Driving around Carefree, Arizona, I loved the look of this road as it ascended the mountain dotted with cacti.
Homes and Cacti in Carefree, Arizona
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Things To Do In Scottsdale AZ: Visit the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
Looking for something to do on weekends in Scottsdale, Arizona? Why not spend Saturday morning at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market?
Every Saturday (except for posted major holidays,) from 8:30AM to 1PM, the market is in full swing. Vendors from all over the area, many with locally sourced products, man their booths.
On our last visit, we had the opportunity to chat with a few of the vendors. I wish we had had the time to meet some more of them since there were so many great purveyors in attendance, but we will work on that the next time we go.
- In one corner is Mc Clendon’s Select which offers a huge selection of fresh fruit, fresh herbs and produce. Mc Clendon’s is a USDA-certified organic grower and supplies produce to many of the top hotels and restaurants locally and even Las Vegas. We had the opportunity to try some of their citrus products and they were delicious, fresh and juicy.
- We had a nice discussion with the folks from Grass Fed Beef. They sell beef, lamb and poultry that is raised locally and in an environmentally-friendly way in Cave Creek, Arizona. The resulting products are very fresh and are never exposed to hormones.
- We stopped and tried a few samples at the Raging Raw Organics booth. They offer a lot of products that not only taste only good, but are great for you. They have vegan options, do not work with GMO products and have offerings for people with nut sensitivities.
- For the treat and sweet lovers, we visited with two wonderful vendors who were in attendance. First, was the ladies from GoodyTwos Toffee Company. This mother and daughter’s toffee creations are creative, varied and absolutely delicious. In addition to plenty of toffee offerings, they also make a couple of brittles that are equally good. Last, but not least, were the folks from bonbon macaron. They were giving out mini bonbons in various flavors including chocolate and coconut and the staff could not have been nicer.
Again, if you are looking for a fun way to spend a Saturday morning, I highly recommend heading over to the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market. It is a family-friendly event and friendly dogs are welcome too. Even better, this market is a part of the Arizona Community Farmers’ Markets group, so if you cannot make it to Scottsdale or are tied up on Saturdays, there are several other similar markets at different locations and days of the week for you to choose from.
More Information:
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
Saturdays between 8:30am and 1pm
Location: The Scottsdale City parking lot at the corner of 1st Street and Brown in Old Town. (Next to the Carriage House and across from The Mission.)
Welcome to Old Town Scottsdale – Scottsdale, Arizona
Welcome to Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. Downtown Scottsdale, or Old Town, is home to hundreds of art galleries, shops, restaurants and more. This cowboy welcomes you as you drive on Scottsdale Road.
Pinnacle Peak, Scottsdale, Arizona
Pinnacle Peak located in northern Scottsdale, Arizona is a favorite of local hikers. The valley views from the top are truly amazing.
Scottsdale AZ Luxury Golf Community Home Sales for 2010
Here is an overview of the top luxury Scottsdale AZ Golf Communities and Scottsdale Golf Homes for Sale.
While the majority of these golf communities are located in North Scottsdale, like Desert Mountain, Silverleaf, Whisper Rock and Estancia, there are also other excellent golf communities in other towns like The Boulders in Carefree and Rancho Manana in Cave Creek to name a few.
This first chart shows each of the Scottsdale area luxury golf communities. It breaks out the number of homes for sale as of January 1, 2011 and the average asking price at that time. It also provides detail on the lowest and highest priced homes on the market so that you can see the range in home prices within the community.
As you can see, the highest priced listing is found at Desert Mountain at almost $11 million dollars. Silverleaf and Estancia come in behind that with an almost $9 million listing and an almost $7 million listing respectively.
The least expensive home could be found in the Cave Creek community of Dove Valley Ranch at just under $185K.
This second chart details the sales activity for Scottsdale area luxury golf homes sales for 2010. Again, each community’s sales statistics are outlined as well as average sales price and average cost per square foot for sold homes.
There is also a section called “Sales Price to List Price” where you can see how large the average discount off of asking price was on a community by community basis. On average, homes in Dove Valley Ranch sold the closest to asking price at 96.8%, or just over 3% off. The largest average discount off of asking price was found at Estancia at 76.5% or almost 24% off of list price. The range in discounts is not surprising as there tends to be more price flexibility at the luxury end of the market. Additionally, the volume of sales was lower so any homes that sold at a large discount had a heavier weight in the calculation.
Disclaimer: Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 1/1/2011 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at resale golf community homes for sale and home sales in Scottsdale AZ , Carefree AZ and Cave Creek 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.
Copyright © 2011 Heather Tawes Nelson
Phoenix and Scottsdale Luxury Condo Market – 2010 Results
– Scottsdale and Phoenix Luxury Condo Market Statistics – 2010 –
Here is an overview of the luxury condo market in Scottsdale and Phoenix for 2010. The year started off strong with sales averaging a little over 2 per month. However, in the second half of the year, sales activity stalled. Although, we did see the highest priced condo sale of the year in December.
Here are the results for both cities for the year. Things started off strong with 82% of the sales happening in the first two quarters. As the year went on, sales activity dropped sharply. However, the most expensive condo sale for the year, at $2,250,000, occurred in Q4.
Here is a quick snapshot that compares luxury condo sales performance between 2009 and 2010. As you can see, sales were up 5 units over 2009, which is positive. However, average sales price slipped about $100K. This is something we saw throughout the market for all home types; Sales were up but average sales price was down. The good news is that even though sales price was down, average price per square foot was up relative to 2009.
