Retreats Arizona Living - March 05, 2023

Now’s a terrifc time to buy a new home — here’s why

Doing your home homework can save you big bucks

BY PAULA

Given the current economic climate, builder incentives have become more generous than usual, according to Butch Leiber, President, Phoenix REALTORS. From discounted prices to help with closing costs to extra upgrades, here’s some info on the variety of incentives builders are currently ofering prospective homebuyers.

New-home homework

But frst, you’ve got a lot of important homework to do (pun intended).

On the way toward buying a new home, you cannot pass GO and cannot collect $200 until you’ve answered (at least) the following questions:

• Do you have to sell a current home or condo?

• Where do you want to live?

• What’s your budget?

• How’s your credit?

continued on page R15

Welcome to Retreats Arizona Living!

Phoenix: With some 300 days of sunshine, there’s no better place to live, work and play!

Thank you for the enthusiastic reception we received to last month’s inaugural issue of Retreats Arizona Living! We heard from many of you that it is nice to have a space where Phoenix is showcased as such a terrific place to live, work and play. Our goal is to continue being cheerleaders for the Valley of the Sun because we all live here and want to help others find their way to a home that is just-right for them and their family — in other words, a personalized retreat.

One of the many things that makes March special in Phoenix is that this springtime month boasts an average high temperature of — chef’s-kiss — 76 degrees. Indeed, the wardrobe for your of-time is often a light sweater in the early morning with a change into a swimsuit and flip-flops by lunchtime. In March, you can mosey over to Phoenix Raceway in Avondale for a NASCAR Series or Arca Menards Series race where some of the top names in the sport battle it out for way more than just bragging rights. March is also when the “boys of summer” grab their bats and gloves and boogey back into action during MLB Spring Training at ballparks all across the metro-Phoenix area. Meanwhile, links-lovers know

that March is when an 8 a.m. tee-time means that while you’re par-putting the 18th hole, the temps will probably be this-close to perfect.

But Phoenix is so much more than amazing weather and a wealth of fun things to do — Phoenix is where you can turn a house into a home and where “home” can be new-construction built from the ground up, a resale in an established neighborhood, a high-rise condo, an amenity-rich senior living residence or perhaps a rental while you decide when and where to plant permanent (or semi-permanent) roots — Phoenix has it all.

PS: Be sure to check out our Community Listings pages where you can find info on some of the area’s most sought-after communities being built by some of the Valley’s most respected builders.

Tom Niva

Courtesy Toll Brothers

Estrella Marketing

Tom Niva, PUBLISHER Retreats Arizona Living

HUBBS COHEN

“Builders are ofering large amounts of closing costs assistance, paying for interest rate buy-downs and additional incentives. I caution potential buyers — this will not last very long.”

—JUSTIN THORSTAD, OWNER/REALTOR, LIBERTAS REAL ESTATE

“2023 is the year of the buyer.”

Jef Zimmerman, Director of Entitlements & Development for Estrella in Goodyear

K. Hovnanian® Homes brings a beautiful new-home community to the Southeast Valley

WEST SANTA ROSA SPRINGS OFFERS FOUR HOME DESIGNS STARTING IN THE MID $300S

By Hanna Scott

Built by award-winning K. Hovnanian® Homes, West Santa Rosa Springs is a beautiful newhome community located in the Southeast Valley city of Maricopa, one of the oldest and most historic communities in Arizona. Boasting four home designs, West Santa Rosa Springs features spacious homes ranging from three bedrooms/two baths to five bedrooms/three baths and from 1,593 square-feet to 2,548 square-feet. Each home is ofered in one of K. Hovnanian’s new interior design Looks: Loft, Farmhouse or Elements.

Home plans at West Santa Rosa Springs include the Dafodil II, Goldenrod II, Passionflower II and Water Lily II. Dafodil II, Goldenrod II and Passionflower II are all single-story floorplans, while Water Lily II is a two-story plan. All homes come with two-car garages and covered dining/entertaining patios. Both the Dafodil II and Passionflower II are modeled at West Santa Rosa Springs.

