associate broker, abr, gri, crs & clhms … broker, abr, gri, crs & clhms helene cass (480)...

ASSOCIATE BROKER, ABR, GRI, CRS & CLHMS

Helene Cass

(480) 563-3333 (888) 471-9500 Online at www.MMRHOMES.com

RE/MAX FINE PROPERTIES EACH OFFICE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

McDowell Mountain Ranch Real Estate News

Spotlight On Our Community Speaking of optimism and improving economies, the Arizona State Land De-partment (ASLD) appears to have con-cluded that things are sufficiently im-proved to warrant getting back in the land sales business. Their first step in that direc-tion was a fairly dramatic one and it occurred around Thanksgiving. They auctioned off

2,365 acres that sits between the eastern edge of MMR and the crest of the McDow-ell's to the City of Scottsdale for $21.3 mil-lion. The upside of that move for our commu-nity is, of course, that this parcel will not only become part of The Preserve but will also help secure our cherished mountain views in perpetuity.

Having succeeded with that sale, the ASLD is now planning to put other nearby parcels on the market — including two located on the east side of Pima Road in the vicinity of Los Gatos Drive. These two parcels total about 60 acres and are zoned for residential use. More importantly, they appear to be pretty much

I’ve generally begun each New Year with a few paragraphs extolling the joys of wintering in Scottsdale and listing some of the exciting recreational opportunities and events that are part of the season. However, after 17 years, I’ve pretty much concluded that the effort is superfluous. Most everyone seems to know just how great life is here during the winter months and, in truth, all year around.

Moreover, it’s possible that those who are either still unaware of just how sweet it can be out here or who are aware and yet con-tinue to cling to life in the colder climes, may be part of some grand experiment in natural selection. In any event, I don’t think either nature or commerce requires that we inter-fere any more than we have already.

Instead, we plan to spend 2014 focusing on providing first class service to those who al-ready reside in our community and extending a helping hand to those who are cool enough to express an interest in making Scottsdale and MMR their home.

Of course, we’ll also be looking for ways to improve our game whenever possible and, in fact, this year you can expect to see broader support from our team for community events, more extensive use of aerial photography in our marketing programs and, somewhere around midyear, a new version of our website with an exciting list of new tools.

I have to say that it’s really nice to be back in an upbeat, economic environment — absorb-ing the energy and the optimism it generates. On that happy note, let me offer you my BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY AND PROS-PEROUS NEW YEAR!

Vol. XVII, No. 1 January-February 2014

ready for development. An ASLD flyer with additional details can be found on our website.

Having reported on the extraordinary development underway in the RiverWalk section of the Salt River Pima Indian Res-ervation in our last edition, I didn’t expect to have much new to offer for awhile. However, there are already a few updates that might interest you. The Odysea in the Desert project seems to have added more pieces to their package. They’ve announced the opening of two new attractions, Mirror Maze and Laser Maze, which sound a bit like 21st century interpretations of the house of mirrors exhibits that were popular at amuse-ment parks in the “pre-electronic era”.

Moreover, Odysea is also considering the addition of a Family Fun Center. This is a $13 million entertainment center that will include 19 themed birthday party rooms and all the newest rides, games and attractions. It could occupy as much as 6 acres and 67,000 square feet within the overall complex.

Somewhat closer to home, Whitestone REIT, the owner of MMR’s Desert Canyon Center, continues to be one of the most aggressive and enthusiastic commercial investors in the valley. In fact, they closed on their 21st acquisition in the metropolitan area in early December, and their target this time around was the Marketplace at DC Ranch. The price tag was $37.4 million.

The 240,000 square foot center is currently about 80% leased and there’s enough land to build another 35,000 square foot addition when the economy fully recovers.

(Continued on page 17)

Happy New Year!!!!

2 Helene’s MMR Real Estate News/January–February 2014

The Spring Market is when Prices Typically Increase

Castle Chase 10793 E Betony Drive

3BR/2BA 1,936 SF

Shows like a Model Home w/Stonite Counters, Plantation Shutters, Newer Carpets & Custom Paint. Backyard Pond with a Soothing Rock Waterfall!

$425,000

The Preserve 10318 E Raintree Drive

4BR/3BA 2,132 SF

Remodeled Kitchen has Cherry Cabi-nets, Granite Counters and Stainless Steel Appliances. Backs to a Wash w/Spa & Gorgeous Mountain Views!

$425,000

Some of Our Recent Transactions in the MMR Area!!!!!!!

Discovery Trails 10349 E Penstamin Drive

3BR/2BA 1,622 SF

Perfect Starter Home, Investment or Second Home! Move-In Ready with Granite Counters & Stainless Appli-ances. Pool-Sized Yard with Pavers!

$358,000

Arizona Highlands 16555 N 105th Way

3BR+DEN/2BA 2,028 SF

This One Backs & Sides to a Wash w/Mountain Views, Rock Waterfall & Flagstone-Like Patio! Corian Kitchen Counters and Brand New HVAC Unit!

$399,900

Panorama Point 10602 E Betony Drive

3BR/2BA 1,874 SF

Situated Across from the Walking & Jogging Paths with the Community Rec Center Nearby. Light & Bright w/ Low Maintenance Ceramic Flooring!

$390,000

Panorama Point 10342 E Tierra Buena Lane


Corner Lot Backs to a Wash with a Sparkling Pool & Mountain Views! Tastefully Remodeled Kitchen and Baths, Ceramic Flooring & Fireplace!

$375,000

Sienna Canyon 11132 E Winchcomb Drive

4BR/2.5BA 2,941 SF

Top of the Hill Resort Living in this Spacious Home Backing to a Wash w/Heated Pebble Tec Pool and Spa, BBQ, Firepit and A+ Mountain Views!

$730,000

Trovas 11055 E Jasmine Drive

3BR+DEN/3.5BA 3.297 SF

In a Gated Community & on a Cul-de-Sac Street! Heated Pebble Tec Pool, Spa, Firepit, BBQ & Mountain Views! Travertine Floors & Granite Counters!

$776,000

Sunrise Point 11616 E Raintree Drive


Located on a Cul-de-Sac & Backing to a Wash w/Gorgeous Mountain & City Light Views! Cherry Cabinets, Granite Cntrs & Paver Patio w/BBQ!

$650,000

Discovery Trails 10215 E Saltillo Drive


Spacious Yard with Sparkling Pool, Stacked Stone Fireplace and a Built-In BBQ. Granite Counters, Stainless Appliances & a Balcony with Views!

$495,000

Cimarron Hills 10988 E Karen Drive

4BR+DEN/3.5BA 3,926 SF

Gracious & Spacious w/Private Entry Casita, Surround Sound, 2 Fireplaces, Bonus Rm & Den. Pebble Tec Pool, Wtrfl, Fire Pit, BBQ, Mountain Views!

$815,000

Cimarron Hills 11125 E Karen Drive 4BR/3.5BA 3,566 SF

Stunning Views Overlook the Valley from this Wash Lot w/Htd Pebble Tec Pool, Spa, Firepit and Built-In BBQ! Travertine Floors & Granite Counters!

$1,075,000

Our Feature Home**


Why Not Call Me for a New or an Updated Market Analysis?

Arizona Vintage 10212 E Betony Drive 3BR/2.5BA 1,744 SF

This Darling Home is Located on a Cul-de-Sac & has a Front Porch! Low Maintenance Pergo Flooring, Granite Kitchen Counters, Sliders to Balcony!

