Scottsdale AZ Real Estate & Lifestyle

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Heather Tawes Nelson

Things to Do in Scottsdale AZ: The Sanctuary Spa at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain

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– Scottsdale Luxury Spas: The Spa at The Sanctuary Camelback Mountain –

Entrance to Sanctuary Spa Paradise ValleyScottsdale and Paradise Valley are known for their luxury spas with specialty treatments that cater to visitors and locals alike. One of my favorite spas in the valley is located at The Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa.

The Sanctuary resort is world-renowned and is perched on the northern side of Camelback Mountain. Views of Mummy Mountain, Camelback Mountain and Paradise Valley abound from this intimate and upscale retreat.

Pool Area at Sanctuary Camelback MountainThe Sanctuary Spa has been recognized for many years in a row as one of the top spas in the United States. It is a smaller, Asian-inspired spa with twelve indoor and outdoor private treatment rooms, which gives it a very tranquil atmosphere.

The ladies’ locker room is equipped with a sauna and steam room and private showers. Once you have donned your comfortable robe and slippers, you can head over to the peaceful sitting area stocked with teas, flavored waters, healthy snacks and magazines.

They offer a full menu of spa services including massage, facial treatments, body treatments and more. They also offer water massage and several Asian-inspired treatments and other unique offerings.

Each time I have been there, I have elected to get a massage. Each time I have had a different massage therapist and they have all been excellent.

If you are not a guest of the resort, but are coming in for a spa session, you can come early or stay after and take advantage of the well-equipped fitness center or gorgeous pool area.

Or, you can always make a day of it and stay on for drinks at the Jade Bar and then head over to the elegant Elements restaurant for an incredible meal and outstanding views.

More Information:
Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa Paradise ValleyThe Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa
5700 East McDonald Drive
Paradise Valley, Arizona 85253
Phone: 855.245.2051
Website
Hours: 7:00am to 8:30pm daily

Scottsdale AZ Luxury Home Market – July 2014

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Scottsdale Luxury Homes for Sale– Scottsdale AZ Luxury Home Market Performance for July 2014 –

Sales activity in Scottsdale’s luxury home market tapered off in July as the low season continued on. We also saw another drop in inventory. On a positive note, there was a decent pending inventory at the end of the month, which could translate into better sales in August.

For this analysis, I am looking at single-family homes with price points in excess of $1 million. This data has been split into four different price bands to show additional detail.

Each price band contains the following information for the past 12 months:
Active – How many homes were for on the market at the end of the month.
Pending – How many homes were pending sale at the end of the month.
Sold – How many homes sold over the course of the month.

– July 2014 –

Scottsdale Homes Priced Between $1,000,000 – $1,499,999
– Active Scottsdale Homes on the Market: Inventory dropped another 3.9% between June and July from 231 to 222 homes.
– Pending Scottsdale Home Sales: Pending sales dropped quite a bit after five months of strong numbers. This is below the 12 month average of 26.
– Scottsdale Homes Sold: Twenty-seven homes sold in July, a 28.9% decrease over June, but it is not too far off of the 12 month average of 29.
–  Sales Price to Listed Price: 95.3%  -This is the highest this figure has been since January.

Scottsdale AZ Home Sales Between $1 and $1.5 Million July 2014

Scottsdale Homes Priced Between $1,500,000 – $1,999,999
– Active Scottsdale Homes on the Market: At the end of July, 120 homes were on the market in this price range, which takes us back to levels we have not seen since September 2013.
– Pending Scottsdale Home Sales: Pending sales stayed level at 16. This figure is a combination of new contracts and holdovers from the month prior.
– Scottsdale Homes Sold:  Only eight homes sold in July, the lowest we have seen all year. The 12 month average is eleven home sales.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 98.6%  – This is the highest this figure has been in the past year.

Scottsdale Home Sales between $1.5 and $2 Million July 2014

 

Scottsdale Homes Priced Between $2,000,000 – $2,999,999
– Active Scottsdale Homes on the Market: Inventory fell again in July to 113 homes. This is well below the 12 month average of 142 homes.
– Pending Scottsdale Home Sales: Pending sales dropped slightly to 10. This is on par with the 12 month average.
– Scottsdale Homes Sold:  Only three homes sold last month. This is the lowest we have seen sales this year.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 99.2% – This is much higher than we usually see, but there were also a small number of sales.

Scottsdale Home Sales between $2 and $3 Million July 2014


Scottsdale Homes Priced $3,000,000+
– Active Scottsdale Homes on the Market: Inventory dropped to under 100 by the end of the month. This is the lowest we have seen in since September 2013.
– Pending Scottsdale Home Sales: Six homes were under contract. This figure has been pretty level over the last several months.
– Scottsdale Homes Sold: Only a single home sold in July, well off recent sales figures. However, there are still quite a few homes pending, so I would anticipate August’s sales to be stronger.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 89.5% – This is the second month in a row where this number dipped to under 90%.

