Well located build-able lots are an endangered species that are fast becoming a nearly extinct species in the Tucson Foothills.
There are very few good lots available, and those that are, are very expensive.
Some builders/investors have responded to this situation by carving out lots in places where no one would have considered building a home a few years ago. What I call in-fill lots.
Others have gone the teardown route, finding well-located older homes on good lots and starting over. This is a very popular way to go in Skyline country club, which is a guard-gated golf course community in the Tucson Foothills, where many 60's and 70's vintage homes are located on prime lots with great city and mountain views.
The one below was built in 1967, and sold for $480,000 in 2004
And after a massive facelift it's now listed for $1,685,000
Here's the original 60's kitchen
and a couple hundred thousand later, bon appetit
from Ozzie and Harriet in the living room
to surround sound and knock-out views
Here's another one, this 3160 sf house was built in 1965,
and sold for $455,000 in 2003
and was reborn as a 5000 sf luxury manse which sold for
$1,875,000 in 2005. It sits on the golf course in Skyline
and has great mountain views too
and a new kitchen
and a new everything
Despite a lack of vacant land, this is how some of the new construction is getting done in the Tucson Foothills, and on great lots in a places like Skyline Country Club. It's is the way to go, in my opinion. It's more expensive than building on in-fill lots, but if you're going to build or buy an expensive home, location, location, is the critical criteria. It can't be overlooked, because it can't be changed, while just about everything else about a house can be.
see my web site thefoothillsToday.com
to search for and learn more about Tucson Foothills Homes