$365,000

Sonoran Fairways 10479 E Sheena Drive


In a Gated Community & on a Cul-de-Sac Street! This Split Plan Backs to a Wash w/Built-In BBQ, Bamboo & Ceramic Flrs & a Two-Way Fireplace!

$499,000

Cimarron Hills 11180 E Karen Drive


Top of the Hill on a C-D-S St Siding to a Wash with Mountain Views! Media Room & Den, Pebble Tec Pool, Wtrfl, Granite, Stainless & Jetted Mstr Tub!

$825,000

Cimarron Hills 10703 E Caribbean Lane

3BR/2BA 2,310 SF

Easy Breezy Great Room Plan with New Carpeting & Just Painted Inside. Granite and Corain Counters, Pebble Tec Pool & Guard Gated Community!

$525,000

Just Some of Our Current Listings

Remodeled Inside! Spectacular Views!

Cimarron Ridge 11279 E Caribbean Lane


Gorgeous Inside & Out Best Describes this Beauty! The Handsome Travertine Floors Compliment Custom Paint Colors and the Kitchen could be Featured in a Magazine! It has Alder Wood Cabinets, Stainless Appliances, White Tiger-like Granite Counters, Stone Backsplash, a Farmers Sink, Walnut Butcher Block, Wine Cooler, 5 Burner Gas Cooktop, Double Wall Ovens, & Walk-In Pantry. The Baths are Gorgeous Too with Gran-ite Counters, Travertine Floors & Tiled Shower/Tubs. The Master Bath has a Jetted Tub and His & Hers Enormous Closet! Entertain in the Back Yard Para-dise with a Heated Pebble Tec Pool, Spa, 4 Hole Putting Green, Gas Firepit & Built-In BBQ all South Facing against a Private NAOS Wash Lot with Spectacu-lar Mountain and City Light Views! Call Helene at 480-563-3333 before it’s gone!

$1,195,000


The Scottsdale Unified School District just earned some new accolades. It seems that three of Scottsdale’s five High Schools (Chaparral, Desert Moun-tain and Saguaro) were in the top ten in the state in terms of the percentage of college graduates they produce. Obviously, there are a great many factors contributing to this situation, but the existence of a college ori-ented culture on campus is being given a great deal of the credit.

In a what appears to be something of a compromise, Arizona's Corporation Com-mission, which oversees utility rates in the state, voted 3-2 to impose a $5 monthly fee on new solar customers. APS had ini-tially asked for a $50 to $100 charge to be im-posed and for additional changes to be made in the net metering policy. Although that request was rejected, the current ruling did manage to create a precedent by acknowledging that solar users were obligated to pay something toward the maintenance of the power grid.

Several months ago, Business Insider Magazine ranked Scottsdale as the 6th safest city in the USA. This month, Law Street Media, a website focused on legal and public policy issues, declared that we were actually #5. Since they both cite data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report Statistics as their source, I have to as-

sume that we’ve either picked up our game in the last quarter or someone at one of these organizations simply can’t count. Needless to say, I’m hoping for the former but, either way, it’s nice to have others singing your praises rather than having to do it yourself. Notre Dame Prep is planning to begin construction of its new athletic field this month. In what seems to me a lovely ges-ture, they are planning to name the field for Scot Bemis, the school’s F o o t b a l l Coach, who died from lung cancer last January. By all accounts, Coach Bemis was an out-standing individual, a great coach and an ex-cellent role model and it’s a fitting tribute that the school has chosen to name the field in his honor. The project is expected to be com-pleted in time for the 2014 Football season.

Lyons Club International is the world’s largest service organization with over 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million members and, if community resident Ron Shelton has his way, MMR is going to have its own chapter. Ron will be holding an informational meeting at the McDow-ell Center (16116 N. MMR Road) on February 10th at 6:30. Mark your calendars to attend and learn how you can get involved in local pro-jects while making new friends and enriching your life through volunteerism. This could also offer a terrific opportunity for our local high

schoolers to complete their community ser-vice hours! For more details, call Ron at 480/419-7203.

With the Sochi Olympics just around the corner, I thought you might find it inter-esting to know that the reigning U.S Na-tional Figure Skating Champion and Olympic hopeful, Max Aaron, is a Scottsdale native. Although Max is currently training in Colorado Springs and attend-ing the University of Colo-rado, his family lives just up the street in Windgate Ranch and the Alltel Ice Den was one of his regular training ven-ues. We wish him best of luck!!

APS has finally settled on a fairly benign way to connect the Raintree Substation located near Raintree Drive and Pima Road with the East End Substation north of Bell Road in the vicinity of the major power lines. If you’ve been following this process, you’ll recall that their earlier proposals in-cluded routes that passed through residential communities in our area. However, the route they ulti-mately selected runs up Pima and passes through a Horse-man’s Park office complex before crossing Bell Road by the high tension wires.

They’re planning to begin the acquisition of the necessary land rights this year and on starting construction in 2015. The entire pro-ject should be complete by the sum-mer of 2016. A map of the selected route is available on our website.

Odds & Ends


Our most recent effort to contribute to the community’s quality of life was our sponsorship of one of the vehicles used in the Holiday Lights Tour that was held on

December 7th. The photo below shows TJ and Lea Ann, two of the coolest members of our team (or perhaps we should say, the chilliest) deco-rating the “hay wagon” with our banner in preparation for the start of the tour. The eve-

ning turned out to be a great success, and not only have we already signed on as a sponsor for next year, but we have some interesting ideas for improving the experience as well.

Actually, you needn’t wait that long to see us pitching in once again. The next community event that we’ve agreed to help with is the St Patrick’s Day themed “Wine With Friends” evening. It’s scheduled to be held at the McDowell Center on Friday, March 14th, from 6 to 9 PM and, if the success of the last event of this type was any barometer, it’s a date you should be circling on your calendar.

This month also marks the 4th anniver-sary of the current version of our website and, although the site is still quite viable,

we think it’s time to start thinking about an upgrade. After all, four years in tech terms are probably the equivalent of a genera-tional change, in human terms.

The biggest motivation to make a change right now is the evolution that’s occurred in the technology and the revolution that’s oc-curred in the way people use it. In practical terms, we simply have to adjust to the advent of tablets and smart phones and find new ways to deal with the boom in social media.

In addition to simply reacting to the forces swirling around us, we also want to up our game from a community building standpoint. In fact, if all goes as planned, the site should have a Facebook linked scroll with news


The Service You Deserve

Over the last 13 years, RE/MAX has had 72% more “Listings Sold” in the MMR than its nearest competitor!

Remarkably enough, Helene’s Team has been responsible for more than 44% of all those RE/MAX sales.

In fact, Helene’s Team has sold more than 500 homes in MMR during the 16 years

we’ve been Servicing the Community!

An Associate Broker with over 30 years of real estate experience and an extraor-dinary record of success

The head of a team with an aggregate of over 100 years of experience

An MMR Homeowner since 1997

A Member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame

The recipient of the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award

A Member of the RE/MAX Chairman’s Club recognizing annual sales

The leader of a team that has made over 500 sales in MMR in the last 16 years

The creator of an MMR-centric Facebook page with nearly 1900 “likes”

The author of a website dedicated to marketing MMR to the world

The head of the 7th ranked RE/MAX team in the state of Arizona (2012)

Ranked among the top 100 RE/MAX Agents in the country (2012)

Our Current Home page


The year end stats are in and it’s great to be able to report that MMR had a very solid year. The 12.75% growth in our aver-age value was about as exciting as it could get without actually tipping us over into the kind of hyper-inflated environment we en-dured in 2005-2006.