Dafodil II

• Open-concept floorplan

• Secluded primary suite with private entrance

• Light and airy kitchen with walk-in pantry

• 3BD; 2BA; 1,593SF

Goldenrod II

• Bright and cheery floorplan

• Well-appointed kitchen

• Lovely primary suite with big walk-in closet

• Tucked-away guest bedroom/home ofice

• 4BD; 2BA; 1,710SF

Saving money on your mortgage

Experts have loads of sage advice for how to save money

BY DEBRA GELBART

There are several important steps you can take to save costs associated with a new mortgage, according to two Valley mortgage experts.

Save, save, save: Save as much money as possible toward your home purchase “so you have the fexibility to make a larger downpayment, pay of debt or buy down the rate to save money on your mortgage,” said Kellie James, a senior loan originator with PrimeLending, a mortgage bank in Chandler.

Keep your FICO score high: Pay credit cards and other debts on time so your FICO score — a measure of your creditworthiness that lenders use to help determine the interest rate you can get — is as high as possible, James added. Also, keep credit card balances well below credit limits.

Pay attention to costs: James also advises borrowers to pay attention to the costs (such as discount points and fees) to get the loan — not just the rate. “You would be shocked at how many people make lending decisions based just on the rate with no concern for the costs,” she said.

Consider buying down the interest rate: ‘Discount points’ can lower the interest rate on your loan, but that can be a tricky decision. One point will cost you the

Passionflower II

• Great room with soaring vaulted ceiling

• Spacious kitchen with large island and roomy pantry

• Romantic primary suite with private entrance

• Home ofice ideal for den, play-room or study center

• Optional Extra Suite Plus in lieu of home ofice

• 4BD; 3BA; 1,977SF

Water Lily II

• Generously sized great room

• Pretty kitchen with expansive walk-in pantry

• Remote-work home ofice could be hobby/craft room

• Luxurious primary suite with two walk-in closets

• Versatile loft for play area or game room

• Included Extra Suite perfect for guests or multi-generational families

• 5BD; 3BA; 2,548SF

equivalent of 1 percent of the total loan amount to bring down the interest rate, but it would probably NOT bring down the interest rate a full percentage point because — similar to movement in the stock market — interest rates and how many points are required to lower the interest rate fuctuate constantly, James noted.

Timing is (almost) everything: Te timing of getting a mortgage may afect your decision regarding buying points. “During a higherrate market, it may be advantageous to buy down in accordance with the predicted market rate reduction,” said Rosanna Ramirez, a mortgage loan originator with Vantage West Credit Union in Phoenix. But if rates are expected to drop a year from now, she said, you may not want to buy down the rate.

K. HOVNANIAN® HOMES West Santa Rosa Springs 16950 N. Dante Court Maricopa, AZ 85138 602-671-0452

www.khov.com/WSRS

Sales Ofice Hours

Daily (except Wednesday and Sunday): 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Wednesday: 1–6 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Calculate break-even: “Te value of paying discount points is directly related to how long you plan to be in the new home and/or stay in that loan,” James said. “A lender should calculate a break-even point for clients to help them make a decision. If it will take the client more than fve years to save the amount of the points based on the monthly savings, they need to know that if they sell or refnance before fve years is up, they have lost money.”

Establish trust with your loan oficer: Establishing a trusting relationship with your mortgage loan ofcer is critical, Ramirez said. If they’re trying to earn your business, “you can expect they will propose the best moneysaving solutions they have,” she said.

Shop around: “Shopping lenders and comparing loan estimates is another way to save but be sure you are comparing the estimates objectively, paying attention to origination fees and the cost for mortgage points,” Ramirez said. “A savvy borrower will shop two or three lenders to compare estimates and ask questions when there are cost diferences.”

MediaLab via K. Hovnanian® Homes

Virtual Inc. via K. Hovnanian® Homes

“A fair and honest lender will be transparent and provide clear explanations of all the costs associated with fnancing.”

—ROSANNA RAMIREZ, VANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION

Pocket ofces

Smaller dedicated ofice spaces are in high demand

BY DEBRA GELBART

While many homebuyers might still need a full-size home ofce, just as many others do not — a smaller “pocket” ofce will sufce quite nicely. Indeed, Julie Hancock, Co-Owner and Managing Director of Camelot Homes, said that the company learned during the pandemic that “people needed a small area to set up for Zoom meetings or conference calls. We began looking at our foorplans to determine where these small areas could be added,” she said. A pocket ofce, Hancock said, can be a small private space perfect for taking a video call without disrupting the rest of the family — or without the family disrupting the call.

