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High demand for Phoenix AZ luxury homes continues
Players in metropolitan Phoenix's luxury home market say demand for expensive houses is running high despite rising prices and scarce land in desirable neighborhoods.

Traditional luxury enclave Paradise Valley leads the pack when it comes to highest median price but values are rising faster in other expensive spots. Among them: North Scottsdale, Carefree and the Biltmore and Arcadia areas of Phoenix.

Investors, retired executives, athletes or successful business types looking for the ultimate in move-up housing are helping drive sales of new and existing luxury homes. Their willingness to pay up for a big house loaded with things such as a home theater, gourmet kitchen and wine room on a sizable lot is ratcheting up prices and changing the boundaries of the luxury market.

"It's nuts out there," said Tori Levitt, senior mortgage consultant with Optimum Financial. "I think it is a great market for both buyer and seller."

Buyers benefit with low interest rates and interest-only loans that keep payments down, she said.

"Values are jumping by the thousands in the span of just a few months," Levitt said. "Sellers are negating appraisals out of the contracts and requesting non-refundable earnest deposits following inspection periods."

Home values in pricey neighborhoods have been on a tear in recent years. The median price in the combined new and resale markets in the Paradise Valley ZIP code 85253 has risen from $687,500 in 1999 to $938,750 in the first half of this year, a gain of more than 36 percent, according to The Arizona Republic's analysis of data from Marketon.

That market has cooled somewhat since last year but nearby luxury ZIPs are hotter than ever. North Scottsdale's 85255 ZIP, home to trendy communities such as DC Ranch and Troon, was a strong performer last year but moved into the elite class of price gainers, up more than 17 percent in the first half of this year.

The median overall price in the ZIP is $499,250, beaten only by Paradise Valley, Carefree and neighboring ZIP 85259 that covers the Shea Boulevard corridor on Scottsdale's eastern boundary.

Some Valley housing pros still define a luxury home as one that costs at least $1 million. But others say that $1 million doesn't get you in the door in the best neighborhoods and insist that luxury really starts at around $3 million.

The top house deals in metropolitan Phoenix routinely run in the $2 million range and $3 million sales aren't unusual. In a recent week this month, all of the top 10 house sales were $2 million or more, with two exceeding $6 million and one other of more than $3 million.

"The days of building a $2 million custom home in north Scottsdale or Paradise Valley are rapidly coming to a close," said Tony Calvis, a principal of Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes, a custom builder in Scottsdale.

Commercial real estate developer Russ Scaramella and his wife, Lori, looked at houses all over the Valley befroe settling on a DC Ranch home that was under construction. The couple figures they saved time and money by buying a speculative, or "spec," house that Calvis Wyant was working on. They still were able to pick out the features that would give the house its final look while bypassing a big chunk of the building process.

The house cost between $4 million and $5 million and covers 8,200 square feet. The couple evaluated the house for its investment potential and knew they were moving to a neighborhood that is appreciating. But they also sized it up for its proximity to schools, its views and as a place to raise their four children.

"We didn't buy it to sell it," Russ Scaramella said. "We bought it to live in it."

Rising land prices are helping drive up the price of luxury homes. The wave of teardowns, the practice of buying and destroying an old house to clear the lot for a new mansion, is moving beyond Paradise Valley and Arcadia. Calvis said it's happening more often between 64th Street and Scottsdale Road, mainly between Shea Boulevard and Cactus Road where buyers are attracted to houses sitting on acre-sized, or larger, lots. Phoenix's Central Avenue Corridor also is picking up more teardown action as buyers who work downtown try to shorten their commutes.

"The big thing is this just continues to be a great place to live," Calvis said. "Because of that, I'm very bullish on the future. . . . We don't have an ocean but it is pretty close and people in California who have an ocean don't have a problem coming here."

Glen Creno
The Arizona Republic