In fact, there were indications that some lev-eling off occurred during the last quarter. If that is actually the case, I’d interpret it as a healthy development. It suggests that 2014 might end up being the sort of market that most people would probably prefer to do business in — one that’s optimistic and confi-dent but doesn’t compel reckless choices.

Now I know that some people actually find stability in the financial markets a bit boring, but personally I’d be willing to give it a try for a while. Unfortunately, the ink on

the relatively statesman-like budget compro-mise (that promised a moratorium on the conflicts that have disrupted our economy during the last few years) was barely dry be-fore some of the players in that august body decided it was time to fire the first volley in the debt limit war that will probably be taking center stage in February or March.

Quite frankly, with the general economy (and the real estate sector in particular) just emerg-ing from the recession, this seems like an irresponsible move — regardless of what your philosophical position might be!

The last thing we would seem to need right now is to damage our still fragile consumer confidence levels. It’s going to be difficult enough to deal with the increases in interest rates that are likely to result from the Federal Reserve’s decision to “taper off” the stimu-

lus programs that have been driving the real estate recovery and all the impending rule changes headed our way.

The National Association of Realtors has esti-mated that the Fed’s policy change could cause the current 4.625% rate for 30-year mortgages to jump as much as a point in the course of the next year. Interestingly enough, an increase of that size would still mean that the cost of financing would be a relative bar-gain from an historical perspective. However, there’s actually a huge emotional component involved in the buying and financing process, and external stressors like a debt limit fight could compound the effects considerably.

For the record, most economists polled by the WSJ are already blaming the lower than expected national sales figures for the last


The Resale Market, Analyzed

Mortgage Interest Rates

Conforming* Loans 30 Year…….4.625% 15 Year …...3.625%

5 Year ARM.…3.375% 7 Year ARM…3.75%

Jumbo* Loans 30 Year…….4.625% 15 Year …...3.625%

5 Year ARM……3.00% 7 Year ARM……3.375%

Rates effective 12-27-13 Fees vary by lender

All loans have Zero Points

*In Scottsdale, Conforming refers to loans up to $417,000 and Jumbo to larger amounts

Call your lender for Current Quotes!

Sales By Community for 2013 Community # Sold Avg Price Ave SF DOM $/SF % Change

Sienna Canyon 19 $651,179 3,057 54 $213.00 13.38%

Cimarron Hills 18 $672,538 2,915 95 $230.72 -0.01%

100 Hills 13 $856,558 3,210 101 $266.81 12.44%

Cimarron Ridge 13 $756,469 3,163 88 $239.19 -6.14%

Desert Cliffs 13 $632,962 3,111 75 $203.48 0.31%

Panorama Point 13 $395,000 1,865 43 $211.76 -2.84%

Trovas 13 $793,692 3,354 64 $236.64 4.24%

Castle Chase 12 $404,719 1,775 56 $228.00 2.83%

Discovery Trails 11 $349,900 1,668 56 $209.80 6.74%

Arizona Vintage 10 $350,090 1,685 59 $207.77 12.64%

The Summit 10 $477,605 2,410 129 $198.14 1.11%

Cachet 9 $269,667 1,489 24 $181.07 10.09%

The Overlook 9 $424,784 2,340 104 $181.56 -0.71%

Discovery Canyon 8 $381,062 1,886 28 $202.06 -10.93%

Sunrise Point 8 $513,750 2,043 37 $251.47 9.02%

Sunset Point 8 $429,000 2,130 32 $201.37 4.21%

Armonico 7 $628,793 3,255 59 $193.19 1.63%

Eagle Ridge 7 $473,857 2,429 54 $195.09 5.27%

Sonoran Estates 7 $1,226,429 4,129 37 $297.00 4.82%

Sonoran Fairways 7 $507,000 2,481 47 $204.34 24.90%

Montecito 6 $514,483 2,667 23 $192.91 -0.33%

The Preserve 6 $400,250 1,845 23 $216.90 14.15%

The Ridge 6 $279,500 1,678 86 $166.53 1.34%

Mirador 5 $768,500 3,245 29 $236.80 3.70%

Arizona Highlands 3 $484,967 2,698 57 $179.73 8.45%

Vermillion Cliffs 2 $715,750 3,457 52 $207.07 1.20%

The Ranch 243 $562,547 2,550 63 $220.60 12.75%

Please note that the overall totals for The Ranch would be the most

statistically reliable barometer because of the larger sample size

involved.

The Key: SF = square feet

$/SF = Average sales price per square foot DOM = Days on Market

% Change = the change in the value per square foot since 12/31/2012


quarter on the roughly one percent increase in rates that we’ve experienced since the market hit its bottom (at 3.35%) around this time last year. Personally, I believe that view is way too simplistic, but then again, those are the guys with the degrees.

Not to press the point too hard but there are a number of changes being intro-duced or contemplated that could help push the real estate market off the rela-tively stable path that it seems to be on at the moment. For instance, there’s been con-siderable debate as to whether the loan lim-its for FNMA and Freddie Mac backed mort-gages should be reduced to limit the financial risk to those agencies. One proposal sug-gested dropping from the current $417,000 limit to $400,000 and, had it actually occurred, the valley would have been one of the areas most significantly impacted. In fact, analysts estimate that as many as 2,500 local borrow-ers (and hundreds of thousands nationwide) would have been forced to opt for more ex-pensive jumbo loans or forgo the possibility of owning a home entirely. Fortunately, the deci-sion was made to retain the current levels, at least until the market shows more stability.

At this point, the private mortgage market (i.e. banks, credit unions, etc that either hold the mortgages in their own portfolios or resell them to private investors) still doesn’t seem all that interested in lending to the middle class borrower and having them assume even more responsibility at this point would proba-bly slow the recovery dramatically.

This is also the reason why so many econo-

(Continued from page 6)

The Resale Market, Analyzed (Cont’d) mists are concerned about the proposed end of government involvement in the secondary mortgage market. Unless our representatives in Washington have a really clever solution up their sleeves and you’ll pardon me for being less than confident about Congress having the capacity for either innovation or action, we will have an uncertain market controlled by a limited number of private lenders who can essentially close down our economy (or at least the real estate sector) whenever they perceive that the risk to their investors might be too high.

Curiously enough, at the same time that the folks at FNMA were opting for a cau-tious approach, the Federal Housing Ad-ministration (FHA) decided to take a dra-matic step in the opposite direction. The FHA, which insures most of the low down payment loans in Maricopa County and has played a huge role in our recovery, cut its maximum loan amount from $346,250 to $271,050 effective January 1st. I’m really not sure what the implications might be for the overall market, but that 22% drop in loan size virtually eliminates FHA loans as an option for financing a purchase in MMR.

