North Marana comes into its own
If you haven’t stopped in the North Marana area in the past 5 years, it’s worth a closer look. This area, which is located just west of I-10 northwest of Tucson, is showing some of the best activity in the region and there are no signs of it slowing anytime soon.

Compared with Tucson’s constrained developable land supply, North Marana has plenty of runway to continue to provide homebuilders and developers ample room to grow. Mainly due to its agricultural origins, the area is free of washes and other site constraints that continue to challenge the development of the high desert areas to the east. Infrastructure is abundant in the area which makes it attractive to the developers as the barriers to get larger projects off the ground are considerably less than in other areas of Pima County.

Couple all of this with North Marana’s extremely strong housing statistics and you have a market with momentum that is simply too significant to ignore.

Gladden Farms leads the way
Gladden Farms has enjoyed a strong resurgence over the past 5 years. Historically speaking, Gladden Farms was one of the initial master-planned communities to form during the early 2000’s. It got off to a quick start and quickly ramped up to over 500 sales.

While the downcycle caused things to take a pause, the momentum in 2019 is at back at full-tilt.  The community went from 1 to 4 homebuilders in 2016 and has been selling hundreds of lots annually.  2018 was one of its best years with the sale of 347 lots.

Most impressive has been the strong pricing power of the community.  The average sales price has risen almost $60,000 in the past 3 years and is up over $100,000 since the bottom of the market in 2011. Homebuilders have taken notice; they continue to reload lots at an aggressive pace and in-turn are seeing strong sales and traffic. This should continue as there are (at least) another 400 lots planned to close to homebuilders in 2019.

Will White of Land Advisors (who handles the marketing at Gladden Farms) commented, “The resurgence of this area, led by Gladden Farms, is impressive, but it is not surprising. North Marana is seen as the ‘go-to’ spot for the future growth in Pima County. The areas’ attributes and high-performance are continuing to fuel the demand and attention from builders and homebuyers alike.”

Future Land
And while Gladden Farms has rightfully received much positive acclaim, it is not the only area of north Marana that is getting attention. Currently, there are only a small handful of standalone subdivisions  such as Barnett Farms and Cypress Gardens are ready for construction and homebuilders will likely move forward with those in 2019. This is far from enough to satisfy the underlying demand, though, and several larger projects such as the Sanders Grove and Tortolita masterplans – which could supply over 10,000 future lots – are well along the entitlement path and should provide inventory solutions for homebuilders within the next few years.

Part of the desirability of this area can be traced back to 2 interchange access points and great accessibility to I-10. Further, these larger amounts of unconstrained land will be able to be thoughtfully planned and provide infrastructure synergies that are unique to this area. The result will be a well-planned lifestyle and convenience region that is sure to appeal to family homebuyers, retirees, and second homebuyers.

Amenities
From new schools, fire stations, restaurants, and shopping, north Marana has seen it all over the past few years. The new Gladden Farms elementary school has been a strong addition to the area and comes in addition to the K-8 program already in existence. The new Northwest Fire Station being constructed at Gladden Farms will be a state-of-the-art facility and a welcome addition the neighborhood. There has been a flurry of resaturant activity near the “round-a-bout” are near the Marana interchange in the past 18 months and construction activity is well underway.

Market Share
Currently, approximately 40% of new home permits in Pima County are in the Town of Marana. As absorption continues to increase and new land and communities are opened-up in the north Marana area, experts are estimating that this area alone could be responsible for more than 50% of all homebuilding activity in Pima County.

The Tucson metropolitan area has seen a ‘tightening’ of developable land since the bottom of the market in 2011, and several areas are further constrained by environmental issues, zoning, and governmental lands. In contrast, the north Marana agricultural area is free to continue to capitalize on this opportunity and capture more market share. It has the land to grow and that is a valued commodity in a supply-constrained market.

Homebuilders
The north Marana area is home to Meritage Homes, Lennar, Richmond American, LGI, DR Horton and KB Home. Each of these homebuilders have 1-2 communities currently open for sale and, with the impressive sales pace, are on the lookout for additional opportunities. Further, Tucson has several other homebuilders that are not yet active in this area but will likely have it as part of their future growth plans. Simply put, homebuilders are aggressive to be in an area that is having success and has (will have) available lots to develop.

Summary
Will White sums it up well, “North Marana is really one of the best answers to the region’s ongoing land problem. The area has experienced landowners that have shown the willingness to accommodate the builders and are open for business. Tucson metro’s job creation is as strong and demand from families and home buyers is high and, by most accounts, is getting higher. North Marana has produced eye-opening stats over the past 3-5 years, and we think that will continue for a very long time. Put all of this together and it makes the homebuilders job a lot easier”.

One thing is certain: if North Marana hasn’t been in the plans for homebuilders, employers, and commercial users in the past, you can bet it will be in the immediate future!

TUCSON, Arizona — Will White and John Carroll with Land Advisors Organization (LAO) closed this week on $12.61 million in land sales in Rancho Vistoso and Gladden Farms in Northwest Tucson submarket.

