Nationally, mortgage applications to purchase newly built homes dropped dramatically in November, signaling a slowdown in sales for the nation’s builders. Application volume fell 22% from October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This change does not include any seasonal adjustments, but when compared to one year ago, the applications are down 11.9%. While home lot sales usually slow in the winter months, the numbers appear to echo sentiment from some home builders that there is a lesser urgency in this last quarter of the year.

A few exceptions and bright spots to the lot sales and housing market in Southern Arizona were found in Stone Canyon and Madera Highlands.

Fairfield Homes purchased the first 20 platted lots from Terry Klipp and partner, Bob Morken of Terramar Properties for $1 million ($50,000 per lot) at the Enclave at Stone Canyon.

Located in Stone Canyon in Rancho Vistoso, north of Tortolita Mountain Circle and east of Hohokam Village Place in Oro Valley, the property is also known as the Stone Canyon Donut Hole due to its vicinity to Stone Canyon Golf Course. Surrounded by the Stone Canyon Golf Course, the subdivision sits on approximately 28 acres of vacant property and feature single-story homes on lot sizes ranging from 10,000 to 15,000-square-feet and 80’ frontage. Fairfield’s lots are situated on holes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The property features two points of ingress and egress, from Rock Haven Place on the south and Hohokam Village Place on the north.

To learn more Klipp and Morken can be reached at 520.577.7800. Fairfield Homes should be contacted at 800.830.5135.

Richmond American Homes of Arizona, a subsidiary of MDC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC), continues to takedown the 56-SFR lots at Madera Highlands Villages in the Town of Sahuarita, recently buying its second takedown of five lots for $413,122 ($82,624 per lot). The seller is MK Company Southwest LLC of Scottsdale.

The Madera Highlands Villages at Madera Highlands are roughly 1-acre lots and feature a distinctive collection of single and two-story floor plans. New homes showcase beautifully appointed exteriors and open, inviting layouts with features, such as tile flooring, stainless-steel appliances and granite kitchen countertops.

Will White of Land Advisors Organization in Tucson handled the transaction for the seller.

To learn more White should be reached at (520) 514.7454 for more information and Richmond American can be contacted at (520) 544.2700.

Four transactions of Tucson industrial properties sold recently with an aggregate of $5.18 million for a total of 82,661-square-feet.

Tucson Development of Tucson (Clifford Halbert) sold a 25,000-square-foot industrial building at 6450 E Valencia for $3 million ($120 PSF). The buyer was a tenant prior to sale dba Border’ International with offices in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, selling used trucks and trailers. The property is on 9.73 acres of fenced land with a fenced yard and 650 feet of landscaped Valencia Road frontage. There were no brokers involved in the sale.

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744 Euclid, LLC (Pat Welchert) of Tucson traded the 12,440-square-foot industrial building at 744 S Euclid in Tucson for $540,000 ($44 PSF) to EAW, LLC of Tucson (Jason Douglas) for three retail buildings located at 214, 232 and 244 West Grant Road in Tucson from the City of Tucson for $940,000 ($41 PSF). The property was being sold as excess property for the City of Tucson and consisted of ±23,800-square-feet in total on a land parcel of ±1.55 acres zoned C-2.

The buildings are located at 214 W Grant Road sold vacant with ±4,900-square-feet single story masonry warehouse (built 1981), 232 W Grant Road leased ±11,900-square-feet single story masonry warehouse (built 1981) and leased to Kelly Paper at a current annual net rent of $72,195.96; 244 W Grant Road was vacant with ±7,000-square-feet single story masonry formerly an auto repair facility (built 1987).

Pat Welchert, SIOR, Industrial Specialist with Cushman & Wakefield | Picor represented 744 Euclid, LLC and Dave Blanchette, CCIM, and Ian Stuart, Vice President with CBRE Tucson represented the City of Tucson in the transaction.

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Gould Family Properties VIII, LLC (Wayne Gould) of Tucson acquired the 21,421-square-foot industrial building at 990 S Cherry Avenue in Tucson for $700,000 ($33 PSF) from JCBP, LLC (James Cain) of Tucson. The buyer purchased to owner occupy.

Steve Cohen and Russ Hall represented the seller, JCBP,  while Allen Mendelsberg and Brandon Rodgers, CCIM,  with Cushman & Wakefield | Picor of Tucson represented the Gould Family Properties in the transaction.

To learn more Cohen, Hall, Rodgers and Mendelsberg should be contacted at Cushman & Wakefield | Picor, 520.748.7100. Blanchette at CBRE in Tucson can be reached at 520.323.5138 and Stuart is at 520.323.5180.

The Historic Sunstone Guest Ranch at 2575 N Woodland Road in Tucson sold for $1.175 million ($103 PSF) to Grace Global Group (Rae Orozco, pastor) of Tucson for use as a religious retreat, Grace to the Nation Retreat Center. The approximate 12-acres with 11,410-square-feet in five buildings was sold by Ranch House Investors LLC, an affiliate of Larsen Baker of Tucson, (George Larsen and Don Baker, members).

The property was first constructed as a guest ranch in 1882, the forerunner to Sunstone Guest Ranch, opened 26 years prior to the Tanque Verde Ranch that still invites tourists. The property operated as a dude ranch up until about 1943.

From about 1947 to 1967 it was called El Carinila Ranch, a guest ranch and a summer camp for children ages 6 to 15, that was owned and operated by Irving and Faye Labensart.

The property was annexed by the City of Tucson in 1984. It’s uncertain when they purchased it, but the Sikh Dharma religious group owned the property until 1990 and did much of the landscaping before selling it to Robert Raynon who incorporated the guest ranch as a non-profit guest ranch / bed and breakfast. Raynon owned and operated it from 1990-1995 when Sharon Ludwig purchased it and made major improvements to the property and rebranded it Sunstone Guest Ranch.

In 2002, the guest ranch was sold to Arizona Oncology Associates that received funding from prominent benefactors to convert the then 120-year old guest ranch into a retreat for cancer patients and renamed it Sunstone Healing Center, owned and operated by the Sunstone Cancer Support Foundation. Tucson philanthropists such as The Zuckermans, Don and Joan Diamond and Jim Click were major benefactors funding the cancer healing center in these early years.

Researchers with the Arizona Cancer Center saw Sunstone as a lab where programs might be developed for a holistic approach in treatment of the disease, with alternative therapies such as Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, and a full range of supportive interventions-classes being offered at Sunstone in healthful cooking, stress relieving yoga and other therapies to help patients achieve and maintain optimum health while also undergoing conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and other conventional treatments in their regular medical clinics.

In 2009, Mirasol bought the property from the Sunstone Cancer Support Foundation for just under $2 million for an obesity and eating disorder treatment center that closed in 2011 when Larsen and Baker bought it to preserve for history and save from further disrepair.

Chuck Corriere, MBA, of KW Commercial in Tucson represented the buyer, Grace Global Group and Andy Seleznov, CCIM of Larsen Baker represented the seller in this latest transaction.

To learn more Corriere can be reached at 520.400.9811 and Seleznov should be contacted at 520.296.0200.