It’s also hard to assess the impact of the Dodd-Frank legislation that just went into effect on January 10th. On the surface, it appears to simply be a set of common sense regulations requiring lenders to adhere to consistent standards when underwriting loans. These include such things as evaluat-

ing a borrower’s current income and/or as-sets, their employment status, their credit history, their ability to handle the monthly payment for the mortgage (based on the high-est interest rate, if it's an adjustable rate mortgage, not an introductory teaser rate) and their debt-to-income ratio. The latter can no longer exceed 43% and, although some lend-ers are concerned that this change might mean excluding as many as 20% of their ap-plicants, it actually seems to be a fairly gener-ous factor. Quite frankly, it was only 36% when I started in the business, but then again, that was in the late Jurassic period.

Still, the devil is in the details, and many lend-ers are currently using the legislation as an excuse not to ramp up their lending efforts for the moment.

Assuming that we don’t allow ourselves to get bogged down or overwhelmed by all the impending rule changes and adjust-ments, there is a fairly dramatic upside headed our way. The economy is actually improving. The national unemployment rate fell to 7% and, in the Phoenix area, it dropped to a fairly extraordinary 6% in November.

Better yet, projections for this year from the ASU School of Business and Chase Bank indicate accelerating employment growth as compared to last year (2.4% versus 2.1%), a jump in personal income (5.4% versus 4%) and what’s particularly exciting to those of us in the real estate business, a 1.5% jump in our local population — relocations are one of the major factors that drive our market for-ward.



Resale Activity at the Ranch HOMES CURRENTLY FOR SALE

Address Subdivision Model Price Sq ft Br Gar Pool

16420 N TPP #1089 Cachet Legacy $295,000 1737 2+Den 2 N

16420 N TPP #1113 Cachet Monarch $319,000 1659 2 2 N

15264 N 102nd St Discovery Canyon Sunrise $330,000 1451 3 2 Y

10212 E Betony Dr Arizona Vintage Chardonnay $365,000 1744 3 2 N

10359 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Montana $375,000 1504 3 2 N

10408 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails Highline $409,000 2197 4+Loft 2 Y

14926 N 104th Pl The Preserve Brisas $419,000 2132 4 2 N

10432 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails Highline $419,900 2197 4+Loft 2 N

10703 E Autumn Sage Castle Chase Stirling $425,000 1716 3 2 N

10319 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Mariposa $439,995 1963 4 2 N

10324 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Brisas $449,000 2132 3+Den 2 Y

10423 E Hillery Dr The Preserve Brisas $450,000 2132 3+Den 2 N

16218 N 102nd Way Discovery Trails Highline $450,000 2197 4+Loft 2 N

10540 E Acacia Dr Arizona Highlands Santan $489,900 2361 4 2 Y

10418 E Meadowhill Dr Sonoran Fairways Palo Verde $490,000 2294 4 2 N

10479 E Sheena Dr Sonoran Fwys Palo Verde $499,000 2294 3+Den 2 N

10551 E Tierra Buena Ln The Overlook Ironwood $499,000 2613 4 3 Y

10458 E Karen Dr The Preserve Brisas $510,000 2132 4 2 Y

11369 E Helm Dr Sunrise Point Sierra $520,000 2043 2+Den 2 N

16784 N 106th Wy The Summit Victoria $520,000 2452 3+Den 3 N

10703 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Hills La Jolla $525,000 2310 3 2 Y

10474 E Meadowhill Dr Sonoran Fairways Palo Verde $529,000 2294 3+Den 2 Y

10618 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Valencia $530,000 2370 3 2 N

10823 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Hills Sevilla $550,000 2678 4 2 N

11428 E Raintree Dr Sunrise Point Acacia $575,000 1886 3 2 N

14621 N 103rd Wy Sunset Point $594,000 2159 4 3 N

10859 E Acacia Dr Armonico Espinazo $599,000 3227 5 3 Y

14644 N 103rd Wy Sunset Point $639,000 3064 5 3 Y

11004 E Betony Dr 100 Hills Montoro $649,000 2720 3 2 Y

11088 E Acacia Dr Trovas Alessi $649,000 2958 4 3 Y

10939 E Lillian Ln Trovas Caprino $649,900 3112 3 3 Y

16674 N 111th St Trovas Alessi $650,000 2959 4 3 Y

10826 E Palm Ridge Dr Sienna Canyon La Palma $669,888 2936 4 3 Y

16550 N 108th St Armonico Santana $670,000 3098 4 3 Y

10646 E Butherus Dr Desert Cliffs $694,900 3509 4+Den 3 Y

10634 E Raintree Dr Desert Cliffs $697,000 3551 4 3 N

11059 E Beck Ln Cimarron Ridge Sevilla $719,000 2660 4 2 Y


11053 E Beck Ln Cimarron Ridge Sevilla $750,000 2656 3+Den 3 Y

10959 E Winchcomb Dr Sienna Canyon Talavera $789,000 3801 5+Loft 3 Y

11180 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Montilla $825,000 4050 4+Den 3 Y

11503 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Andorra $850,000 3643 5+Den 3 Y

10859 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Patagonia $887,000 3501 4+Den 3 Y

Although the listings and transactions shown in this publication involved a variety of organizations and agents, you’ll note that all of our Team’s listings and sales are shown in a BOLD, GREEN & UNDERLINED typeface.

This data was assembled on or about 12-27-13 based on information ob-tained from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. The information is presumed to be reliable but is not guaranteed.


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) MORE HOMES FOR SALE


11157 E Greenway Rd Cimarron Ridge San Rafael $899,000 3393 4+Den 3 N

16778 N 109th Wy Trovas Lodi $1,149,900 4724 5+Den 3 Y

11279 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Andorra $1,195,000 3944 4+Den 3 Y

11384 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $1,200,000 4129 4+Den 3 Y

11303 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills $1,350,000 4025 3+Den 3 Y

11416 E Winchcomb Dr Sonoran Estates $1,399,000 3700 5 3 Y

11302 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills $1,495,000 4025 4 3 Y

11528 E Mirasol Cir 100 Hills Custom $2,350,000 5553 6 4 Y

16229 N 115th Pl 100 Hills Custom $2,550,000 6555 4+Den 4 Y

11475 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills $2,750,000 6782 5 4 Y

11549 E Penstamin Dr 100 Hills Custom $3,495,000 6281 5+Den 3 Y

** UCB is short for “Under Contract – Backups” and means that there’s an accepted contract on the property but the sellers have requested that the home continue to be marketed in hopes of getting backup offers. As a practi-cal matter, these listing receive little, if any, attention within the real estate community. However, when inventory grows very scarce, there is a possibil-ity that they might draw some interest.