Lennar has ofered its Next Gen model in Phoenix since 2011 — an extra living space attached as a suite to a single-family home, originally intended for aging relatives to have privacy with proximity to extended family. According to Alan Jones, Phoenix Division president of Lennar, as working from home has become more popular, the builder has seen more buyers using the space for home ofices. Part of the Next Gen suite can be easily converted into a pocket ofice, he said.

Variety of configurations

Trilogy ofers pocket ofces in diferent confgurations, said Hal Looney, Arizona President, Trilogy by Shea Homes. Even though most Trilogy communities cater to residents age 55 and older, Looney said many of their buyers “still work, own a business or consult. A space for these activities is very important.”

Several Trilogy foorplans “ofer pocket ofces both of the entry and also in designs that we refer to as optional SmartSpace™,” Looney said. “With SmartSpace, we have re-designed our laundry room spaces by expanding them and incorporating desk spaces.” Looney noted that additional storage and counterspace is available for these areas.

“We listened to our buyers who said they wanted separate workspaces for multiple family members working from home.”

—JULIE HANCOCK, CO-OWNER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, CAMELOT HOMES

Qualifying for approval

BY DEBRA GELBART

Prequali cation provides basic information to you and a property seller about your nancial readiness to buy a home. Preapproval signals that a lender is on the cusp of granting you a mortgage.

Prequalification

For prequali cation, “most lenders require an application, credit report and documentation on income and assets,” said René Lopo, builder sales manager and renovation and reverse mortgage specialist

for loanDepot in Scottsdale. By having this information, Lopo added, a loan o cer can direct the client to an appropriate type of loan and identify a price-range the buyer can likely a ord.

Prequali cation is su cient if a client doesn’t intend to place an o er right away, Lopo said, but is simply looking at what the market has to o er.

YOUR [SPECIAL] PLACE

Home should be a place that refects your needs, embodies your style and enables you to live your best life. It’s why Cachet is committed to building high-quality Arizona homes and inspiring communities that embrace the qualities you desire most.

Preapproval

Getty Images

Prequalifying doesn’t mean the loan approval process has begun, said Kiesha McFadden, vice president of sales and marketing and a senior loan o cer with Tolis Mortgage Financial Group, a mortgage broker in Fountain Hills. If a client wishes to proceed to preapproval, the loan o cer will require

CACHET HOMES

paystubs, W-2s, tax returns, bank statements and other documentation, McFadden said. A er all documentation is collected, a lender will submit the le and supporting documentation for a “conditional” approval, Lopo explained.

Preapproval means assets and income have been veri ed and meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, McFadden said, “and are ready to be submitted to the lender, once the client is under contract.”

Advantage — preapproval

A preapproval reassures the seller (whether an individual in a resale situation or a builder in a new-home scenario) that the buyer has the ability to buy the home and close in a timely manner, Lopo said. In addition, she said that preapproval really speeds up the process — depending on the documentation and how long it takes to get an appraisal of value for the home, the loan approval process could be a week or less. Without preapproval, loan approval may take 30 days or so a er an o er to purchase has been accepted by a seller.

Getting a pre-review of your finances can help the homebuying process go smoothly

Kenna Place, Casa Grande 85122

From the mid $300s

khov.com/McCartneyRanch

602-671-0027

SCOTTSDALE HEIGHTS

Luxury villa-style 55+ community 7247 E. Camino Rayo De Luz, Scottsdale 85266

From the lower $800s

khov.com/ScottsdaleHeights

602-671-0611

Resort-style 55+ active lifestyle community 20818 W. Pasadena Ave., Buckeye 85396

From the mid $500s khov.com/VictoryVerrado

602-671-3511

SANTANILLA

Spacious homes on larger homesites 3146 E. Brigadier Court, Gilbert 85142

From the mid $600s

khov.com/Santanilla

602-691-7660

WEST

On-trend Looks interior collections 16950 N. Dante Court, Maricopa 85138

From the mid $300s khov.com/WSRS

602-671-0452

K. HOVNANIAN’S FOUR SEASONS AT VICTORY AT VERRADO

SANTA ROSA SPRINGS

K.HOVNANIAN ® HOMES | TOLL BROTHERS | TRI POINTE HOMES

Photos by Shell Photographics via K. Hovnanian Homes

Ready to move into

a move-in-ready new home?