 

Overall, July was a so so month for the Scottsdale luxury real estate market as sales were off. However, the solid pending inventory makes me hopeful that August will be a better sales month.

If you would like additional detail on home sales activity, please visit my Scottsdale Luxury Home Market Reports page and click on the downloadable “Scottsdale Market Trends” report.

Search Scottsdale Luxury Homes for Sale

Disclaimer:  Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of  8/1/2014 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at single-family luxury resale homes in Scottsdale AZ over the last 12 months. There may be new home inventory in these figures if the developer is using the MLS to market its homes. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed. Copyright © 2014 Heather Tawes Nelson | Joyce Tawes

Phoenix and Scottsdale AZ Luxury Condo Sales – July 2014

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– Luxury Condo Sales in Scottsdale and Phoenix – July 2014 –

The Mark Luxury Condos ScottsdaleThings were a little quieter in the luxury condo market in Scottsdale and Phoenix in July, although the sakes activity was still solid.

In this report, we will look at the sales activity for luxury condos with list prices in excess of $1 million.


ACTIVE LISTINGS AT THE END OF JULY

Inventory was off slightly at the end of the month, from 23 listings to 21. Of the units for sale, eleven of them were in Phoenix and the remaining ten were in Scottsdale.

A luxurious penthouse in The Landmark continues to be the most expensive unit for sale. It had been listed for $3.7 million, but there was a price reduction to $3,450,000.  It has 4,877 square feet, three bedrooms and three and one-half bathrooms.

The least expensive luxury condo for sale is found in Old Town’s The Mark community. Priced at $1,000,000, this unit has two bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms and is 2,451 square feet.


PENDING LUXURY CONDO SALES IN SCOTTSDALE AND PHOENIX

One luxury condo was under contract at the end of July. It was a penthouse in the well-known Scottsdale Waterfront Residences in Downtown Scottsdale. With 3,363 square feet, two bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms, the condo had been on the market for $2,900,000.

LUXURY CONDO SALES FOR JULY

Two condos sold in the month of July.

The first sale was in Phoenix’s elegant Esplanade Place in the Biltmore.  The 8th floor unit had  two bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms and 2,978 square feet. It had been listed for $1,249,000 and sold for $1,210,000 in a cash transaction.

The second sale was in Scottsdale in The Mark community. This corner unit came with 2,442 square feet, three bedrooms and three and one-half bathrooms. It was on the market for $1,052,000 and ultimately sold for $900,000.

 

July 2014 Luxury Condo Sales Scottsdale Phoenix

Although sales were not as strong in July as in June for  Scottsdale and Phoenix’s luxury condo market, two sales was still a solid performance. And, there was a single pending sale at the end of the month, which ideally will close in August.

Learn More About Phoenix and Scottsdale Luxury Condos

Search Phoenix and Scottsdale Luxury Condos for Sale

 

Disclaimer:  Days on market figures are cumulative days on market. Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 8/1/2014 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at resale luxury condos in Scottsdale and Phoenix over the past 12 months. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  There may be new condo inventory in these figures if the developer is using the MLS to market its homes. This post represents the opinion of the author. No warranties express or implied.
Copyright © 2014 Heather Tawes Nelson | Joyce Tawes

Where to Eat in Scottsdale: The Henry

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– Scottsdale Dining Picks – The Henry –

The Henry Scottsdale AZ restaurantIf you have read some of my previous posts about places to eat, you can tell I am a fan of the Fox Restaurant Concepts’ various restaurants. Recently, I had lunch at The Henry down on the Camelback corridor in Phoenix and I now have a new place to add to the list of places I want to go back to.

Before even looking at the menu, we appreciated the open design of the space. It is beautiful mix of current and comfortable. There are a variety of seating options from traditional table set ups, to dining at the bar or you can even choose from a number of couches and chairs placed around coffee tables. There is also ample patio seating if you prefer to eat outside.The Henry Homemade Soup

We got to The Henry when lunch was in full swing. Although there was a wait for the tables, we were able to sit in one of the couch areas and have our lunch there.

The menu is straightforward and offers a lot of variety. They offer appetizers, salads, sandwiches as well as a selection of entrees. There were quite a few things that looked good, so we decided to order several appetizers and go from there.

All four of the items we selected were great picks. We started with the daily soup, which that day was a Mushroom Soup. It was thick and flavorful without being too rich. After that, we ordered the Avocado Toast which was a thick slice of toasted bread with The Henry Scottsdale Diningmashed avocado topped with radishes and a sprinkle of cheese.  We had to try the Cheddar Popovers which came with two large popovers sprinkled with cheddar. They came with two choices of butter, one regular and one with smoked ham. The final thing we ate that day was Wood Grilled Artichokes.  This dish came with three artichoke halves that had been perfectly grilled, with drawn butter and a truffle aioli for dipping.