PENDING & UCB** TRANSACTIONS Address Subdivision Model Price Sq ft Br Gar Pool

16420 N TPP #2141 Cachet Heritage $245,000 1338 2 1 N

16600 N TPP #2068 The Ridge Monarch $314,900 1674 3 2 N

14875 N 103rd St The Preserve $322,900 1485 3 2 N

11406 E Helm Dr Sunrise Point Saguaro $359,000 1430 2 2 N

10342 E Tierra Buena Panorama Pt Mesquite $375,000 1548 2+Den 2 Y

10351 E Morning Star Panorama Pt Primrose $399,900 1874 3 2 N

16032 N 106th Way The Overlook Palo Verde $439,000 2421 4 3 Y

10562 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Ironwood $475,000 2655 4 3 N

10215 E Saltillo Dr Discovery Trls Palo Verde $485,000 2364 4 3 Y

10591 E Firewheel Dr The Overlook Ironwood $555,000 2831 4 2 Y

10982 E Butherus Dr Desert Cliffs #6040 $649,000 2351 4 3 N

10654 E Palm Rige Dr Sienna Canyon Talavera $675,000 3801 6 3 Y

10982 E Greenway Rd Cimarron Hills San Rafael $694,900 3393 4+Den 3 N

10694 E Firethorn Dr Mirador Solana $795,000 3129 4 2 Y

10988 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Andorra $815,000 3926 4+Den 3 Y

11066 E Verbena Ln Trovas Dante $886,900 3300 3+Den 3 Y

16301 N 109th St Trovas Medici $985,000 4065 4 3 Y

11551 E LeMarche Dr 100 Hills $1,500,000 5070 4+Den 3 Y

CLOSED SALES (NOVEMBER & DECEMBER) Address Subdivision Model Price Sq ft Bdrms Gar Pool


16600 N TPP #2078 The Ridge Monarch $285,000 1674 3 2 N

16600 N TPP #1083 The Ridge Monarch $288,000 1674 2+Den 2 N

16600 N TPP #1012 The Ridge Legacy $310,000 1890 2+Den 2 N

10551 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Mesquite $345,000 1548 3 2 N

10349 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trls Sabino $358,000 1622 3 2 N

10602 E Betony Dr Panorama Pt Primrose $390,000 1874 3 2 N

10416 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails Sierra $397,000 1700 3 2 N


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) CLOSED SALES (CONT’D)

Address Subdivision Model Price Sq ft Bdrms Gar Pool

16555 N 105th Wy AZ Highlands Pinnacle $399,900 2028 3+Den 2 N

10426 E Conieson Rd Sonoran Fairways Cottonwood $414,000 2077 4 3 N

10793 E Betony Dr Castle Chase Windsor $425,000 1936 3 2 N

10318 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Brisas $425,000 2132 4 2 N

10456 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Avalon $427,000 1702 3 2 Y

11341 E Raintree Dr Sunrise Point #1912 $465,000 1667 2 2 N

10628 E Firewheel Dr The Overlook Palo Verde $480,000 2626 5 2 Y

10399 E Rosemary Ln Eagle Ridge #3344 $495,000 2367 3+Den 2 Y

10745 E Gelding Dr Sienna Canyon La Palma $555,000 2936 4 3 Y

11209 E Butherus Dr Sunrise Point Sierra $585,000 2043 2+Den 2 N

11027 E Beck Ln Cimarron Hills Escalante $622,784 3375 4 3 N

11616 E Raintree Dr Sunrise Point Papago $650,000 2704 3+Den 2 N

16319 N 108th Wy Vermillion Cliffs #932 $656,500 3136 3+Den 3 Y

10622 E Sheena Dr Sonoran Fairways Cholla $682,500 3466 5 3 Y

11072 E Winchcomb Sienna Canyon La Palma $685,000 2936 4 3 Y

11132 E Winchcomb Sienna Canyon La Palma $730,000 2941 4 3 Y

11082 E Verbena Ln Trovas Verona $750,000 2826 4 3 Y

11351 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $804,100 3749 4+Den 3 Y

16539 N 109th Wy Trovas Dante $830,000 3297 3+Den 3 Y

10859 E Acoma Dr Mirador Solana $895,000 3031 2+Den 3 Y

11125 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Morena $1,075,000 3566 4 2 Y

Want to go a little greener? Just subscribe to this newsletter online and have it delivered to your email in-box. It’s convenient and tree friendly! Just send an email request to: [email protected].

AS Kermit says: It isn’t easy being green!

CURRENT RENTALS Address Subdivision Model Price Sq ft Bdrms Gar Pool

16600 N TPP #2060 The Ridge Heritage $1,395 1354 2 2 N

10275 E Caribbean Ln Discovery Canyon Catalina $1,700 1504 3 2 N


10551 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Mesquite $1,850 1548 3 2 N

10382 E Star of the Desert Discovery Trails Sabino $1,895 1604 3 2 Y

10563 E Bahia Dr The Summit Samoa $2,195 1854 3 3 N

10646 E Butherus Dr Desert Cliffs $3,100 3509 4+Den 3 Y


10852 E Mirasol Cir Armonico Montana $3,250 2994 4+Den 3 Y

10694 E Firethorn Dr Mirador Solana $3,900 3129 4 2 Y

16157 N 115th Pl 100 Hills $5,500 4280 3+Den 3 Y

11475 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills Custom $8,500 6782 5+Den 4 Y

Just in case you missed it! Our team was respon-sible for 30% of all the sales closed in McDowell Mountain Ranch in November and December. For the record, that’s an enormous achievement and we’re really quite proud of it!


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) CLOSED RENTALS (NOVEMBER & DECEMBER)



16420 N TPP #1077 Cachet Legacy $1,500 1737 2 2 N

10407 E Saltillo Dr Discovery Trails $1,600 1451 3 2 N

16420 N TPP #1083 Cachet Monarch $1,650 1659 2+Den 2 N

16420 N TPP #2088 Cachet Monarch $1,700 1659 3 2 N

10401 E Raintree Dr The Preserve $1,750 1358 3 2 N


10294 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Brisas $2,050 2132 4 2 Y

10475 E Karen Dr The Preserve Brisas $2,050 2132 3+Den 2 N

10742 E Gelding Dr Sienna Canyon Borgata $2,100 2551 3+Den 3 N

14751 N 114th Pl Sunrise Point $2,300 2429 3 2 N

10616 E Firewheel Dr The Overlook Palo Verde $2,450 2626 4 2 N

10555 E Conieson Rd Sonoran Fairways Cottonwood $2,500 2077 3+Den 3 Y

16021 N 107th St The Overlook Ironwood $2,500 2613 4 3 N

16558 N 104th Wy The Summit Victoria $2,500 2682 5 2 Y

16591 N 105th Wy Arizona Highlands Picacho $2,900 2696 4 3 Y

11008 E Evans Rd Sienna Canyon La Palma $3,050 2936 4 3 Y

16457 N 103rd Pl Eagle Ridge Cholla $3,200 3462 5 3 Y

15538 N 109th Pl Cimarron Hills Laredo $3,750 2787 4 3 Y

Full disclosure requires we advise you that these lists were assembled on 12-27-2013. Accommodating our newsletter production schedule required us to forgo four days worth of data from the end of the month. Hopefully, it won’t have a material impact on the resulting stats.

For those of you who prefer the privacy and the individualized atten-tion of one-on-one training, you need look no further than DJS Fitness and ACE certified trainer, Dan Scherf. He’s located in the airpark and whether your goal is weight loss, increased strength or reduced back pain, Dan can help you achieve your goals. He offers a consultation and 3 private training sessions for only $99 and you can visit him on line at djsfitness.com or call 480/628-0821 for more information.

Adding to the variety of fitness options available right at MMR’s door-step is Amenzone Fitness. Located in the Windgate Crossing Center, Amenzone is a back-to-basics, “primal fitness training” that uses tires, boxing bags and pull-up bars in high-energy workout routines designed for the athletically minded. Focus is on increasing strength, speed, conditioning and flexibility to improve performance. Please visit their website at www.amenzone.com for more information and to see what a great workout you can get with the creative use of a tire.

