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New Developments at Scottsdale’s Optima Camelview

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Optima Camelview ScottsdaleOptima Camelview, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a wonderful community that attracts people from all over the world. In a previous post, I talked about its cutting edge design and the wonderful amenities. As of the last couple of months, Optima Camelview has gotten even better with the addition of a few on-site vendors to serve the residents as well as the local community.

Posh, an upscale eatery, recently opened. It features “improvisational cuisine” in which diners provide the chef with information on foods they like to eat and the chef creates a customized tasting menu for them. The menus range from a 4 course selection up to a “Say Stop” selection of over 7 courses. Each of the menus can be accompanied with wine pairings as well. The menu and offerings change daily based on what is fresh and in season. Posh also hosts events including cooking classes and winemaker’s dinners. Parking is available onsite or you can valet. As a bonus to Optima Camelview residents, Posh offers dinner via “room service” Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Another new addition to Optima Camelview is Arizona’s first eco-friendly salon. It is called Green With Envy and it was designed by a LEED-certified architect. It uses only organic products and all of the design elements were selected based on being the most environmentally-friendly. It is a sleek, bright, welcoming salon and is a great addition to the community. (UPDATE: Green with Envy is now closed.)

Additionally, residents now also enjoy the convenience of an on-site dry cleaner.

Optima Camelview Sales: Click to see Optima Camelview’s 2008 sales activity for resale units.

 

Scottsdale’s Roka Akor Makes Bon Appetit’s Top Sushi Places

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Last Fall, I wrote about a great new entrant into the Scottsdale dining scene – Roka Akor. Roka Akor, located on Scottsdale Road north of Indian Bend, offers wonderful “robatayaki” dishes, delicious sushi and innovative cocktails among other things.

It seems the national press has noted what a great restaurant it is as well. In the April 2009 edition of Bon Appétit magazine, Roka Akor was named as one of its Top 10 favorite sushi places. If you have not had an opportunity to try it yet, I highly recommend stopping by.

Information:
Roka Akor
7299 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
480.306.8800

 

Something To Do this Weekend (3/27/09): Divine Performing Arts at ASU Gammage

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If you are looking for some entertainment this weekend, look no further than the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour shows being held at ASU Gammage theater.

The show consists of traditional Chinese dance, music, drums and other performances all set to a live orchestra. I watched a little bit of a taped show at the booth in Fashion Square Mall and the show looks to be very dynamic and exciting with colorful, exquisitely-detailed costumes.

It should be a great show based on the reviews. To watch a preview of the show and for more information, click here. Enjoy!

Information:
– www.DivinePerformingArts.org or www.DivineShows.com/Phoenix
– Show dates are March 27-28, 2009
– Tickets available via TicketMaster or directly via the Divine Performing Arts booth at Scottsdale Fashion Square near the Food Court.

Greater Phoenix Luxury Condo Market – February 2009

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Here is a very quick snapshot of the Valley’s luxury condo market performance in February of 2009. I define the luxury condo market as condos with asking prices in excess of $1 million dollars. These condos can be found in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tempe.

It was a slow month for this segment of the market. There were no sales and there was only one pending sale. The one pending sale was a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 3,550 square foot unit at Esplanade Place in Phoenix.

February 2009:
Active Units on the Market: 99
Sale Pending: 1
Sold: 0
Average Asking Price: $1,739,858
Average Square Feet: 2,652
Average Asking Price per Square Foot: $663.42
Lowest Priced Unit: $1,000,000
Highest Priced Unit: $4,250,000

Disclaimer: Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 3/1/2009 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at resale condo activity in Scottsdale. There may be new condo inventory in these figures if the developer is using the MLS to market its condos.
Copyright © 2009 Heather Tawes Nelson

Desert Mountain – Scottsdale, AZ – 2009 Sales Performance To Date

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Desert Mountain luxury home ScottsdaleHere is a year-to-date look at the home sale performance at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Desert Mountain is a luxury golf community located in far north Scottsdale. Located on over 8,000 acres, it features six Jack Nicklaus courses and six elegant clubhouses. It is also home to a spectacular tennis complex with standard courts as well as a clay court and grass court. Other amenities include a fitness center and spa, hiking paths, playgrounds, a very active social calendar and so much more. Plus, many of the Desert Mountain home and lot prices include a Desert Mountain Deferred Equity Golf Membership.

Homes start at $530,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2,576 square foot home and go up to $10,750,000 for a 5 bedroom, 8.5 bath, 10,947 square foot estate on a fabulous view lot.

Desert Mountain Single Family Homes
2009 Performance-To-Date
Homes for Sale 296
– Average Asking Price $2,392,003
– Average Square Feet 4,898
– Average Asking Price per Sq. Foot $456.91
– Average Days on Market* 313
Pending Homes 6
– Average Asking Price $1,817,004
– Average Square Feet 3,840
– Average Asking Price per Sq. Foot $436.62
– Average Days on Market* 275
Home Sales 6
– Average Sales Price $3,150,258
– Sales Price to List Price 96%
– Average Square Feet 5,831
– Average Sales Price per Sq. Foot $451.18
– Average Days on Market* 270
– Highest Sale Price $8,497,500
– Lowest Sale Price $900,000
* Cumulative Days on Market

View Desert Mountain Homes for Sale

Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 3/16/09 and can change at any time. The data is for resale homes and any new home inventory developers have entered into the MLS.
Copyright © 2009 Heather Tawes Nelson

Scottsdale Luxury Home Market – February 2009

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Here are the February figures for the Scottsdale luxury home market. This analysis looks at single-family resale homes in Scottsdale priced $1,000,000 and above over the last twelve months.