Hat-tip to our sources for letting us know where to find these much sought-after homes

BY PAULA HUBBS COHEN

So you’ve scoped out the builders that are ofering incentives (see related article in this issue) that work best for you but your move-in timeframe is shorter than the of-quoted seven to nine months (or more) it takes to build a home from the ground up. So where are new homes that are ready, or nearly so, to move into?

Te answer is that they’re pretty much all across the Valley. For example, ofcials at K. Hovnanian® Homes said that the company has an abundant selection of quick-move-in homes. Te same can be said for Shea Trilogy, where executives report that all of their locations have a selection of quick-move-in or under-construction homes that are either

available for immediate purchase or will be completed very soon.

Plenty of inventory

Owned by Estrella Partners LP and developed by Estrella Development Company LLC, Estrella is a 20,000-acre master-planned community in Goodyear featuring 72 acres of lakes, 50+ miles of paths and trails, multiple Residents’ Clubs, a waterpark and more.

Jef Zimmerman, Director of Entitlements & Development for Estrella, said that the community has 52 quick-move-in homes currently available from six diferent builders. “Tis is more quick-move-ins than we’ve probably seen in a decade,” he said.

How to find them

Te frst place to start is to check out builders’ websites; they ofen highlight their move-inready homes on the front page.

Beyond that, here’s some savvy advice from Butch Leiber, President, Phoenix REALTORS: Have your real estate agent search MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listings. “Builders that rarely rely on the MLS are now placing excess inventory on the MLS to generate more interest and activity in move-in-ready and quick-movein homes,” he said.

Supply-chain issues easing

Julie Hancock, Managing Director and Co-Owner of Camelot Homes, said the company has come through the majority of supply-chain issues. Similarly, Heather Cammiso, Arizona Division President, Landsea Homes, said that supplychain issues are lessening, noting that because of that, [build] cycle time should improve as well.

Photos Courtesy Tri Pointe Homes

Luminarias at Desert Botanical

What’s up (and down) with resale-home pricing and inventory

BY PAULA HUBBS COHEN

Some folks are only interested in newbuilds. But for others, a resale is what foats their proverbial boat. Even if interested in purchasing a new-build rather than a resale, a prospective homebuyer might need to sell a current home frst — meaning they will be entering the resale market to sell their home. Whatever the situation, it’s important to hear what some local experts have to say about the dizzying changes in resale-home pricing and inventory.

More appropriate pricing

Monie Wilder, a 72 SOLD National Coach and Associate Broker for Phoenix-based Hague Partners, said she is noticing more showing requests for those properties where “sellers allow us to price to the current market [resulting in] multiple ofers.”

Bobby Lieb is an Associate Broker with HomeSmart and HomeSmart Elite Group

Founder. A well-known presence in the Phoenix real estate landscape, Lieb has specialized in luxury resale properties in North Central Phoenix for a number of years. “Prices aren’t really dropping as much as it is that they’re being listed at a more appropriate price, i.e., priced right,” Lieb said. “It wasn’t normal to have prices as high as they recently were.”

Inventory is stabilizing

Much has been reported about buyers being beaten up in bidding wars due to the scarcity of resale inventory. Tat phenomenon seems to be easing, according to Justin Torstad, Owner/Realtor, Libertas Real Estate. “Most of the Greater Phoenix metro area is experiencing a shif in supply and demand to a balanced market,” he said.

TAKEAWAYS

For sellers: Sign with a respected agent and rely on their knowledge and expertise when pricing your home for sale.

For buyers: “There’s plenty of inventory right now and conditions are ideal for a home purchase,” said Monie Wilder, a 72 SOLD National Coach and Associate Broker for Hague Partners. “To anyone contemplating buying a home, my advice is better get while the getting’s good.”

Eleven Beautiful New-Build Communities

FROM THE LOWER $300 s TO THE UPPER $800 s

K. Hovnanian® Homes builds homes for everyone. Whether you’re looking for your frst home, your next home, or a home to retire in, we can help you fnd it. With communities in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, there is no shortage of options. Contact us today!