Quite frankly, we haven’t come close to covering all the fitness op-tions available in our area. If you’d like to see a more comprehensive list, please visit our website at www.MMRhomes.com. Regardless of what option you might choose, you’ll have to agree that we are probably one of the best positioned communities in the valley when it comes to our array of choices. Best of luck with whatever program you might choose.


Let’s Get Fit….Locally (Cont’d)


El Mercadito


Now that the need to examine every bit of data for evidence of an impending mar-ket recovery has abated, I asked the wiz-ards at Cromford Associates to come up with some alternative charts that might be more interesting and instructive.

For example, the top chart indicates that, despite the huge improvement we’ve had in the overall market, investors are still responsi-ble for roughly 17% of the residential pur-chases in Scottsdale. Moreover, it’s interest-ing to see just how big a role cash still plays in our market. It’s the medium of exchange in about 37.5% of all our local transactions and probably reflects the fact that Scottsdale has a large number of vacation and retirement homes in its ownership mix.

The center chart offers us an alternative per-spective on why the market may have slowed during the last quarter. It’s possible that it might not be just that interest rates rose a bit (a position held by many economists) or that the last quarter is simply the slowest time of the year (regardless of market conditions); it might actually have had more to do with in-creasing inventory levels.

The number of homes on the market seems to have jumped rather dramatically in both Scottsdale and the Greater Phoenix area be-ginning in September. To some extent, that may be a result of all the lovely increases in equity that we’ve been accruing recently. The higher values have simply pushed more peo-ple back into the black and made them more willing to return to the marketplace.

The last chart also tells a pretty significant story. For a number of years, our market was virtually dependent on out-of-state buyers to insure liquidity. However, the situation has shifted dramatically, and today 87% of the homes sold in Maricopa County are being purchased by local buyers. In fact, of the 13% of sales that do originate elsewhere, only California with 22% and Canada with 14.6% have enough of a share to be singled out. Perhaps we should add those two “C’s” to the other components of Arizona’s economic engine (i.e. Cotton, Climate, Copper, Citrus, Cattle, Computers and Construction).


Market Analysis (Cont’d)

The data used to create these reports was obtained from public records and extracted under license from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc (ARMLS). Cromford Associates LLC, Re/MAX Fine Properties, Helene’s Team and ARMLS expressly dis-claim and make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, as to the accuracy of the data used or the merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. These reports were copyrighted in 2013 by Cromford Associates LLC.


Lora Moon Styling does for a living, her answer is that “she helps her clients create the best versions of themselves”.

Michael hails from “The Windy City” where he trained at Vidal Sassoon, styled for numer-ous Allure Magazine shoots and did hair from coast to coast. He is experienced, skillful and expert at “indentifying the exact shade of hair color to make you shine”.

The products that are used and available for sale at Lora Moon Styling are the most effec-tive yet eco-friendly products that the industry has to offer. Eufora products “utilize impor-tant botanical extracts that have been scien-tifically proven to benefit the hair, scalp and skin”. Giselle is actually an educator with Eufora International.

Another line, Davines, is a family-owned inter-national hair care brand originating in Parma, Italy. Their focus is on “crafting quality prod-ucts that are scientifically engineered to work and express their distinctive style and spirit.” You can read more about both these product lines at www.loramoonstyling.com.

However, what really makes Lora special is the way she loves to engage with her clien-tele. One of her techniques is to host special events like Date Nights which offer dis-counted styling sessions along with cocktails, charity events and spontaneous cocktail hours featuring tasty concoctions created by Lora’s wonderful husband, Gabe. Actually, the best way to get to know all the fun events is to “Like” her Facebook page — www.facebook.com/loramoonstyling.

To make an appointment with Lora, Giselle, Mindy or Michael, please call 480/513-6399.

Lora Moon Styling opened its doors in the Desert Canyon Center in September, and Lora immediately went to work making a

name for herself. She has consistently found fun, creative and entertaining ways to engage the MMR community and her efforts seem to add both style and panache to the local scene.

The salon certainly seems to live up to its motto: Love who you are. And Lora’s passion for “color, texture & fashion” is quite evident the moment you enter. The atmosphere is welcoming, fun, energetic, beautiful and re-laxing all at the same time. The décor is both unique and intriguing and, combined with Lora’s dynamic personality, begs you to stay and just hang out.

Actually, Lora’s been intrigued by fashion, style and design from as far back as she can remember and is a graduate of The American Institute of Interior Design.

At 19, she began cutting hair at a very well known salon in Grand Rapids, Michigan but, while she loved the work, she (like most of us) longed to leave those harsh winters be-hind. So just two years later, in 2005, she packed up and headed for Scottsdale where she soon became the youngest stylist ever hired by Tuscany Salon, located at Pinnacle Peak & Pima (at least at that time ).

Although she immediately clicked with the clientele, fate soon intervened and offered

her a chance to own her own salon in her own community. Not surprisingly, Lora seized the opportunity and, as a result, she’s now busy devoting all her energy to creating a unique salon that she hopes will also serve as a social hub for McDowell Mountain Ranch.

While the services offered at Lora Moon in-clude the usual cuts, styling, color and treat-ments for men, women and children, what really sets this salon apart from any other is the expertise and creative eye of the stylists,

their eco-friendly products and the atmos-phere.

The dynamic stylists hired by Lora are yet another example of her discerning eye. Giselle is a Master Stylist and Extension Ex-pert who travels far and wide to hone her skills. She finds the international scene to be a place for her to grow both professionally and personally which keeps her on the “cutting edge” (pun intended) of all the latest styles and techniques. She also loves “styling in the field” – photo shoots as well as televi-sion and magazine appearances.

Mindy, like Lora, has a wonderfully creative and artistic eye for detail and beauty. Her bubbly personality is a tool she employs to help her clients feel great about themselves – inside and out! In fact, when asked what she


Although we’re already a few weeks into the New Year, we’re hopeful that the motiva-tion to fulfill your New Year resolutions is still strong. Given that most resolutions include at least some health and fitness goals, we thought it might be helpful to offer you an overview of your local options. Actually, we’ve been blessed with an array of busi-nesses offering different takes on achieving those goals and, hopefully, will be able to help you overcome the first big hurdle — find-ing the program that will work best for you.

Let’s begin with the newest entry. ToBeRe opened very recently in the Desert Canyon Center and its owner, Keith Jones, is an MMR resident who’s passionate about the journey to total well being. He is a certified personal trainer and services clients who range in age from 4 to 70! When asked about his philosophy, he explained that “releasing your spirit, rejuvenating your mind and restor-ing your soul will create a synergy that will help you rediscover your perfect body.” Weekly workouts include spin classes, resis-tance training, TRX classes, and even a run-ning group that tackles 5-6 miles every Tues-day. At ToBeRe, it’s all about fun and commu-nity. Visit www.ToBeRe.com or call 480/560-2218 for more information.

Next up is Momentum. Taekwondo Master Diane Muniz is a 4th degree black belt who opened the doors to her facility in the Desert Canyon Center this past October. She’s pas-sionate about helping children (as young as pre-school) and adults gain in self confidence, self defense, personal development, fitness, flexibility or even earn a black belt. The objec-tive at Momentum is to “get the body mov-ing, active & healthy” and to provide the

Let’s Get Fit….Locally sions. You can try Pulse Fitness for one month for only $89! Visit www.pulsefitness-az.com for more information.

