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Glen Creno - The Arizona
Republic
Mar. 16, 2007 07:33 PM
The Valley's elite condo market has never been
hotter. A super-luxury condo being built in the
Kierland area of the northeast Valley sold recently for
$3.167 million in a deal the developer calls the biggest in
state history.
The buyers paid more than $150,000 over the list price for the
three-bedroom penthouse unit has 11-foot ceilings, stonewalls,
built-in cabinets and his and her offices. It sits on the sixth
floor of Tower II of the
Landmark at Kierland, southwest of the intersection of Bell
and Scottsdale roads.
That deal follows the $3 million sale of a residence at the
nearby
Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons. The 2,855-square foot loft
is situated over the bebe women's clothing store at Kierland
Commons, a trendy mixed-use project with stores, restaurants and
other attractions.
"People are wanting to free up their lives," said Connie Greve,
the Centennial Homes agent who listed the
Landmark condo. "They want a condominium here and where
their grandkids live, or where it's cooler. They don't want to
be tied down to maintaining a single-family home."
Some might argue whether the
Landmark sale really set the state record. Last year, Cindy
McCain - who's married to U.S. Sen. John McCain, the Arizona
Republican running for president -- paid $4.66 million for a
place at the
Residences at 2211 Camelback. However, that deal involved
two units that the couple combined as a single residence.
"That was the largest one to date but I expect to see more
coming up," said Keith Mishkin, a condo broker with Cambridge
Properties.
Property records say that Jim and Joyce Houtz bought the
Landmark condo. Jim Houtz owns Southwest Jet Aviation, a
company that provides charters and other private-aircraft
services based at the Scottsdale Municipal Airport.
The most-expensive Valley condos and homes have been selling
well despite the area's housing downturn. Demand for
single-family homes is being driven by out-of-town buyers and
increasing sales of properties priced at $3 million, $5 million
and higher. Big condo deals have overshadowed softness in an
overall condo market awash in listings. But condos in spots like
24th Street and Camelback Road in
Phoenix, the
Tempe Town Lake area,
Kierland and the
Scottsdale Waterfront are ringing up multi-million dollar
prices.
Butte Cos., Landmark's developer, made the comparisons with
statistics pulled by the Sullivan Group, a real estate
consulting company. In any case,
Landmark might not hold the record long. Mishkin said there
are several deals in escrow around town that are larger and have
so-called "hard money" placed on them by prospective buyers.
That non-refundable money totals several hundred thousand
dollars per unit, he said, making it difficult to walk away from
the deal.
"I expect to see that market go up," Mishkin said. "It's going
to be more and more common to see the best luxury condos in the
$2 million plus range. We've seen a lot of closings of late and
current escrows in the $2 (million) to $4 million range."
Kirsten Lewis, vice president for development for Butte Cos.,
said the price numbers are important in certifying a project's
value. She said her office was "flattered" to have what they
call the top sale.
"So many people call their condo luxury," she said. "The ads say
"luxury condos starting at $300,000.' A $300,000 luxury condo? I
find that hard to believe. We turn around, this condo goes for
3.17 million. That is luxury. That is the epitome of luxury."
This article was found here:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0316ON-recordcondo.html
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