Since January 1st 358 single family homes have sold in the Catalina Foothills at an average of $168/sf.
And just 9 of those 358 homes sold for $275/sf or more.
Where are they located and why did the sell for so much more than the average.
1. One was a small 1939 Joesler in the old foothills that sold for $515,000. The house itself was in pretty rough shape. But it sat on nearly 4 acres. So I’m guessing it was a land sale, someone is going to split the lot and build two or three homes, and, unfortunately, maybe knock down the Joesler. It sold for $275/sf.
2. A home in Alta Vista that sold in one day for $987,000, $280/sf. I never got to see it so I have no idea why it fetched $280 - the 2nd highest $/sf sale in AV this year, the highest came in at $284/sf (see # 3.) the next highest was $217 and down from there.
3. And the $284/sf sale in Alta Vista - $1,100,000. When it went to contract I wrote “And sometime between then and now had a total, and pretty splashy, renovation. Which apparently paid off”. So a splashy and apparently, very appealing renovation.
4. A very nice Tuscan in Sin Vacas that had gorgeous city views sold for $1,275,000, $290/sf in 2 days.
5. Another home in Sin Vacas, newer, built 2013, sold for $950,000, $283/sf.
6. A lavish and luxurious new spec home in Cat 10 sold for $1,600,000, $324/sf. With few spec builders willing to bet the farm these days, lavish, luxurious and pricey spec homes are virtually non-existent.
and 7. 8. and 9. are all in Skyline CC.
3 homes in Skyline CC sold for $278, $280 and $339/sf - $500,000, $750,000 and $1,302,000 respectively. And all 3 had one thing in common, ‘take your breath away’ city views from way high up in Skyline. Without the views, my guess is they’d have sold for 20 – 25% less.
Really great - ‘knock your socks off’, ‘take your breath away’ - city views are much harder to come by than mountain views. For one simple reason. There are thousands more homes in the lower foothills than there are high up in the Catalinas - where you need to be for those ‘take your breath away’ city views. Whereas, while they’re not quite a-dime-a-dozen, down in the lower foothills you’ll find yourself staring at beautiful mountain views from almost everywhere, say, the parking lot in front of Walgreens or Safeway.
And with a few exceptions almost all of the spectacular city view homes are located in upper-end, gated foothills communities way high up in the Catalinas – the Canyons, the mountain estates at Ventana, Cobblestone, the upper reaches of Skyline CC, Sin Vacas, Finisterra, and Sabino Mountain. And that’s about it. And a majority of them are big, expensive homes, 4500 – 6500 sf or more, at $1,000,000 & UP, UP, UP. If you’re looking for 3500sf with spectacular city views; my advice is, be patient, or flexible, or both, because the pickings are going to be slim.
PS - during the same Jan to June period at the height of the market in 2006 – 10X as many homes sold for $275/sf or more as today.
see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your very own Catalina Foothills Home