– FEBRUARY 2009 –
 
Homes Priced Between $1,000,000 – $1,499,999
– Actives: There were 569 homes for sale in this price segment. This figure has been increasing for the last two months and is more or less on par with the 12 month average of 568.
– Pendings: Pending sales were up in February to 19. This is a nice jump (58.3%) over February. However, it is still trailing behind the 12 month average of 29 pending homes.
– Sold: There were 15 home sales in this price point, up from 8 in January. This is slightly behind the average of 18, but the higher pending sales may indicate that March will be even stronger.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 89.1% This is the first time this figure has dropped into the 80%’s since October of 2008.

 Homes Priced Between $1,500,000 – $1,999,999
– Actives: The number of homes for sale in this price range was 298. We saw a nice drop in this figure between November (303) and December (284), but the figure has been climbing since.
– Pendings: The number of pending sales in February was 8, slightly behind the 12 month, average of 9, but up over December and January.
– Sold: Only three homes sold in February, a 57.1% drop over January. This figure is well behind the average of 7.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 92.3% This is a big improvement in this figure. The last time we saw this ratio so high was July of 2008.

Homes Priced Between $2,000,000 – $2,999,999
– Actives: The number of homes for sale dropped to 356 from 365 the month prior. This figure is tracking more or less on par with the 12 month average of 354.
– Pendings: Pending homes were up to 7, slightly behind the average of 8.
– Sold: Home sales rebounded over January’s disappointing numbers to 6. The last time sales hit this level in this price point was August of 2008.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 87.0% This figure has been bouncing around between the high 70%’s and low 90%’s for the last year.

Homes Priced $3,000,000+
– Actives:  There were 270 homes for sale in this price range, down from 279 in January. This is well below the 12 month average of 291.
– Pendings: Pending sales were 7, level with January’s figure. This is also the average over the last 12 months.
– Sold: Three homes sold in February. While this is better than the two sold in January, it is still behind the average of 5.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 94.4% This is a huge improvement for this ratio. It has been in the 70%’s and 80%’s since last October.

As you can see, the results vary quite a bit between the price segments. Inventory is creeping up in the lower-priced ranges and decreasing in the higher-priced ranges. Pendings and solds were for the most part positive and the higher number of pendings indicates sales in March may continue to climb.

For the detailed data behind the figures above, please visit my Scottsdale luxury real estate market reports page and click on the “Scottsdale Market Trends” report.

Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) as of 2/1/2009 and can change at any time. The analysis looks at single-family resale homes in Scottsdale 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 © 2009 Heather Tawes Nelson

Scottsdale Single-Family Home Resale Market – February 2009

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After a mixed January, February’s performance in Scottsdale rebounded, giving us better news. February sales and pending sales were up relative to January’s numbers. However, we did see the inventory of homes for sale creep up again over 4,000 to 4,007.

Scottsdale home sales February 2009

 

February Highlights:

  • Active Homes for Sale- We saw this number increase 1.1% over January to 4,007 homes for sale. We briefly went over 4,000 homes for sale back in November before heading back down. While we do not want to see the inventory increase, the total number of new homes on the market was not a huge amount, coming in at 43. The 12 month rolling average for this is 3,992.
  • Pending Homes for Sale – Pending homes were up again to 287, a 12.5% increase over January. We have not seen pending numbers this high since around September of 2008. The 12 month average for pending homes is 296.
  • Home Sales – Homes sales were up in February, coming in at 199. This improvement was due in part to the large uptick in pending home sales we saw in January. However, this figure is still well behind the 12 month average of 245.
  • Sold Price to List Price Ratio – Homes sold at an average of 92.2% of asking price in February. This figure is an improvement over the last several months where it was in the 90-91%’s.

Even though it was a short month, the Scottsdale single-family home market’s February performance contained a lot of good news. Plus, since pending sales were up again, sales in March should be impacted positively.

 

Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data was pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) on March 1, 2009 and can change at any time. Data looks back at the last 12 months of activity and is for Scottsdale single-family resale homes. There may be new home inventory in these figures if the developer uses the MLS to market its homes.
Copyright © 2009 Heather Tawes Nelson

La Vida – A Hidden Gem of a Community in North Scottsdale

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Tucked in behind the corner of Pima and Pinnacle Peak roads is a hidden gem of a community called La Vida. Consisting of 60 home sites and adjacent to Pinnacle Peak Country Club, La Vida projects an air of charm and tranquility. Yet its location is one of the finest in North Scottsdale with dining, shopping, entertainment and fitness opportunities just a minute or two away.

Many of the homes overlook the greenbelt near the entrance and quite a few overlook the neighboring Pinnacle Peak golf course. There is a community pool and tennis on-site for those who want to be active or enjoy simply Arizona’s wonderful weather.

Current prices in La Vida range from $289,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1,736 square foot home to $585,000 for a highly upgraded 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2,272 square foot home overlooking the golf course.

La Vida Scottsdale Home Sales

Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data and information were pulled from the Arizona Regional MLS (AMRLS) as of 2/20/2009 and can change at any time.
Copyright © 2009 Heather Tawes Nelson

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