Ask Us About Lower Interest Rates*

Take advantage of our fnancing options and lock in a lowered interest rate - making it easier for you to close on your home.

The market is once again shifting

Getty Images

Batter up!

BY PAULA HUBBS

QHow do you make friends and family “back home” jealous in one easy social media post?

ASnap a sunny selfe or two at any one of the Valley’s 10 Spring Training ballparks!

Every March, Phoenix-metro communities swell with ballcap-wearing baseball fans as pretty much everybody in town goes gaga over Major League Baseball Spring Training. Tat’s because there are 10 Spring Training stadiums dotted across the Valley where 15 teams play 200+ games throughout the month of March. Some teams share facilities, some are dedicated to a single team, but either way, that’s a whole lotta baseball!

Here’s where you can see some of the brightest stars in baseball this year.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

7555 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale saltriverfields.com/spring-training-at-salt-river-fields

480-270-5000

Chicago Cubs

Sloan Park

2330 W. Rio Salado Pkwy, Mesa mlb.com/cubs/sloan-park

480-668-0500

Chicago White Sox

Camelback Ranch-Glendale

10710 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix mlb.com/camelback-ranch

623-302-5000

Cincinnati Reds

Goodyear Ballpark

1933 S. Ballpark Way, Goodyear goodyearbp.com/spring-training

623-882-3120

Cleveland Guardians

Goodyear Ballpark

1933 S. Ballpark Way, Goodyear goodyearbp.com/spring-training

623-882-3120

Colorado Rockies

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

7555 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale saltriverfields.com/spring-training-at-salt-river-fields

480-270-5000

Kansas City Royals

Surprise Stadium

15850 N. Bullard Avenue, Surprise surprisestadium.com

623-222-2222

Los Angeles Angels

Tempe Diablo Stadium

2200 W. Alameda Drive, Tempe tempe.gov/government/community-services/ community-recreation-centers/diablo-stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Camelback Ranch-Glendale

10710 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix mlb.com/camelback-ranch

623-302-5000

Milwaukee Brewers

American Family Fields of Phoenix 3805 N. 53rd Avenue, Phoenix mlb.com/brewers/spring-training

623-245-5500

Oakland Athletics

Hohokam Stadium

1235 N. Center Street, Mesa mesaparks.com/parks-facilities/hohokam-stadium

NASCAR’s March Weekend comes to Phoenix Raceway

San Diego Padres

Peoria Sports Complex

16101 N. 83rd Avenue, Peoria peoriasportscomplex.com/spring-training

623-773-8700

San Francisco Giants

Scottsdale Stadium

7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale scottsdaleaz.gov/scottsdale-stadium/spring-training 480-312-2173

Seattle Mariners

Peoria Sports Complex

16101 N. 83rd Avenue, Peoria peoriasportscomplex.com/spring-training 623-773-8700

Texas Rangers

Surprise Stadium

15850 N. Bullard Avenue, Surprise surprisestadium.com 623-222-2222

Cup Series compete in the United Rentals Work United 500.

Iconic raceway has a grand history

If it’s March, it must mean NASCAR! From Friday March 10 through Sunday March 12, Phoenix Raceway’s NASCAR Weekend will showcase three exciting races.

The March Weekend races start with the ARCA Menards General Tire 150 on March 10. On March 11, enjoy the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ United Rentals 200, while on March 12, stars of the NASCAR

The famous track has been thrilling fans since 1964, when the legendary A.J. Foyt won the track’s first oval race, a 100-mile event, at an average speed of 107 miles per hour. In January 1968, Don White won the first stock-car race at Phoenix Raceway, a 250-miler. In October 1970, movie star Steve McQueen (of “Bullitt” fame) won the 17-lap ‘Winter Sprint’ race in a Porsche 908, setting a new lap record of 1:41.09.

More recently, in March 2016, in the closest margin of victory in Phoenix Raceway’s history, Kevin Harvick won his 13th major professional race in Phoenix, holding of Carl Edwards by a fraction of a second in the Good Sam 500. In March 2017, Ryan Newman took the checkered flag at the Camping World 500. Newman only led six laps of the 314-lap race, but a late-race pit strategy led to his overtime victory.

