarita’s prices make a comeback, but if you are looking for the most amenities and best value for the money, I would for sure give Rancho Sahuarita a look.