Karve Studio is also located in the DC Ranch Crossing Center and uses ballet barre work, pilates, yoga and orthopedic stretching tech-niques to create a “lean, firm, sculpted body by reshaping and elongating the major mus-cles.” This non-impact yet weight bearing form of exercise is particularly great for preg-nant women and those recovering from in-jury. Class sizes are small, and the staff is focused on providing individualized attention They’ve now added Zumba to their offerings. It’s a fun, dance-oriented workout that burns tons of calories. There are a variety of class times available and the owner, Alyssa Spencer, offers frequent specials. Daydreams Drop-In Daycare offers discounted rates for Karve clients! Visit www.karve-studio.com/ or call 480/699-5120 for details.

Over in McDowell Mountain Marketplace (Bashas Center), the Exercise Coach has a completely new perspective on motivating and empowering “unlikely exercisers”. They feel that it’s possible to achieve your fitness goals in only two 20 minute sessions per week!

Owner and MMR resident, Amanda Coe, uses advanced technology and personal coaching to improve the quality and strength of your muscles, which is key to realizing improved metabolism, hormone and insulin control, increased bone density and the best way to develop a slimmer, more toned body. Call 480/473-5764 to get four complimentary sessions that can be redeemed though 2/14/14.


added “push” that helps participants reach their goals. Many wonderful life skills like discipline, respect and self-control can also be learned during the process. Class offerings include Taekwondo for ages 3-adult, Fitness Kickboxing, Thai Yoga and Self-Defense work-shops. To learn more, visit www.momen-tumtkd.com.

By comparison, Pulse Fitness is a seasoned entry in the field. It opened its doors in the DC Ranch Crossings Center on the SE corner of Pima & Legacy, in 2009. At Pulse, the certi-fied trainers are deeply invested in your suc-cess and strive to exceed your expectations.

Their foundation for improving health and fitness is based upon the “functional move-ment system” which involves strengthening and increasing flexibility in a way that mimics one’s daily life.

There are a variety of training environments to choose from. They offer both individual and group sessions as well as their very popular “Boot Camps”. Regardless of which you choose, you’ll enjoy the benefits of the latest in techniques, equipment and nutrition.

And the “gym” is conveniently open 24/7 for members to use in-between training ses-


The most popular New Year’s resolu-tions are, almost without exception, to lose weight and exercise more. And while winter can add to the difficulty of achieving those goals in some areas of the country, here in the Sonoran Desert, it’s actually the ideal time to start building good health habits for the new year. It’s interesting to note that studies have shown that simply interacting with nature can help lessen the effects of stress and improve your health. Fortunately for you, the McDow-ell Sonoran Conservancy is here to help you create those opportunities. MSC has more opportunities than ever to enjoy the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and improve your health and well-being at the very same time. Their public excursions are more diverse than ever in 2014. This year, in addition to their typical slate of great public hikes, you can go on guided mountain bike rides or even enjoy some outdoor yoga.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the public hike has been something of a staple for years and there were a number of interesting treks on the schedule to kick off the year.

Unfortunately, our publishing timetable didn’t permit us to offer you advanced notice of the “Hike Safety in The Preserve” program on January 4th, the Yoga in the Desert Program on January 7th or the Bird Walk at Brown’s Ranch on January 12th, but you should have plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming Brown’s Mountain Summit hike on January 29th. This one will take you to the highest elevation on the Northern Preserve with fan-tastic views from the McDowells to the Tonto National Park. The hike starts at 8:45 AM from the Brown’s Ranch Trailhead. If you have not been to the top of Brown’s Moun-tain yet, then I strongly urge you to do so. It provides a really unique perspective on the surrounding desert and the entire valley. If you’re looking for something new in hiking, you might want to consider our Tai Qi Hike on February 16th. Tai Qi (or tai chi) is one of the martial arts and instructor Ray Sol will intro-duce warm-up exercises to loosen muscles and balancing and breathing exercises from the discipline to help restore fresh oxygen to muscles before, during, and after this 2-mile hike. His new program starts at 8:45 AM at the Gateway Trailhead.

If hiking is just not your thing, then you might want to consider the guided mountain bike rides being offered by the MSC. There’s a 12-15 mile ride for beginners on February 2nd. It starts at 9 AM and leaves from Brown’s Ranch Trailhead. It offers a great introduction to both mountain biking and the northern ar-eas of The Preserve. Finally, MSC has a way for you to improve your health and the health of The Preserve at the same time. The volunteer Steward pro-gram has opportunities that include leading public hikes, desert restoration, citizen scien-tist projects, and trail construction and main-tenance. Orientations are held on the second Saturday of each month and you can contact MSC at 480-998-7971 for more information. For more information on the MSC itself and the other activities that are available, please visit www.mcdowellsonoran.org. See you on the trails.

This feature was contributed by MMR area resident Jace McKeighan. Jace is a volunteer steward with the McDowell Sonoran Conser-vancy and a partner in the law firm of Dicarlo, Caserta, McKeighan & Phelps PLC.

Your New Year’s Resolutions and The Preserve


This particular acquisition obviously gives Whitestone an enormous stake in the eco-nomic well-being of our local market area and, although we couldn’t get anyone to elaborate on the synergistic possibilities, we’re hopeful that the proximity of the two centers will turn out to be a positive move for us.

In any event, their timing may prove to have been excellent. The demand for local commercial and retail space does seem to be picking up. For instance, in just the last few months, we’ve seen the Desert Canyon Cen-ter add Gazelle Medical Spa and Aesthetics and the Cream City Café (ice cream plus and due to open in February) to their tenant ros-ter. The Windgate Crossing Center added Amenzone Fitness; the McDowell Mountain Marketplace added a State Farm office and Squeezy (juices and more); DC Ranch’s Mar-ket Street added Airpark Bikes and a McDon-ald’s opened its doors in Pima Crossing.

That the new “North Hall” of the Tony Nelssen Equestrian Center was available in time for the Barrett-Jackson Auto Show is actually quite exciting. However, it does-n’t seem that the folks at WestWorld are in-tending to rest on their laurels. Rather than simply wait for the equestrian (and general events) community to acknowledge the mas-sive new climate controlled venue and adjust their scheduling to take advantage of the op-portunities it offers, the city has hired a local marketing firm to book new events and help make the venue self-sustaining (and very pos-sibly profit making), earlier than anticipated. The target for this fiscal year is $3.2 million in additional revenue.

(Continued from page 1) The Altazona townhouse community that’s currently slated for the sliver of land that sits between Windgate Ranch and the Windgate Crossing Center will probably debut sometime late this year. The devel-oper, Standard Pacific Homes, has indicated that the project will consist of about 40 town-homes clustered, for the most part, in duplex buildings. It will, however, include a few tri-plex structures to provide some architectural variety. The community will be gated and will have a central amenity area with a pool and spa. The townhomes themselves will range in size from 1,800 to 2,600 square feet, but pric-ing has yet to be determined.

It may be time for us to consider whether the current plan for the Desert Discovery Center might be just a little too optimistic. Scottsdale’s failure to secure the approval for any portion of their $212 million capital project bond proposal last November makes the situation a bit problematic to say the least. After all, the DDC wasn’t deemed either salable or essential enough to even make it onto that ballot and I’m betting that the 39 projects that did are all likely to retain their position in the queue ahead of the DDC as we move forward. That means that the likely completion date for this project is, for all intent and purposes, almost “outta sight”.