Planning ahead

Nov. 3–5, 2023: NASCAR Championship Weekend

Source: phoenixraceway.com

Information is subject to change

It’s springtime in Phoenix and that means baseball — and plenty of it!

COHEN

Visit Phoenix

Cactus League

Cactus League

All about the magnifcent and mighty saguaro

BY PAULA HUBBS

Just moved here and wondering what’s the story behind those soaring cacti that dot the Phoenix landscape? Read on…

On just about any drive around the Phoenix metro area, you’re bound to see statuesque saguaros stretching toward the sky. While they can be easily spotted on the city’s urban-mountain hillsides, some folks are lucky enough to have a prickly saguaro standing sentinel in their front yard — now that’s defnitely not something you see in the Midwest.

Massive yet slow-growing

Stunning size: At adulthood (about 125 years of age), these desert behemoths are massive — they can reach more than 50 feet tall and weigh several tons. However, they are superslow-growing, only gaining a few inches in height a year.

An army of arms: Although some saguaros don’t ever grow arms, they can grow as many as a whopping 50. But Mother Nature is pretty strict about when a saguaro can sprout these outstretched appendages; generally, arms won’t appear until a saguaro is at least 50 years old. In fact, in areas of low precipitation, it may take up to 100 years

before arms appear. Tat takes some realdeal patience.

Long lifespan: Saguaros tend to live between 150 and 200 years so the desertdwellers we see today could tell quite a few stories, for sure.

Keeping them safe

With few exceptions, it is illegal in Arizona to damage or harm a saguaro. If a saguaro needs to be moved because of construction or some other reason, a permit is required to transport and replant these treasured desert giants.

Snippets about saguaros

•Te word saguaro originated in Ópata, a language spoken by peoples of the Sonoran Desert region of Mexico.

• Te saguaro blooms in springtime with colorful fowers on top of its spear and arms.

• In 1931, the saguaro blossom was designated the ofcial state fower of Arizona.

• Fruit from saguaros is used to make jams, syrup and wine.

Sources: azgovernor.gov; merriam-webster.com; nps.gov; visitphoenix.com

Elevated Design Premium Locations Exceptional Value

At Tri Pointe Homes our goal is to make a premium lifestyle possible for customers, whatever their price point or life stage. With our suite of programs from our Flex Design® and professional Design Studio consultants that help homebuyers select carefully curated styles to create a home that fts their distinct lifestyle, to our LivingSmart® program which ofers cost and environmental savings, we’re here to help fnd the perfect home for you. We invite you to discover our innovative, design-forward homes today.

P 480.571.1116

W TriPointeHomes.com/Arizona-Living

Department’s website when issued. Our name and the logos contained herein are registered trademarks

Contractor, Tri Pointe Homes Arizona Construction, LLC (ROC No. 172120). All rights reserved.

If you live in Arizona, if you’ve visited Arizona, heck, if you’ve flown over Arizona at a low enough altitude, you’ve no doubt seen this instantly recognizable symbol of the Southwest

COHEN

The iconic saguaro can only be found in parts of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.

(Full disclosure: A few fckle ‘escapees’ can also be found in southeast California.)

Visit Phoenix

By The Numbers

Established in 1867, Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the United States by population. If you’ve been here a while and are convinced that every year, it seems like there are more and more people on I-10, guess what? You’re right.

In fact, in 1990, Phoenix’s population was a shade over 987,000; by 2019, it was ballparked at about 1.6 million happy-to-be-here folks, with a regional population of just shy of 5 million The city is also a bustling hub for travelers, with Sky Harbor International Airport serving some 126,000 passengers per day (45 million passengers a year) with 1,200+ daily flights.

Sources: accuweather.com; phoenix.gov; visitphoenix.com

Arizona’s luxury homebuilder: Cachet Homes

MOVE-IN-READY HOMES ARE AVAILABLE AT PEAK VIEW, CACHET’S NEWEST SEMI-CUSTOM COMMUNITY

By Hanna Scott

Incorporated in 1990, Cachet Homes has become well-known over the past three-plus decades as Arizona’s luxury custom and semi-custom home, condominium and townhome builder. This muchdeserved reputation is a result of Cachet’s consistently met goal of building exceptional luxury homes that anyone would be proud to own. Indeed, the company works closely with award-winning architects, engineers, tradespeople, designers and other highintegrity industry professionals to create and build finely crafted homes that exude an ambience of simple elegance and sophisticated style.