Scottsdale Luxury Condo Market Statistics – 2010
Here is the same analysis as above, but this one only includes Scottsdale luxury condo sales.
As we saw before, sales activity was decent at the beginning of the year, with 90% of sales occurring in the first two quarters. The final two quarters were dismal for Scottsdale though.
The bulk of sales in Scottsdale took place at Optima Camelview and Scottsdale Waterfront Residences.
Phoenix Luxury Condo Market Statistics – 2010
Here is the analysis for the Phoenix luxury condo market. Half of Phoenix’s condo sales took place in the first quarter and then there was only a single sale per quarter for the rest of the year.
Three Biltmore-area communities were home to the 2010 sales. The first was Esplanade Place and the other were The Residences at 2211 Camelback and 2 Biltmore Estates. The year’s most expensive luxury condo sale was a beautiful unit at 2 Biltmore Estates.
Overall, the luxury condo market performed better relative to 2009. The beginning of the year was really impressive from a sales standpoint, but the last two quarters were a struggle. Hopefully, the sales momentum will pick up and continue in to 2011.
Disclaimer: Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 4/1/2010, 7/1/2010 and 10/1/2010 and 1/1/2011 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at resale luxury condos in Scottsdale and Phoenix 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. Some rounding in the percentage figures may result in figures not adding to 100%.
Copyright © 2011 Heather Tawes Nelson
True Food Kitchen Scottsdale and Phoenix AZ – Cooking Smarter for Health and Happiness
True Food Kitchen is a popular local restaurant with locations in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona. It hit the ground running about two years ago in the Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix and has not slowed down since.
True Food Kitchen’s success is based on its philosophy of fresh, healthy, satisfying food that tastes good. Most of the items used are sourced locally and are organic. The menu changes frequently as new items come into season and others cycle out. True Food Kitchen works closely with Dr. Andrew Weil and the tenets of his Food Pyramid. The best part of eating here is that you get a delicious, filling meal and do not have to feel guilty when you leave.
Occasionally, True Food Kitchen will host a special event and yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a cooking demonstration. The theme for the demonstration was “Cooking Smarter for Health and Happiness” and it was led by the Executive Chef Michael Stebner, who opened the original restaurant a couple of years ago.
Upon seating, we were served a drink called “Red Moon” that contained pink grapefruit juice, yuzu, agave nectar and soda. It was refreshing without being too sweet and I would definitely order it again. Chef Stebner took the opportunity to open up and talk with us about the restaurant’s focus and how eating fresh, in-season produce not only tastes great, it is great for your health as well.
We then moved on to a demonstration of how to make three dishes that are favorites among diners. As each dish was being prepared, the audience members were given their own portion of the dish to enjoy. The first item was Shiitake & Tofu Lettuce Cups, a hugely popular appetizer. The ingredients cooked quickly in the wok and the aroma of ginger, garlic and teriyaki sauce smelled delicious. As promised, the dish was extremely flavorful and yet was not heavy or greasy.
The second course was something I had been looking forward to trying for a while. It was a Spaghetti Squash Casserole, which, when ready resembles a bubbling lasagna with spaghetti squash standing in for the pasta. Not only is it relatively easy to make, the finish product tasted as good as I thought it would.
The final course was a sorbet made with orange juice, agave nectar and olivello juice. The olivello juice was new to me and is actually made from sea buckthorn berries which are antioxidant powerhouses. The sorbet was a refreshing and delicious way to end the demonstration.
Overall, it was a great afternoon with a really entertaining and informative course. Not only did I get a great meal, I walked away with recipes and tips on some of the best local organic farmers’ markets that I had not been to previously. If you have an opportunity to attend one of these demonstrations, I highly recommend it.
More Information:
True Food Kitchen
Biltmore Fashion Square, Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Quarter (across from Kierland), Scottsdale, AZ
(602) 774-3488
www.TrueFoodKitchen.com
– Newport Beach, CA and other locations as well
Phoenix and Scottsdale AZ Luxury Condo Sales – December 2010
– December 2010 Scottsdale and Phoenix Luxury Condo Sales –
Here are the results for December 2010 for the Phoenix and Scottsdale luxury condo market. In this analysis, I define the luxury condominium market as condos for sale with an asking price of $1 million or more.
December was a decent month for the Scottsdale and Phoenix area luxury condo market. By the end of the month, we had the highest-priced condo sale of the year as well as another luxury condo in pending status.
December’s luxury condo sale was in Phoenix, in the elegant community of Two Biltmore Estates. This unit had three bedrooms, three and one-half bathrooms, 3,960 square feet and phenomenal views of the golf course, mountains and city lights. This was the most expensive condo sale of 2010 and the final sales price was $2,250,000.
The pending sale was in Optima Camelview of Scottsdale. This unit had an asking price of $1,195,000. It is a new, fifth floor unit with three bedrooms, two and one-half bathrooms and has 2,848 square feet.
December was a nice suprise to end the year with. Going in, there were no pending sales, so the forecast looked to be disappointing. However, the Two Biltmore Estates sale closed in a mere 15 days. Additionally, the pending sale at Optima Camelview should help January’s sales figures if it closes this month.
Search Phoenix and Scottsdale Luxury Condos for Sale
Disclaimer: Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 1/1/2010 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at resale luxury condos in Scottsdale and Phoenix 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.
Copyright © 2011 Heather Tawes Nelson