Given that the current 70,000 square foot, $80 million proposal for the Center has often been characterized as a bit of an overreach, it may be time to abandon it in favor of some-thing more modest that enhances The Pre-serve experience without dramatically disturb-ing the integrity of the Gateway area. Inciden-


Spotlight (Cont’d)

The Rangers/Stewards Information Desk

The Retail Shop & Bookstore

Museum Exhibits


Service You Deserve (Cont’d)

about the community, offers from local busi-nesses, etc. There should also be a sophisti-cated polling tool that will allow us to solicit residents’ opinions about subjects impacting the community, an interactive blog on com-munity related topics, substantially upgraded floor plans with interactive capability, and even a way to establish your personal prefer-ences about how to interact with the site (i.e. open to a specific section like the homes for sale or perhaps even ask it to track your home buying preferences, if you wish).

For all intent and purposes, the process has really just started and I’m reluctant to make specific promises as to exactly when the new site will be ready (I think we’ve all learned a little something about the risks of doing that from the Healthcare.gov situation ); but I did want to let you know that, as successful as we’ve been, we aren’t simply resting on our laurels.

After all, we love our community, and to us that means continually trying to find ways to contribute to the quality of life for its resi-dents. We believe that we have a great deal to offer from a professional perspective and, although we hope we’ve proved that point rather profoundly over the last 17 years, there’s still more that can be done.

Extending that quality of life theme just a bit further, it’s exciting to be able to re-port that the McDowell Mountain Ranch Community Garden project may be ready to move past the general concept phase. According to Preston Clarke, the MMR resi-

(Continued from page 5) dent who has been the driving force behind the garden development effort, almost 500 people have attended his introductory presen-tations thus far and we very likely have the critical mass of interested people on board that are needed to move the effort forward.

Incidentally, if you’re interested in the project and have yet to hear the pitch, you may want to catch one of Preston’s presentations rela-tively soon. Please visit the McDowell Moun-tain Ranch Community Garden Facebook page for dates and times.

The focus is already beginning to shift toward setting up the committees required to de-velop the legal and organizational structure for the enterprise, to approach the city about using the primary site near 104th street; to market the concept to the community and our potential partners (businesses, schools, libraries, etc); to design the garden itself — that’s a sketch of one possible approach shown above (don’t worry, there’s a much larger version available on our web-site) and to begin raising money for construction.

LOOKING BACK AT THE RANCH

Just 5 Years Ago* January 2009— The Hampton Group re-ceived permission to build two new 5-story hotels as part of their Epicenter Project on

the NE corner of Pima and Bell Roads. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy was busy building trails in and around the Gateway Center which was expected to open

in April. Dr. Casey Margale opened the McDowell Mountain Animal Hospital in the Windgate Crossing Center. Sales in MMR, which had averaged 425 units per year between 2004 and 2006, dropped to just 176 units during 2008.

About 10 Years Ago* January 2004 — In what turned out to be a very close vote, the community voted to move forward with planned enhancements to the McDowell Center. About 50 MMR residents attended a public open house where the proposed designs for the Aquatic Center were introduced. Two new businesses, Sacred Ground, a coffee and wine spot, and Chicago Pizza Works opened their doors in the Bashas Center. The real estate market had just begun heat-ing up. The available inventory, which had hovered in the 100+ unit range for most of the previous year suddenly dropped to about 50 (which is about where we are today) and homes priced under $400,000 had suddenly become quite hard to find. * As gleaned from our newsletter archives


The potentially quite exciting 40,000 square foot museum, shown below, will house six art galleries, retail space, a theater and a cen-tral courtyard and, when it’s completed in late 2014, is expected to inject new life into the art-gallery district.

The MMR Homeowner Association’s Board of Directors held two of its regular monthly meetings in the interval since our last edition was distributed to the commu-nity. The first was held on October 19th and was dominated, for the most part, by a some-what contentious discussion of a ramada/pool house improvement project in our Desert Cliffs neighborhood that had been approved by the Board a number of months earlier. According to the Board’s attorney, legal con-siderations precluded either formal discussion or immediate action on the issue at this par-ticular meeting and the subject was tabled until all the required conditions could be met.

Despite the extended attention devoted to that matter, the Board did manage to approve a modification of the outdoor fireplace/planter wall at Twisted Lizard and a new basketball equipment policy. They also discussed possi-

Spotlight (Cont’d) ble policy revisions regarding surveillance devices and exterior painting but ultimately returned both items to the community man-ager for further clarification.

It’s unfortunate, but by the time that the sec-ond scheduled meeting date rolled around on December 17th, the ramada/pool house issue had become a matter for the courts. We cer-tainly hope that there’s a way that this situa-tion can be resolved to everyone’s satisfac-tion. The only upside of that unhappy course change was that the meeting may well have been one of the shortest on record.

Actually, the most interesting portion of this meeting was the snapshot offered by Mike Woolington, our Community Manager, of some of the projects that were being consid-ered, or would soon be underway. Specifi-cally, painting bids are being secured for three more communities that are showing early signs of fatigue (there are already five other communities on the regular schedule), that all of the 63 mailbox clusters in the community will be refurbished to some degree, that many culvert railings and view fences will be repaired, that pool furniture will be re-strapped and pool fences will be repaired as needed and that the bulletin boards at the community centers will be replaced.

Let me offer a reminder that the 2014 Annual Meeting is scheduled for February 11th and that there are three openings on the Board that will be filled that evening. You should have your ballots in hand by now and, if you’d like to meet the candidates before casting your vote, there will be a opportunity on Tues-day evening, January 28th. Please contact the HOA at 480-473-0877 for more information.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent those of RE/MAX Fine Properties. Similarly, neither articles nor adver-tisements should be construed as endorsements of any product, person, company or service.

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS WITH US Find out how advertising with us can help your business to become more visible to potential customers. Call Kathi at

480-231-3386, or email her at [email protected]

tally, if you’re not entirely familiar with the plan that’s currently on the table, you may want to review the executive summary we’ve posted on our website.

Actually, it’s possible that the photos shown on page 17 may suggest a reasonable alterna-tive. Although they depict the 3000+/- square foot Red Rock Visitor's Center on Route 179 just outside of Sedona, they do offer an idea of the type of relatively modest facility that could solidify the Gateway’s claim to be the formal entry to The Preserve and simultane-ously provide both a learning experience for school children and a lure for tourists.

The architectural design is, quite obviously, all wrong for our area but the facility contains all the key elements that we probably need to make it work for us (i.e. an information desk, a small retail center and display cases that could explain various elements of The Pre-serve experience). More importantly, it’s modest enough that it might be possible to fund it without having to push past any of the 39 capital projects already queued up. A pro-ject like this might simply be able to tap into the bed (hotel) tax revenues that were used to develop WestWorld and other venues.

In fact, Scottsdale is currently breaking ground on an attraction in the Old Town area that might serve as a model for how to get a project like the DDC underway. It’s the Museum of the West, located on Mar-shall Way, and it actually languished for years before Scottsdale was able to secure a $13.6 million construction bond (backed by those bed tax revenues) to get it built.


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Helene can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

RE/MAX Fine Properties Is located at 21000 N. Pima Road Suite 100 Scottsdale, Arizona 85255

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January-February 2014

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