A FEW PHOENIX-AREA FACTOIDS

Elevation

Approximately 1,100 feet

Annual rainfall average 8.04 inches

Average high temperature in March 76F

March temps start in the low 70s and trend upward to the low 80s by the end of the month

Salt River Mountains/South Mountains

Rises to 2,300 feet

Phoenix Mountains/Piestewa Peak Rises to 2,600 feet

Camelback Mountain Rises to 2,700 feet

Plan

In keeping with Cachet’s stated objective to be a socially responsible land-steward, Peak View is an intimate gated community nestled on a beautiful infill site six miles north of Loop 101. With just 23 homes, this quiet single-level community features semi-custom homes that range in size from 2,882 square-feet to 3,264 square-feet. All homes have either a three- or four-car garage. With easy access to the Valley’s freeway system, Peak View residents are not far from plenty of shopping and dining venues as well as the Sonoran Mountain Preserve’s magnificent hiking and biking trails. A model home at Peak View is now open.

MORE INFO

PEAK VIEW BY CACHET HOMES

4211 E. Via Dona Road

Cave Creek, AZ 85331

•

•

(Just east of Cave Creek of Peak View Road)

Sales Ofice Hours

10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

•

4

11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Sunday

480-908-4664

www.cachethomes.net

Photography

•How much do you have saved for a downpayment?

• How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need?

• Will a two-car garage work for you/your family, or do you/will you need room for three (or more) cars?

• Are walkable schools important to you?

• One-story or two?

• HOA or non-HOA?

• What’s your timeframe?

Research homebuilders

Now it’s time to do some research related to the homebuilders you’re interested in. Do you know anyone who’s purchased a home from them recently? If so, how was the experience? Check out their reviews on social media platforms. Find out if they’ve won respected awards for quality and integrity. Afer you’re comfortable with the information you’ve garnered, and afer you’ve been pre-approved (see related article in this issue), it’s time to gather more specifcs:

• Are the homebuilders in the communities you’re considering ofering any incentives?

• If so, are the incentives ones that appeal to you, e.g., interest rate buy-down vs upgraded kitchen appliances, lot/site discounts vs landscaping, etc.

• Have supply-chain issues been resolved so that building schedules are more stable and compact?

• If you don’t want to wait for a complete ground-up build, do these builders have a decent inventory of move-in-ready and/or quick-move-in homes? (See related article in this issue.)

Discounts, incentives & more — oh my Tere defnitely are some enticing savings to be had right now.

Alina Hushka, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Robson Resort Communities, said that depending on the community, Robson’s 55+ homebuyers might see closeout discounts on select homesites as well as savings toward closing costs on select move-in-ready homes. Meanwhile,

K. Hovnanian® Homes is ofering custombuilt loan programs “including reduced rates and free future refnancing,” said Ashley Coleman, Vice President of Marketing, K. Hovnanian® Homes. Hal Looney, Area President, Arizona/Nevada, Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities, said that homebuyers at Shea Trilogy communities in Arizona are being ofered several types of incentives and mortgage programs.

At Landsea Homes, the company is ofering below market-rate fnancing via Landsea Mortgage, said Heather Cammiso, Arizona Division President, Landsea Homes. In addition, Landsea recently ofered $8,000 to $10,000 toward closing costs with a preferred lender.

Butch Leiber, President of Phoenix REALTORS, has a unique overview of the real estate landscape across a wide range of builders. He noted that he knows of two large Valley builders that are ofering reduced interest rates for buyers for a limited time.

TAKEAWAY

Ask builders what incentives they’re ofering and for how long. If what they’re ofering doesn’t meet your needs, let them know what incentive would tilt you toward purchasing a home. You never know unless you ask.

Mark Boisclair Photography via Blandford Homes

Courtesy Tri Pointe Homes

Courtesy Toll Brothers

“Some builders subsidize the interest rate when using their lenders which would make payments less per month.”

—HEATHER CHRISTINE MORALES, LISTING AGENT, HOMIE

“For a limited time, Valley homebuilders are ofering buyers substantial incentives, including home upgrades, paying buyer’s closing costs and buying down interest rates.”

—TERRY LENTS, SALES, BLANDFORD HOMES

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