A New York-based land investment REIT, JEN Arizona 32, LLC and affiliate TerraWest Communities (Mike Jesberger) purchased Blocks 5H and 5I (190 Acres) at Rancho Vistoso Neighborhood 5 in Oro Valley for $6.3 million.  The buyer plans to plat the parcels for a mix of production lot sizes. The Seller was VPII Loan, LLC.

Richmond American acquired 19 paper lots in Rancho Vistoso Neighborhood 10T for $850,000 ($44,737 perplatted and engineered lot). The 19 lots are a Vistoso infill parcel sold by Tempe-based, Grace Holdings, LLC (Bernadette Wolfswinkel, manager).

“Rancho Vistoso goes all the way back to the 1980’s and 90’s, so Vistoso is some of the best infill in the region at this point. It has a proven track record of some of the strongest pricing power and pace in the Tucson metro area. It is surrounded by supporting amenities, employment and the views and aesthetics of that area are amazing. Homebuilders continue to scout opportunities in that masterplan because they are having great success. As the options become limited in Rancho Vistoso, we expect land to continue to trade at a premium that reflects the strong attributes of the project,” commented White.

Richmond also closed on it’s second deal at Gladden Farms in 2018 for another 105-finished lots for $5.46 million ($52,000 per lot). The lots were sold by the developer, Gladden Phase II, LLC (Crown West Realty, Dean Wingert). Will White and John Carroll of Land Advisors Organization in Tucson handled the transaction and have the marketing assignment on all of Gladden Farms.

“Gladden Farms has closed 347 lots YTD. It is not surprising that new blocks are trading at volume, it is a fantastic community in a strong growth area. North Marana has huge momentum and will continue to capitalize on the constraints of the metro area for many years to come.”

White added, “The great thing about the Tucson market is that it is showing strength in almost every component. We are seeing much better economic news and supply is tight on all fronts which is providing a very stable situation. We like to look at burn rate and this year there has been a big push to affordability and building specs to get ahead of timing concerns and get cost efficiencies. This all leads to the build out of communities faster than everyone was anticipating. Bottom line is we need more land in production in all areas of Tucson or we can simply expect price increase all around from land to housing over the next 24 months.”

For more information, White and Carroll should be reached at 520.514.7454.

To learn more, see RED Comp #6278, #6290 and #6289.

TUCSON, Arizona – On the eve of the release of NAR Pending Home Sales Index (PHS) April report, a leading indicator of housing activity, based on what we are seeing here in Tucson we predict it to be a positive one for the third month running.  Two major homebuilders, D.R. Horton and Richmond American Homes have restocked inventory in the Tucson market this month. D.R. Horton acquired an aggregate of 82-lots and Richmond American 76-lots during the month of May.

In the Southern submarket, northwest of Columbus and White Water Drive, D.R. Horton bought 62-lots remaining in a 157-lot subdivision, Desert Vista Estates from Clayton Properties Group for $1,627,500 ($26,250 per lot). The seller is a manufactured home manufacturer, Clayton Homes, and lots are mostly 55’ x 90’. We were unable to learn whether or not D.R. Horton plans to re-plat the lots.

D.R. Horton also purchased 6 finished lots under a rolling option agreement from Tucson Land, LLC at Santa Cruz Meadows in Sahuarita. The price was $51,000 per lot for the 7,000-square-foot lots, or $306,000. This was a takedown on an option for 93-lots.

Tucson Land was represented by Randy Emerson of GRE Partners and D.R. Horton was represented by Dan Feig of Chapman Lindsey.

An additional 14-lots were also taken down at Fianchetto Farms in Northern Marana, near Gladden Farms for $685,500 ($48,964 per lot).  This is D.R. Horton’s second option agreement for 60-lots in this 114-lot subdivision, having finished its first agreement recently for 46-lots.

Dan Feig with Chapman Lindsey Commercial Real Estate Services handled the transaction.

Two new projects were likewise acquired by Richmond American in the Northwest submarket.

Linda Vista 18 is a 36-lot subdivision southeast of Linda Vista Blvd. and Thornydale Road. Richmond acquired the 36-lots and common area totaling 12.6-acres for $30,000 per lot or $1,080,000. The seller / developer was Red Point Development (Daniel Leung, manager).

Magee 17, a 35-lot subdivision, was also bought by Richmond from Red Point Development for $875,000 ($25,000 per lot). Located also in the Northwest submarket, the new 17.54-acre subdivision is northwest of Thornydale and Magee Roads. Average lot size is 7,425-square-feet.

Richmond American Homes also took down 6 finished 70′ wide lots at Santa Cruz Meadows in Sahuarita for $312,500, or $62,500 per lot.  The fourth takedown, or 27 lots, on an agreement to purchased 49-lots at Santa Cruz Meadows.  The seller was represented by Randy Emerson of GRE Partners and the buyer was self-represented.

Richmond has also opened several lots in Rancho Sahuarita at Entrada Del Rio.

For additional information, Randy Emerson can be reached at 520.396.4812 and Dan Feig is at 520.747.4000.

To learn more, see RED Comps #5793, #5784, #5800, #5787, #5833, and #5802.