In addition the main restaurant, The Henry also has a dedicated coffee bar with breakfast and lunch options.

The Henry’s tagline is “The Greatest Neighborhood Restaurant” and it certainly fits that bill. It is a great place to go to meet up with family and friends for great and satisfying food.


The Henry Scottsdale restuarantMore Information:
The Henry & The Henry Coffee Bar: XV
4455 E. Camelback Road
Phoenix Arizona 85018
Phone: (602) 429-8020
Website

– Open daily for lunch and dinner
– Saturday and Sunday brunch

Phoenix, AZ 85018

 

 

 

Desert Mountain in Scottsdale AZ – 2014 Real Estate Market Update

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– Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona- 2014 Real Estate Market Update –

Desert MountainDesert Mountain Renegade Golf Course Scottsdale is one of the most well-known luxury golf communities in Scottsdale. Located high in the hills in North Scottsdale, Desert Mountain is a golfer’s paradise with six Jack Nicklaus courses and many practice and training areas. There are also six clubhouses, a large tennis complex, a fitness center with pools, miles of trails and so much more.

For people looking for smaller vacation homes, Desert Mountain offers cottages and smaller single family homes. However, many of the homes in Desert Mountain are elegant custom homes representing a larger number of styles.

 HOMES FOR SALE AND PENDING SALES IN DESERT MOUNTAIN AS OF 7/17/2014

As of mid-July, 119 homes were for sale in Desert Mountain. Prices ranged from $590,000 for an 1,836 square foot home to $7,999,999 for a 12,500 square foot custom estate.

There we eight homes pending sale as of July 17th, with prices ranging from $699,900 to $2,995,000.

Desert Mountain Scottsdale Homes for Sale 2014

2014 HOME SALES IN DESERT MOUNTAIN THROUGH THE FIRST HALF

Sales saw a healthy jump in Q2 as the high season picked up. We did see the average sales price and average price per square foot drop in Q2, however, these figures are being somewhat impacted by the $5.5M sale that took place in the first quarter.

The highest priced home sale in Desert Mountain so far this year is the $5,525,000 sale I just alluded to. This estate had 8,155 square feet and had been listed for $5,975,000.

The lowest priced home sale in 2014 to-date was for and 1,836 square foot home. It had been on the market for $559,000 and ultimately sold for $535,000.

 

Desert Mountain Scottsdale 2014 Home Sales

 

SEARCH DESERT MOUNTAIN HOMES FOR SALE

 

Disclaimer:  Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 7/17/2014 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at residential single family home sales activity in Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed.
Copyright © 2014 Heather Tawes Nelson

Scottsdale AZ Single Family Home Sales – July 2014

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– Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Home Sales in July 2014 –

Scottsdale Homes For Sale with ViewsReal estate activity in Scottsdale slowed a bit as we moved trough the month of July, although sales were still respectable. During this low-demand time of year, we tend to see slower sales activity as well as a large number of homes being taken off the market.

SCOTTSDALE HOME SALES ACTIVITY – JULY 2014

The graph below depicts the previous 12 months of home sales activity in Scottsdale. Three categories of data are shown:
– Single-family homes for sale are represented in red.* 
– Pending home sales are represented in green.*
– July Home Sales are represented in purple.

Scottsdale Home Sales Chart July 2014


JULY 2014 RESULTS

  • Active Scottsdale Homes for Sale: We saw the active inventory drop again in July by 6.2% to 1,920. This is the lowest it has been this year.
  • Pending Homes Sales in Scottsdale: The number of pending sales at the end of month dropped to 305. Again, this is not surprising based upon the time of year.
  • July Home Sales in Scottsdale: 401 homes sold in July. And although this is off of last month’s high, it is still the fourth strongest sales month in the past year.

The following section maps out the rate of change month to month for each set of data as well as sales prices as compared to list prices.

The upper chart looks at how activity increased or decreased in comparison to the previous month. As you can see for July, inventory was down as well as pending sales and sales in comparison to June.

Below that is a look at what homes sold for in comparison to what they were on the market for. This figure has been trending in the 95-96% range for the past year. And in July, buyers received an average discount of 3.7% off of asking prices.

Scottsdale Real Estate Stats July 2014

Overall, July held its own in terms of sales, even though they were lower than June. Inventory and pending sales also decreased, but most of this is based on seasonality.

 

Search Scottsdale AZ Homes for Sale

 

*Figures for active homes for sale and pending sales are based on the numbers at the end of the month.

Disclaimer:   Data and information were pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of  8/1/2014 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at single-family resale homes for sale and home sales in Scottsdale AZ over the last 12 months. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. There may be new home inventory in these figures if the developer is using the MLS to market its homes. This post represents the opinion of the author. No warranties express or implied.
Copyright © 2014 Heather Tawes Nelson | Joyce Tawes

Terravita in Scottsdale AZ – 2014 Real Estate Market Update

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– Terravita in Scottsdale, Arizona- 2014 Real Estate Market Update –

Terravita Golf Community Scottsdale AZTerravita is a guard-gated community in North Scottsdale that is well-loved by its residents. Terravita is comprised of almost two dozen smaller neighborhoods and home sizes range from smaller “lock and leaves” to larger, single family homes.

Many homes are on or have views of the golf course, which was designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash. There is a lovely clubhouse at Terravita as well as a large fitness center, tennis complex and multiple pools. Miles of trails throughout are perfect for outdoor enthusiasts.

HOMES FOR SALE AND PENDING SALES IN TERRAVITA AS OF 7/17/2014

As of mid-July, there were 19 homes on the market in Terravita. They ranged in price from $415,000 for a 1,670 square foot home to $998,000 for a 3,931 square foot home.

Four homes were pending sale at that time with prices ranging from $395,000 to $$619,000.

Terravita Scottsdale Homes for Sale 2014

2014 HOME SALES IN TERRAVITA THROUGH THE FIRST HALF

Sales have been pretty level from quarter to quarter. Typically, you would see a larger jump in Q2, but that is not the case in this community. And, unlike what we have been seeing elsewhere, the average price per square foot fell between Q1 and Q2. On a positive note, the cumulative days on market seems to be staying low, even  though it did jump in Q2.

The most expensive home sale in Terravita in 2014 so far was $925,000. This was for a 3,703 square foot home. It had been listed for $950,000.

The least expensive home sale to-date this year was $332,000 for a 1,409 square foot home. It had been on the market for $352,000.

 

Terravita Scottsdale Home Sales 2014

Overall, Terravita home sales have been respectful, but we did not see an uptick in Q2 as we have seen in many other local communities. It will be interesting to see if Q3 slows down or stays level.

SEARCH TERRAVITA HOMES FOR SALE

 

Disclaimer:  Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 7/17/2014 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at residential single family home sales activity in Terravita in Scottsdale, Arizona. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed.
Copyright © 2014 Heather Tawes Nelson

 

Where to Eat in Scottsdale: Virtu Honest Craft

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Virtu Honest Craft Restaurant Scottsdale AZ Scottsdale’s Best Dining – Virtú Honest Craft at the Bespoke Inn –

As soon as I read an article talking about the new restaurant, Virtu, I knew it was going to be added to my list of places to try. I finally had the opportunity to go a couple of weeks ago and it was one of the best dinners we have had in a long time.

Virtu is a smaller restaurant located in the Bespoke Inn in Old Town Scottsdale. Inside, it seats a little over 40 people, but there is an outdoor dining patio that adds a few more seats.

Asparagus at Virtu ScottsdaleThe creative menu changes all of the time based upon what fresh ingredients they are featuring, but you will generally find seafood, home-made pasta and contemporary takes on Mediterranean dishes. The menu itself is not huge, which translates into excellent execution of the dishes. And, there were multiple things from all of the sections that we wanted to try and each of them was excellent.

Although you may not see the same dishes on the menu when you are there, I did want to touch on a few outstanding ones.

The first was a decadent asparagus dish. The asparagus had been grilled then drizzled with hollandaise sauce and a hint of truffle oil. It was topped with a poached duck egg and sprinkled with feta and bacon pieces and finished with pea shoots. On the lighter side, we had a burrata with lightly dressed greens, prosciutto, honey and peaches that was excellent. Another standout was a mussels special that had just been added to the menu that day. The mussels came in a tasty broth with large pieces of flavorful  linguica sausage, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas and lots of crusty bread to soak up the broth. Te final dish was a straightforward carbonara pasta. And although the preparation seemed simple, the dish itself was incredible.Virtu Old Town Scottsdale AZ

For dessert, we had a small chocolate cake with sticky toffee. It was easily the best dessert I have had in recent memory.  If you like dessert and this is on the menu, you definitely need to try it.

On the service side, our server was excellent and attentive. And, the personable and very knowledgeable front desk associate stopped by several times to see how our meal was and if we had any questions.

Overall, we had an excellent meal and experience. Virtu certainly lived up to our expectations and we will return soon, perhaps for brunch this time.

 

 

More Information: 
Virtu Honest CrVirtu Honest Craft at Bespoke Inn Scottsdaleaft
3701 North Marshall Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 946-3477
Website: https://virtuscottsdale.com/
– Open for Brunch (10am-2pm) and Dinner Daily (5pm-10pm)

 

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